South African Lemon Pickle
"This versatile pickle is great with cold meats or cheeses, and is really nice to serve with a cheese board. It originally came from our S A herb guru, Margaret Roberts, who adores lemon for its many uses and medicinal value. The pickle is very good with smoked meats or, finely chopped, as a garnish for oily fish like mackerel, tuna or salmon. As soon as I have enough thick-skinned lemons again, I'll make this again and post a photo!"
photo by French Tart
- Ready In:
- 27mins
- Ingredients:
- 8
- Yields:
-
5-6 cups
ingredients
- 10 lemons, rough-skinned (the thick-skinned, old-fashioned kind of lemon)
- 1 cup dark brown sugar, like muscovado
- 2 cups apple cider vinegar
- 1⁄2 cup water
- 2 teaspoons ground turmeric
- 1 tablespoon curry powder, mild, flavourful (use Cape Malay, or use a good masala)
- 1 tablespoon mustard seeds (pref. yellow)
- 2 teaspoons sea salt
directions
- You need clean bottling jars for this. You need about 5 - 6 1-cup jars or 3 larger ones. Put into a cold oven, then heat oven 325 deg C/160 deg F and leave until needed.
- Halve the lemons, then slice into thin slices. Remove pips.
- Put the rest of the ingredients in a fairly big pot with a thick bottom, stir well, and bring to boiling.
- Boil for about 12 minutes, then add the lemon slices. Stir well once and pull from heat.
- Carefully take your sterilised bottles from the oven (best is to put them straight on to a metal oven tin).
- With a slotted spoon, ladle the lemon pieces into the jars, the fill up with the liquid, to cover the lemon slices.
- Very carefully, using oven gloves, wipe spills off the bottle necks with a damp cloth.
- Seal bottles with their tops.
- Cool, wipe completely clean, label, and leave for 2 weeks before using.
Questions & Replies
-
The 'let it sit for 2 weeks' bit, is that in the fridge?
Reviews
-
How long will these jars keep if left sealed? Do they need to be kept in the fridge? I have just made some as gifts. -
I cannot seem to post a NO STAR review anymore - so, I have opted for 5 stars for now! I am basing this initial review on the recipe and how it was written...............the ease of making it and the instructions etc! I have not been able to taste this yet, as it needs to "sit" for 2 weeks - but I already suspect that it will be 10 star!! The recipe is well written and VERY easy to follow - good instructions and tips. The quantities appear to be spot on - I halved the recipe as I have LOADS of pickles and chutneys etc to make my way through - so, I opted for 5 lemons and the rest of the ingredients were pro-rata. I made two half pound jars out of my 5 lemons - and the smell of all of those lemons and combined spices was intoxicating! I was LUCKY enough to be able to use REAL Cape Malay Curry powder - a gift from a Herbs and Spices swap I had with Zurie last year!! I used unrefined light brown sugar and also added the optional mustard seeds. I will return with MORE photos and my final review in a couple of weeks - but it is looking good! Thanks Zuri for posting this much missed and classic South African pickle recipe - we plan to eat this alongside freshly grilled fish, as we used to when we lived in the Cape! FT:-) -
If Margaret Roberts had anything to do with this it wil be excellent, my fellow south african, thanks for this recipe, will be making it very soon, 5 stars in anticipation!
RECIPE SUBMITTED BY
Zurie
South Africa
I'm a widow, retired, and I love cooking. I live on the coast in South Africa and I love seafood. You're welcome to my recipes (all kinds, definitely not just seafood!) Just remember that no recipe is ever cast in stone -- adjust to your taste!
The photo was taken at a rustic seaside restaurant on our West Coast, approx 1 year ago (2016).
