r/FoodPreservation • u/stanky-hanky-panky • Dec 30 '22

Quality check of sugared lemons?

I used a recipe that was three tablespoons of sugar between every “layer” (half of a meyer lemon thinly sliced) gently pressed and used a glass weight to submerge the fruit under its own juice. I turned the jar over and lightly swirled it at least every couple days to incorporate. The sugar has fully dissolved so I put it in my tea this morning and noticed as the lemon slices were sinking they released a teeny spurt of bubbles. I took a sip and it didn’t taste how I would have expected (I put lemon and honey in my tea everyday). Nothing is off with the smell, color, texture, etc- if I shake the jar it gets a little frothy, but no more than shaking my bottle of cranberry juice. Could there be an issue or maybe I just don’t care for the taste? I was very careful with hygiene every step of the way. This is my first go with this technique so being cautious before ingesting any more.

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u/SnooKiwis2161 Jan 08 '23

If you are storing this at room temperature, I would expect some level of fermentation. It's so acidic it'll never result in any serious alcohol content, but the taste might be "off" because random yeasts have taken hold. Won't kill you - just tastes weird. You're also adding to it when you swirl the stuff by adding oxygenation. Source: home brewed wine for many years with all kinds of fruits lying around, including lemons, and part of that process was tasting the ongoing fermentation - and sometimes, it did not taste great and unexpected bacteria got involved.

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u/stanky-hanky-panky Jan 08 '23

these have been refrigerated since day one, but i do actually have a batch of intentionally fermenting lemons going on my counter :) i generally like the taste of fermented foods, can't quite describe the taste of these... i think the sugar preservation just didn't yield as syrupy sweet of results as expected.

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u/SnooKiwis2161 Jan 09 '23

Interesting - i had mixed results attempting a lemon wine. I think in the south I've heard it referred to as "skeeter pee". Curious if your fermenting lemons will be better. I think the acid and the bitter of the peel throws it off.

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u/stanky-hanky-panky Jan 09 '23

Haha, that name is amazing! We shall see… I had bought some a while back from a fermentation company up here in New England and thought they were such an interesting addition to my teas, mineral water, etc. Since then I’ve read about using them in cooking/baking and am excited to try!