Using up lemons - hate waste!

[marshlander]

Found this on www.lovefoodhatewaste.com

Microwave Lemon or Lime Curd
If you have got some old lemons or limes heading for the bin, transform them into this quick mouth watering preserve. It’s really fast to make in the microwave and the mixture is less likely to curdle if it is made this way.

ingredients
Juice of 2 large lemons or 4 limes
110g caster Sugar and Syrups
2 Eggs
60g Butter
Instructions
Mix the lemon (or lime) juice and eggs together and strain the liquid into a bowl. Stir in the sugar and then add the butter.
Cover the bowl with cling film and cook the mixture on high for 1 minute.
Remove the wrap and give the mixture a stir. Return the bowl, uncovered, to the microwave and cook on medium for 6 minutes, a minute at a time, until the lemon curd thickens. Whisk well after every minute, to prevent curdling.
Using oven gloves remove the bowl from the microwave and continue whisking until the mixture begins to cool down. The lemon curd will begin to thicken on cooling.

[Milims]

I usually slice mine and pop them in the freezer. I take them out as required and prevent them from going off by placing them in an alcohol preservative!

[Shirley]

I usually slice mine and pop them in the freezer. I take them out as required and prevent them from going off by placing them in an alcohol preservative!

I like your style!! I do the same.

[red]

so do i!
we like frozen lemon slices.. really brings out the lemon!

[snapdragon]

I put half slices into ice cuber and top with water - ice and a slice

[Wombat]

We make lemon cordial.

Nev

[contadina]

Lemon squash for me too, with the added bonus of using the spare peel to make limoncello. Preserved lemons are really good too, especially when added to Middle Eastern cooking.

[Wombat]

Do you do the salted lemon thing C ?

[Milims]

How do you make lemon cordial - and can you do it with limes?

[contadina]

Yep, the salted lemon thing. Cut them in quarters lengthwise only don't cut them all the way through the top so it all stays attached. Then pack tightly with sea salt and squeeze as may as you can in a jar. They'll keep for a couple of years like this.

[marshlander]

How do you use the salted lemons?

[contadina]

Mostly with rice, in tagines, couscous dishes and salads. They also go very well with slow cooked stews and certain meat and fish. You just rinse them, discard the flesh and chop up the skin

[frozenthunderbolt]

Lemon squash for me too, with the added bonus of using the spare peel to make limoncello. Preserved lemons are really good too, especially when added to Middle Eastern cooking.

OOOOoohhhHHH Recipie for Lemoncello PLEASE!!!!

[contadina]

You're in luck as I sent my niece a couple of recipes recently (after she greedily got through a fair bit of ours). I'm just going to cut and paste it. If the first recipe is too strong for your tastes you can temper it with some more water and sugar solution to get it how you like it.

Here’s a couple of Limoncello recipes – I normally use the first one, which takes a month but am gonna try a new one that only takes a week, so either hold off for a week and I’ll tell you if it’s as good or choose depending on how long you can wait.


Recipe 1 takes a month
Makes about 2.5 litres.

1 Litre of alcool (or cheap vodka)
10 Unwaxed lemons (if possible, organic)
350 g (12 oz) Granulated sugar
150 ml (5 fl. oz) Water

For this recipe you also need a 2-3 litre jar with a sealed lid. The jar should be washed very well or sterilised before use.

Note: About the sugar, some people like the limoncello sweeter and use 450 g (1 lb) of sugar. I prefer a sharper taste and a kick like a mule, so I make my limoncello with less sugar, using only 350 g (12 oz) of sugar, as suggested in the ingredients list.

Directions:

Rinse the lemons under running water. Then, dry the lemons with kitchen paper.

Now, it’s time to prepare the sugar syrup. Put all the sugar into a small pan, add the water and melt the sugar over very low heat. The melting should take a few minutes, meanwhile keep stirring and take care that the syrup does not reach boiling point.

Soon you will notice that the syrup becomes clearer. At this point, turn the cooker off and leave the syrup to cool down.

While the syrup is cooling down, cut the zest from your lemons, making small pieces, with a sharp knife or peeler. Potato peelers works well, but try not get any pith as its too bitter and would spoil your limoncello.

Put all the zest in the jar.

Pour the litre of vodka into the jar. Give jars/bottles a vigorous shake once every day for a week and then leave somewhere dark for a further three before drinking.

Recipe 2 – takes a week
1 litre of alcool
10 medium to large lemons
1.5 litres of water
3 lbs of sugar (1.5 kilos)

Wash the lemons with a vegetable brush and hot water to remove any reside of pesticides or wax; pat the lemons dry. Using a potato peeler, take all the lemon rinds off of the lemons so there is no white pith on the peel. Place the rind-peelings in a large container with the alcool. Cover the container and let it sit for seven days.

On the eighth day, strain the peel from alcohol; discard peel.

In a large saucepan, make syrup by combining the water and sugar; let it simmer "fast" for 15 minutes. Let syrup cool to room temperature. Add to alcohol.

You are now finished and can drink it right away.

[frozenthunderbolt]

thankee!