Lemon trees are a wonderful thing to have in your yard if you like lemon meringue pie. I particularly enjoy Ponderosa lemons. They are big and almost look like grapefruit except for little knobs at the ends. It only takes three to make that pie. However, you can use the regular little lemons we see in the stores all over the nation also. All citrus fruit is canned alike.
If you don't have a lemon tree, you'll have to purchase your lemons. Once you have your fruit and your canning needs, it is time to wash your fruit. Lemons need to be washed in cool to lukewarm water.
Dunk the lemons into boiling water for about a minute. The peel won't peel off like other fruit but it will loosen the white membrane from the fruit. I prefer to peel my fruit. Usually this is done with your hands but I save my fingernails with a citrus peeler. It is a small kitchen gadget looks like a crochet hook.
To prepare the jars, they can be washed in a dishwasher if it has a sanitized cycle. The jars can be left in the dishwasher on a heat cycle. The lids need to be washed and left in the hot water. The canner needs to be filled so that there will be an inch of boiling water over the top of the jars.
Most people canning use a very light syrup for citrus fruit. It helps keep the sweet taste but doesn't make the fruit heavy.
Put the water in a saucepan and pour the sugar into the water slowly as it heats up. Bring it to boiling and boil a few minutes until sugar dissolves.
By Mary Belk
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Thank you! Too many recipes called for a ton of salt ,then keep the jars of lemon in frig ! I needed a good recipe to keep long term on the shelf. Lemon aid,pies,cookies and cakes all taste better with real lemon(with no extra salt from preserving)
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