Salted, Cultured Lemons

It's Cultured Mondays again!  How is your culturing challenge going?  We continue to enjoy our cultured foods daily and my family is having fun with each new addition I make each week.  This week I made salted, cultured lemons.

If these lemons come out tasting as good as they look, I will be thrilled!  I used the recipe in Nourishing Traditions to make my salted lemons and I can't wait to taste them.  They have been out for almost a week and are looking wonderful.

Recipe from Nourishing Traditions:


*5 organic lemons, preferably thin-skinned variety 
*3 T sea salt
*3 cinnamon sticks, broken up
*2 T whey
*juice of two lemons


Wash lemons well, slice thinly and cut slices into quarters.  Toss in a bowl with salt and cinnamon sticks.  Place in a quart-sized, wide mouth mason jar and press down lightly with wooden pounder or a meat hammer.  Mix lemon juice with whey and add to jar, pressing down so that the liquid completely cover the lemons.  Lemons should be a least 1 inch below the top of the jar. Cover tightly and keep at room temp for up to 2 weeks, turning the jar once a day, before transferring to cold storage.  When adding to recipes, remove pulp and cut skin into a julienne.


(I used Meyer lemons, did not break up my cinnamon sticks, and added about 20 cardamon pods.  My lemons have been sitting out for a week and I have no mold issues.  I plan to let these sit out one more week, then I will refrigerate. )

These lemons can be used minced in a variety of ways (and I will be searching the internet to find even more uses!).  I plan to mince them and place them in salads, over cooked meat or fish, in fruit salads, and in tuna fish.  Enjoy and if you have any recipe ideas, please leave a comment.

(Featured on The Healthy Home Economist, Nourishing Treasures, DIY Home Sweet Home , The Gunny Sack, Home Savvy A to Z, Frugal Antics of a Harried Homemaker, Delightfully Dowling, My Sweet and Savory, Make Ahead Meals for Busy Moms, You Are Talking Too Much, Raising Isabella, So Very Creative, New Life on a Homestead, Ruth's Real Foods, A Southern Fairytale, Sumo's Sweet Stuff, Homestead Revival, Organizing Junkie, 11th Heaven's Homemaking Haven, Real Food Forager, Simply Sugar and Gluten Free, Whole New Mom, Kelly the Kitchen Kop, Mind, Body, and Sole, GNOWFGLINS, Nourishing Traditions, Real Food Freaks, Real Food Whole Health, Food Renegade, Jo's Health Corner)