Depending on your neighborhood, or how far you’re willing to travel, you can likely buy a jar of preserved lemons ready to eat. It’s just as easy, however, to make them yourself. The simplest and most delicious method calls for nothing more than lemons, salt, and patience (our own take also adds a touch of sugar for sweetness). It goes like this: Start with a handful of lemons. Cut each fruit into quarters lengthwise, without slicing through the base, and transfer them to a large bowl, tossing them with salt (and sugar, if using), before covering and refrigerating them overnight. The next day, the lemons will have released quite a bit of liquid, and you can transfer the entire contents of the bowl to a canning jar, pressing the lemons down firmly until they’re completely submerged. Seal the jar tightly and store it in a cool place for a month or longer—this is one of those things that get even better with age. The result is a lemon with a velvety peel and an intense yet mellow lemony character—whose “texture is soft and flavor is deep,” says Sortun.
