Fresh Organic Lemons
- Annemarie Bolduc
- Jul 21, 2021
- 3 min read
Updated: Jul 11, 2024
The pleasure of squeezing, juicing, peeling, zesting, cooking and preserving organic lemons!
Winter is citrus season, and the beautiful yellow lemon always brings sunshine, vitamin C, and crispy flavour to various drinks and dishes. The pulp, peel, rind and juice are edible but not eaten like oranges, grapefruits and mandarins. Like lime and some cumquat cultivars, the acidity level is very high, so the tart taste makes it more of an ingredient than a fruit to snack on. The lemons' origins seem unknown, but they were grown in Asia and Europe before being widely cultivated. Organic lemons growing in people's yards are pretty exotic for a Québécoise native like me. No citrus tree would survive our winters, but they do in the cool climate of Australia, where we live. It’s still maybe too frosty for citrus to be cultivated commercially in the Snowys, but it is possible to grow trees in the yard if they are well positioned and covered while establishing. Lemons have more purposes than just culinary, like cleaning and ornamental use. Plus, they are so photogenic, so they're in my bag!
I feel grateful to be living in a place where lemons can be grown at home organically. Citrus are prone to many pests and diseases, so the ones we purchase commercially have been sprayed with pesticides. It is best to rinse them under water, even if not eating the peel, to avoid bacteria, dirt and chemicals on your cutting board. But if you can grow or find organic ones, that's the best, especially if you use the peel and zest in preserves, marmalades, and cakes. I have been given many bags of chemical-free lemons to play with, so this is when I started to explore various recipes. As mentioned, I did not grow up with such lemons in Québec; we only get the Californian varieties at the grocery shop… so that's exciting. I discovered different varieties, like the Meyer. These are much sweeter and perfect for making preserved lemons. One day, we were sent a bag of bush lemons, and I thought first that they were grapefruit as they were huge with a rounded shape… Ho, that was an unpleasant surprise... I thought my insides were going to burn from that intense citric acid!
Cooking, drinking and preserving lemons • Photography © Bottle and Brush Studio 2020
GROWING & COOKING TIPS
Growing lemons and citrus requires suitable conditions, rich soil, feeding, organic pest watch and, of course, enough sun and water. I nearly lost my new trees when I planted them at the front of our house, which is in a frost pocket. So I moved them in pots under cover, and they are doing much better and have been fruiting. Lemons are great for flavour dishes, marinades, and salads, and they are used in many dessert recipes, such as baked goods, lemon curds, and meringue pies. They are essential ingredients for their acidic virtues to help succeed a cheese fondue, pestos, boiled artichokes, etc. They can also act as a preservative. I love the preserved lemons, simply wedges of lemon squished into a jar with salt, softening and curing them for use in tajines and anything else you like! Lemons are also essential in BBQ marinades and for drinks like tea, cocktails and cordials. As the citrus season is in winter, I squeeze the juice of some extra lemons and freeze them into an ice cube tray. The iced lemon cubes are perfect for iced teas in summer. What else? Well, apparently, the leaves can be infused in tea, and dehydrated slices can also flavour teas and cocktails. There is much to explore with lemons and all citrus; let's keep squeezing!
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