Wow! I have been overwhelmed by the generosity of several lemon-tree owners that I know.
While I, too, am a lemon tree owner, mine is only around 3 years old and has not yet been allowed to bear fruit We are encouraging it to grow bigger before letting it put out too much fruit. And let’s be honest, the loss of one or two lemons each year for the long term benefit of the tree is worth it.
We use a lot of lemons. Mainly we use them as a cleanse first thing in the morning. A glass of lemon juice, with a little water, and a touch of honey is great upon waking and helps to keep any lurking lurgies at bay if you stay on top of it.
So I was overjoyed when a friend told me their tree was over-achieving and offered me some lemons. A whole bag of lemons! What an amazing gift!
But I must confess, the bag of lemons sat on my bench top for a few days while I contemplated how I could make the most of them.
I estimate I received around 5 kg of lemons – I forgot to weigh them before I started! Some of them were large, others were small, only one of them wasn’t really very juicy.
Here’s what I did with them all:.
Preserved Lemons
I preserved a jar full of lemons using this method from Maggie Beer. Maggie Beer is my go-to for seasonal produce – her recipes are generally wholesome and simple to follow. I love her Harvest book. This recipe is simple and easy to follow. Lemon juice and salt are used to preserve the lemons.
I am looking forward to some middle-eastern inspired recipes which often call for preserved lemons. They’ll be ready in around 4-6 weeks.
Lemon Curd
With my ducks finally laying again after their mid-winter strike, I used lemon juice, duck eggs, sugar and butter to create a delicious lemon curd. The best part? I did a small batch in my Thermomix so I didn’t have to stand and stir it for 10 minutes or so until it thickened.
It made these three small jars, and the colour of it was divine – I give the ducks credit for that!
If you don’t have a Thermomix, you can easily make this over the stove, just be prepared to stand and stir. Grab your earpods and your favourite podcast and the time stirring will fly by!
The quantities I used were:
- 240 gm sugar
- 150 gm freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 125 gm butter
- 3 eggs (I used duck eggs, but chicken eggs will work just as well)
I added all the ingredients and kept on a medium heat, stirring all the time until it had thickened (be careful not to let it get too hot or it might curdle). Then popped it into sterilised jars, with lids loosely applied. Let it cool on the benchtop and once cool, tightened the lids and popped one jar in the fridge and the others into the pantry cupboard. They should be fine for a few weeks – and honestly I don’t know that they will last that long.
Dried Lemons
When we have an excess of lemons, particularly in the cooler months when we are lighting the fire every night, the rinds make great fire starters.
We have an oven style wood heater with an oven compartment below the combustion/fire compartment. I find it really difficult to get it hot enough to do any real baking, but it is ideal for drying out lemon skins.
I simply pop the discarded skins into a baking tray and slide it into the warm under-compartment of the wood stove. These rinds took around 3 nights of woodfires to get them really dry – they were packed in tight so the air didn’t circulate very well and they were very juicy.
They don’t take up any additional space and we simply check on them occasionally to make sure they are not getting too dry and brown. Honestly if they do, they still make great fire starters!
Gluten Free Lemon Cake
A super easy, quick-to-get-in-the-oven kind of cake. I use:
- 3 lemons, boiled for 30 minutes prior to adding them in to the mix, let them cool a little if you have time
- 250 gm almonds (I buy seconds almonds from a local farm in bulk)
- 200gm coconut sugar (I think the coconut sugar makes the cake more caramelly, plus its lower in GI, but you can also use white sugar, brown sugar or raw sugar – whichever you prefer)
- 1tspn gluten free baking powder
- 6 eggs (this week I used a combo of duck and chicken eggs but just chicken eggs will work equally well)
Mix all the ingredients together in a high speed blender, Pop the mix into a lined cake tin and bake for around 35-40 minutes in a 180°C oven. It’s cooked when a skewer comes out clean. Leave it in the baking pan to cool and serve with a dollop of cream or crème fraiche and a little lemon zest sprinkled over the top!
And the best part? Another friend asked me if I’d like some lemons from her tree just yesterday! Of course I said yes! I still have ideas about what I can do with them. Citrus/vinegar cleaner … more lemon curd … dried lemon zest … lemon juice ice cubes … lemon peel powder … lemon salt … dried lemon peels. The list goes on!
Don’t have a lemon zester? I use one like this and it creates perfect lemon zest, especially for sprinkling over a lemon cake.
What is your favourite way to use a glut of gifted lemons?
