Name: Preserved Lemons
Ingredients: 10-12 lemons; 3 cups coarse salt; 1/4 cup olive oil

Why it works: Lemon and olive are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 11,922 recipes. Both carry 3-hexenal, which smells apple, fruity. The science ↓

Preserved Lemons

makes about 50 pieces

Time5 days

Ingredients

10-12 lemons
3 cups coarse salt
1/4 cup olive oil

Directions

Prepare the lemons

Blanch half of the lemons in boiling water for about 5 minutes.
Let them cool down and then cut the lemons into wedges, picking out the seeds as you go.
Put the wedges into a bowl with the salt before putting them into jar.

Cure

Squeeze about 1 cup of lemon juice from the remaining lemons and then add the juice, covering the lemons, and then seal the jar.
Let them stand at room temperature.
Shake them gently once a day for 5 days.
Add oil after the fifth day and chill.
They will keep for about a year.
This makes about 50 pieces.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

131Calories

0 gProtein

14 gFat

4 gCarbs

What these numbers assume: 3 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Lemon	juice of 1 lemon (48ml)	12
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

Lemon + olivetop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together11,922 recipes

Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Lemons: Provide the fruit and peel that soften and flavour during curing.
Coarse salt: Draws moisture out of the lemons and preserves them through the curing period.
Olive oil: Adds richness and a smooth mouthfeel once the lemons are finished curing.

The step that matters

Blanch the lemons before curing. Brief blanching softens the peel so it becomes tender during curing rather than staying tough and bitter. Keeping the time short avoids cooking the fruit.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

Lemon Sauce236 recipes

Tomato Soup526 recipes

Brown Bread461 recipes

Mutton Broth292 recipes

Like knowing why a recipe works?

The free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.

Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.

Preserved Lemons