# Ideas with lemons?



## apicius9 (Jan 16, 2013)

I just bought 5 pounds of lemons on sale and wanted to tap into the collective wisdom for ideas on what to do with them. I was thinking about salting a few of them, but I am not sure how they were treated, will probably get organic lemons for that. So, what would you do with them?

Stefan


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## sachem allison (Jan 16, 2013)

make limoncello


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## Notaskinnychef (Jan 16, 2013)

something alcohol based, lord knows that was a given when you bought it tho


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## sachem allison (Jan 16, 2013)

This is a very basic recipe, In Sorrento they may go as long as 80 days for the infusion, this is faster with no noticeable lack of flavor.




Ingredients

11 lemons
1 750-ml bottle of Everclear, or other overproof grain spirit (140+ proof)
3 cups (21 ounces) granulated sugar
3 cups boiling water

Directions

Peel wide strips of lemon zest (avoiding as much of the white pith as possible) with a sharp vegetable peeler; reserve lemons for another use. Add the lemon peels to a 1-liter (or larger) airtight container and top off with the Everclear.
Let stand at room temperature in a dark place for at least 3 days and up to 1 week.
After the infusing period is over, stir together the sugar and boiling water until the sugar has dissolved; allow to cool. Combine the lemon peel/Everclear solution with the sugar syrup in an airtight container (two if necessary, space wise) and refrigerate 1 day.
Strain out the lemon peels and bottle. Store in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Makes about 2 quarts.


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## franzb69 (Jan 16, 2013)

i would make some preserved lemons....

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/jamie-oliver/salted-preserved-lemons-recipe/index.html

=D

great for mediterranean dishes


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## quantumcloud509 (Jan 16, 2013)

I would make lemon merengue pie, because its delicious!


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## Stumblinman (Jan 16, 2013)

I'd preserve some if I had them. Takes at least 6 mos to mature though. What kind of lemons ?


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## rahimlee54 (Jan 16, 2013)

Lemon curd.


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## bieniek (Jan 16, 2013)

+1
Lemon tart. One recipe needs zest and juice from five lemons.

But you can also peel the lemon as close the the flesh as you can, cut that in small pieces and cook in sugar solution. Slowly and for a long long time. It will use plenty of sugar.
Can be stored forever and used in cakes and sweets [filling for choco truffles f.e.]

The juice I would just drink lot of tea with lemon


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## Duckfat (Jan 16, 2013)

sachem allison said:


> make limoncello



Killer idea! If you need a still (Ornamental of course) wink wink, you can get one here;

http://lnx.rameria.com/en/department/4/Alembics.html


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## mhlee (Jan 16, 2013)

If you have Meyer lemons, I recommend making Meyer lemon creme brulee or lots of sour mix for Margaritas.  

Although, if I knew how, I would make a crapload of lemon custard ice cream.


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## Lucretia (Jan 16, 2013)

sachem allison said:


> make limoncello



This sounds like something you could really hurt yourself with...soaking a poundcake, on the rocks with a splash of soda, in ice tea....MMmmmmMMMM!!!!


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## Zwiefel (Jan 16, 2013)

we like to candy them by simmering in simple syrup for about an hour, then let them cool on a rack. Store in fridge. Tasty snacks, good with vanilla bean ice cream....etc.


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## DeepCSweede (Jan 16, 2013)

Start a lemonade stand on the corner and make yourself a few bucks.

I like the lemon meringue pie - that is one of my favorites that my grandmother used to make. I would also make a syrup for margarita's


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## rahimlee54 (Jan 16, 2013)

Zwiefel said:


> we like to candy them by simmering in simple syrup for about an hour, then let them cool on a rack. Store in fridge. Tasty snacks, good with vanilla bean ice cream....etc.



How much lemon to syrup just covered or slightly above, I have alot of heavy cream to use. Vanilla ice cream is coming.

Thanks
Jared


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## Zwiefel (Jan 16, 2013)

they will float, so I use enough to make them float 

No worries if you have extra though...I strain it and use it to sweeten iced tea!


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## rahimlee54 (Jan 16, 2013)

The goal isnt evaporation, ok cool. The tea sounds good as well.


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## Zwiefel (Jan 16, 2013)

rahimlee54 said:


> The goal isnt evaporation, ok cool. The tea sounds good as well.



didn't even think of that! Correct. Just trying to temper the acidity of the lemons with heat and infuse the pith with the syrup. evaporation would be pretty tricky with a big pile of lemons....but now you have me thinking!


