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Drink

To Keep Lemon-juice

Preserved lemon juice syrup made with sugar and brandy, bottled and sealed.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
By Mary Randolph (1762–1828) · From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 2 ingredients
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The recipe

Ingredients

Directions

Make the syrup

  1. Select lemons free from blemishes.

  2. Squeeze the lemons and strain the juice.

  3. For each pint of juice, add a pound of good loaf sugar pounded.

  4. Stir frequently until the sugar is completely dissolved.

  5. Cover the pitcher closely and let it stand until the dregs have subsided and the syrup is transparent.

Bottle and store

  1. Prepare clean, dry bottles.

  2. Pour a wine glass full of French brandy into each bottle.

  3. Fill each bottle with the syrup.

  4. Cork each bottle.

  5. Dip the neck of each bottle into melted rosin or pitch.

  6. Store the bottles in a cool, dry cellar; do not expose them to fire.

Preserve the peel

  1. Pour water over the peels, soak until the white pulp can be scraped off, then boil the peel until soft.

  2. Preserve the boiled peel with half its weight in sugar.

  3. Store the preserved peel for use in mince pies, cakes, etc.

By Mary Randolph (1762–1828). Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures. See the original page.

Explore the science

What each ingredient does

Lemon juice (in the method)
Provides the sour, acidic flavour that defines the syrup.
Loaf sugar
Sweetens the juice and forms a thick syrup that keeps well when stored.
French brandy (in the method)
Adds aroma and helps preserve the syrup in the bottle.

The step that matters

Let the syrup stand until clear. Undissolved sugar and fine dregs must settle before bottling, or the syrup stays cloudy and can ferment or spoil in storage.

“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.

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