Meyer Lemons

Meyer lemons are delicious, and here in Canada they're only available for a short time around Christmas. Each year I buy a bunch and preserve them in various ways. They're sweeter than lemons, their skin is more delicate, and they are very fragrant.

Here are some of my preserves:

Meyer lemon marmalade, which can be used on scones, bread, cakes, cupcakes, mixed into yogurt or ice cream (vanilla or sweet cream), or on its own; it's awesome.

Three ingredients: lemons, sugar, water. That little pouch of cheesecloth contains the lemon seeds, which provide all the pectin you'll need for this tasty treat. Canning time 5 minutes.

Candied Meyer lemon slices:

lemon slices, water, sugar, cook down until all the liquid is gone. You can lay out the slices on a plate/cookie sheet/ parchment paper to dry. I don't bother, just put the slices in a jam bowl with a lid.

Meyer lemon sugar:

Grated Meyer lemon skin and cane sugar. You can do this with salt (and some herbs) as well and use as a rub for fish and chicken, in salads, wherever you want a savoury lemon flavour.

Meyer lemon chutney:

Meyer lemon slices with maple smoked sea salt, shallots, and truffle oil. I kept these in the fridge for a whole year. Very strong, so a little goes a long way. Had both chutneys with various white fish at Christmas. You don't need to wait that long, just give it a week or two for the flavours to mingle. By the end of the 12 months all the oil had been absorbed into the lemons. The flavour was very intense and salty. 

Meyer lemon slices with crushed juniper berries, chilli flakes, maple smoked sea salt and oil.

Another thing I do is wash, dry, and freeze whole Meyer lemons (I do this with regular lemons as well). Then instead of squeezing lemon into my morning water, I grate the whole thing, so I get juice, pulp, and skin.  You can also dehydrate slices and use in tea or water, or dehydrate skins (peel off before squeezing out juice which you can freeze in ice cube trays and add to water) and then crush/crumble into salads, soups, tea. Another way to preserve is to slice the lemon and layer it in a jar with sugar (I use raw cane sugar) and store in the fridge, then when I feel like lemon tea I just add a slice to my cup. Just don't waste any part of these yummies.