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## rahimlee54 (Jan 16, 2013)

In a wide shallow pan with plenty of surface area you could probably prepare them like candied nuts, which would be good after the temper, I suspect.


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## Zwiefel (Jan 16, 2013)

Might be able to get the syrup sufficiently thick that they would crystallize while cooling on the rack. This would make it easy to make more than what a single layer in a pan would accommodate. I think I have something new to try next time!


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## apicius9 (Jan 16, 2013)

Thanks, lots of good ideas. I'll have to check out the label again, these are just ordinary supermarket lemons from CA which I expect to having been grown with all kinds of pesticides etc which would accumulate in the peel - that's why I was thinking more of getting organic lemons for the things that mainly use the peel. But maybe I am just overly careful here. I do see a few lemony drinks in the next few days and may also make some lemon curd and a tarte. I am living out of a few suitcases and boxes right now, so a lot of my kitchen stuff is stored away - will have to see what I can improvise, don't even have a baking pan - let alone a tarte form where I am now...

Stefan


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## rahimlee54 (Jan 16, 2013)

There is a lemon curd on serious eats that uses just a bowl and the microwave. I made it and it tasted ok but the texture wasn't as good as if it were made traditionally. But if your supplies are out of reach it would be pretty good, cleanup was also much better.


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## apicius9 (Jan 16, 2013)

For curds, I will just miss my rounded bottom bowl. And the friend I am staying with doesn't seem to own a whisk, very sad.  I also read about making creme brulee sous vide, maybe that works for lemon curd also, gotta do some research. The Sous Vide Demi is the only toy I brought with me besides the cast iron pot for baking. 

Stefan


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## TheNewMexican (Jan 20, 2013)

We had a bunch of lemons harvested from our backyard lemon trees. We used what we could with lemonade, tea and seafood then hand juiced the rest and froze in ziploc baggies. We have been enjoying lemon bars (desert) throughout the winter.

Good luck to you!


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## stphntrjllo (Feb 25, 2013)

Lemonade.


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## stephenblake (Feb 27, 2013)

lemon confit!!!!! plus peeling the pith off the skin is awesome with a sharp knife!!!

5 cups kosher salt
5 tablespoons sugar
6 lemons, scrubbed and quartered
In a large bowl, mix the salt with the sugar. Toss the lemons with half of the sugar-salt. Pour a small layer of sugar-salt into a clean quart-size jar. Layer the lemons in the jar, covering them with the remaining sugar-salt as you go. Refrigerate the lemons for at least 2 weeks. To use, rinse the lemons well and use the peel only.

brunoise or julienne and use it in everything! salads, sauces, sides or garnishes, maybe even in a limoncello cocktail!


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## wellminded1 (Feb 27, 2013)

Great article here http://blog.ideasinfood.com/ideas_in_food/2013/02/lacto-lemons.html


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## Yoni Lang (Feb 28, 2013)

sachem allison said:


> make limoncello



+1

easy to make.. just takes patience and some good vodka.. made a few gallons a few years back from fresh grown lemons in my backyard.. best limoncello i've had to date


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## Paradox (Feb 28, 2013)

I'm with the idea of just making up some good old lemonade. I like to make a simple syrup with the zest of the the lemons in it. 1 cup sugar to one cup water, add zest trying to not let in any of the pith tag along. Dissolve the sugar and bring to a simmer, then let cool. Strain the zest out of the syrup. Then mix ice, fresh squeezed lemon juice, water, and the fortified syrup to taste. Yum! It's SO good.


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## apicius9 (Feb 28, 2013)

Great ideas! The lemons I had have mostly been juiced, went into a lemon pie (IknowIknow, I forgot the pictures...), some lemon curd etc. I love the recipes that use the zest, but maybe I am just paranoid about this: For anything that uses the zest, I would only use organic lemons that have a reasonable chance of not collecting all kind of crap in the zest (like fertilizer or pesticides remnants) and that are not covered with wax. Am I overly careful here?

Stefan


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## Beohbe (Mar 1, 2013)

Get some english cukes and make cucumber-lemon agua fresca. Lots of it. 
edit: Or there's loads of other agua frescas you could make with lemons. Lemon-mint? Lemon-lime-watermelon? Whatever's clever. Easy to make with limited tools and no heat required.


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