I love the taste of preserved lemons - a bold lemony essence that’s more mellow and less tart.

This zesty condiment is a specialty in North African, South Asian, and Mediterranean cuisine. If you’re lucky, you can find preserved lemons in Middle Eastern or specialty stores near you or you can make your own.

As preserving projects go, this one’s easy. Some squeezing, scrubbing, trimming, slicing, and packing with salt, and placing in jars before you leave them to sit where you can keep an eye on them.

Although they only take 20 minutes to prepare, preserved lemons require a month’s rest (certainly no less than two weeks) before they’re ready to eat. After that, they practically last forever.

A jar or two sitting on the kitchen counter is like watching sea monkeys grow; you note their progress and track them as they soften and slowly nestle down inside the glass jar, and change from bright yellow into glowing golden orbs that light up the room.

Preserved lemons help elevate all kinds of dishes. I’ve listed some at the bottom of this post. They also make a good gift for the enthusiastic cook or foodie friend.

Visual learners will appreciate this brief and excellent how-to video.

Preserved lemons

Make one jar or many, depending on quantity and size of jars and lemons.

You will need:

Glass jars

Salt (sea salt or kosher)

Lemons (some to preserve and some for juice)

Spices are optional: add fennel, caraway seeds or peppercorns, cinnamon sticks, bruised cardamom pods, bay or kaffir lime leaves or crushed dried chilies.

Use well washed jars. If you want to sterilize your jars (I don’t) wash in hot soapy water, rinse and place in a preheated oven at 250 F for 20 minutes. Sterilize lids in boiling water for 5 minutes.

Thoroughly scrub lemons.

Trim the nubs off both ends of each lemon.

Quarter the lemons but not all the way through; cut from the top to within 1/2 inch of the bottom. You may need to cut all the way through, into four complete quarters, if using small jars.

Place enough salt to cover the bottom of the jar.

Salt inside the opening of each lemon and reshape.

Pack in the lemons and push them down, adding more salt and the optional spices between layers.

If using quarter pieces place them in the jar and layer with salt.

Press the lemons down to release their juices and to make room for more lemons.

Fill the jar with freshly squeezed lemon juice. Make sure the lemons are well submerged. Push them down further into the jar and add some more juice if necessary.

Seal the jar and let sit on counter.

Check on the lemons for the next few days. Upend them from time to time and give them a shake to redistribute the loose salt.

When they're ready, pluck one from the jar and rinse it under cool running water to remove excess salt. If you skip this step hold back on adding any salt to the recipe.

Use the whole lemon (seeds removed) or discard the pith and pulp and add the rind only.

Once opened store in the refrigerator.

How to use your preserved lemons:

Chop the rind and add to guacamole and hummus (my favourite!), to yogurt with a bit of honey or to olives in a tapenade.

Mash with butter and fresh herbs and smear on top of grilled fish or roasted vegetables.

Finely dice and mix with green beans, peas or carrots.

Add thin strips to braising liquid during the last few minutes of cooking.

Whizz them into your salad dressing.

Make ice cream.

Use the lemony brine in a cocktail.