Ripe Rewards

Citrus time of year
 It’s the new year and new decade. Hope your holidays were enjoyable and wishing you a wonderful 2020!  

In winter, when most crops in our county are dormant, citrus trees ripen and add pops of color and beauty to the landscape. We have a few orange trees that line our driveway here at the peach farm, and two favorite Meyer lemon trees. We work with all our bearing trees and citrus is a winter treat.
Lemons add flavor to everything they touch. When they are at a peak, we juice, freeze and preserve them. Just a sprinkle of lemon juice and everything tastes fresher. Of course, limoncello is a favorite and who can resist lemon bars or tarts or pies. We love orange slices, and I cannot think of a better way to start the day than with a glass of fresh squeezed orange juice.  
We are headed to Africa at the time of this writing; we thought we’d do something way far out of the ordinary to kick off the new decade and to celebrate a special birthday. I associate Morocco with preserved lemons and when I think of Morocco, I can’t help but think of Casablanca, which we always seem to watch over the holidays.
So, we’re going to preserve lemons, and prepared this way they are delicious, bright and functional. They are preserved/pickled in their own juices and salt and the result is quite sublime I think and I hope you do too.
Preserved Lemons
At a Shed workshop a few years ago, we preserved lemons one afternoon, and it was surprisingly quick and simple. I couldn’t believe it. Time to round up your usual suspects, which in this case includes canning jars, lemons (I always use Meyers) and salt. Salt deserves an article of its own for it is such a big topic — books have been dedicated to it, restaurants named after it, TV shows with hosts exploring the far reaches of the globe to find the best of it.
We even have our own Salt Point State Park here in Sonoma County. Salt is the great preservative, with a rich and fascinating history, and one of the greatest discoveries ever. Lewis & Clark were said to be in search of it (many other things too of course), and the school Patrick attends is named after them. We’ve been exploring the Portland area and the culinary scene there, and found Bitterman Salt Co. and their fleur de sel which we use everyday and will use now.
Preserved lemons are not only striking as they rest in their jars, but wonderful to cook with and to use during the year, when you need a bit of freshness, salt and tang.  
What you need: 
4-5 lemons
Bag or box of salt
Extra lemon juice if needed
Pint canning jar – prepared according to instructions
What to do:
Generously salt the base of your jar.
Clean lemons thoroughly and cut the top just a sliver. Now cut the lemon in half length-wise, leaving it attached at the base. Cut the lemon length-wise the opposite side so it is now in quarters, with a base still attached. Sprinkle salt inside your cut lemon and place in your jar, pressing down firmly, then add salt to cover, and more juice if needed.  Continue this process with all the lemons until your jar is full. Set out for a few days, turning upside down, and then store in your fridge for months.
You can use with stews, over roasted fish or chicken, add to salads, you name it; everything is better with preserved lemons.
Next month: Salt
Gayle Okumura Sullivan is co-owner, with husband Brian, of Dry Creek Peach & Produce in Healdsburg. She is also Executive Director of Healdsburg Jazz.