Algerian Preserved Limes

When I first started this blog a reader asked me about preserving limes like lemons in the North African manner. At the time I was not aware that we make preserved limes. I knew about preserved oranges, but the limes I had not seen before. Since then I've learned that we do indeed make preserved limes in Algeria and they are used much the same way as preserved lemons or oranges in savory dishes. We also make sweet and salty or just sweet citrus preserves.

I used this this jar for the sake of taking the photo. I'm going to transfer it to a jar with a plastic lid. You don't want to use anything with metal because it will corrode.

There's really nothing to do making these, I sprinkled 1/4 cup of coarse sea salt over every 1-2 layers of limes. You'll notice that I usually cut my citrus in half or quarters, whereas lots of other recipes call for making incisions into the citrus. I prefer my method because I rarely use a whole citrus in my recipes.

Top with water. I find the suggestion to top with citrus juice to be a bit of overkill. Salt preserved citrus has quite a bit of flavor, there's really no need to add more.

During the winter don't forget to make preserves with small sweet lemons and blood oranges!

Comments

[helen]

hi everybody;
i'm chinese british citizen i tried few times algerian food and i loved it so much. is there any books in english for algerian cuisine?

thanks

helen

[Melissa]

I need to make some more preserved lemons, but preserved oranges! and limes! I can't wait. Good tip on the metal......I had some in the fridge for about 4 months and the metal on the jar did indeed corrode. Like you, I use quarters, it works great!

[bazu]

Thank you for this recipe! I have a trip to California planned and now I know what to do with all the citrus that I will pick up...

[Sam]

Merci pour cette recette.