Moroccan Preserved Lemons

Moroccan-style Preserved Lemons from Kortrijk

Moroccan preserved lemons are whole lemons that have been cured for weeks in a sea salt brine with rosemary. This process removes their bitterness and imparts a dense, salty-citrus seasoning that is milder than fresh juice. The ideal seasoning for tagine, couscous, fish, and lamb.

Preserved lemons are citrus fruits pickled in brine and are the essential condiment of North African cuisine. Belberry pickles them in the West Flemish town of Kortrijk: fully ripe lemons, scored and left to rest for several weeks in a brine of sea salt and a hint of rosemary. The label lists 55% lemons, 41% water, 3.95% sea salt, and 0.05% rosemary—four ingredients, that is all it takes. The seasoning comes primarily from the peel, which is where the aroma resides.

Salty, lemony, without the bitterness

The weeks spent in the brine transform the fruit: the bitter compounds of the peel break down, leaving behind a calm, salty-lemony seasoning with a long finish.

In the jar, the fruits are golden yellow in a brine that becomes thick and slightly cloudy with maturation. The peel becomes soft and can be finely diced with a knife; the flesh is significantly saltier and is best suited for robust braised dishes. Lemony, salty, aged—the preserved lemon seasons differently than fresh juice; it is denser and rounder, and it remains distinct in the dish even after an hour of simmering.

For tagine, couscous, and pan-fried fish

Preserved lemons like savory, slow-cooked dishes: chicken, lamb, fish, seafood—anything that spends time in the pot. One or two quarters are enough for an entire stew.

Here is how to do it: Remove a quarter from the jar, scrape off the flesh with a spoon, and finely dice the peel. Add it early to a chicken tagine with olives and ginger, stir it into couscous, or scatter it over pan-fried sea bass. It also pairs well with lentils, beef goulash, and braised root vegetables.

Because the fruit already contains salt—10.7 grams per 100 grams—season your dish sparingly at first and adjust to taste at the end. The finely diced peel also works well cold: mixed into crème fraîche with sesame and mint, it makes a dip for flatbread; in potato salad, it adds a bright highlight. And please do not discard the thick brine; it replaces vinegar in a salad dressing.

Kortrijk, a royal house, and an old culinary tradition

Belberry Fine Food Creators is located in Kortrijk-Marke in West Flanders, where André Vandererfven took over a small delicatessen in 1956 and began cooking himself. His son Thierry, a trained chef, has been running the house since the nineties and has expanded the range beyond jams to include sauces, ketchups, and fruit vinegars. He prefers to recruit his staff from among cooks, bakers, and pastry chefs, according to Thierry—those who have mastered the craft are better able to taste when something is ready.

Pickling in salt is both an everyday necessity and an art of preservation in Morocco: lemons are abundant there in winter, and the brine keeps the harvest fresh well into the summer. Belberry adopts this process without accelerating it—fully ripe fruits, sea salt, rosemary, water, and several weeks of time, entirely without preservatives. The citrus marmalades of the house, which Queen Paola particularly appreciates, have earned Belberry the title of Purveyor to the Belgian Royal Household. Quite an achievement.

After opening, store in the refrigerator and ensure that the fruits remain covered by the brine; they will then keep for many weeks. If you would like to continue sampling the house's offerings, you can find the complete Belberry range, along with French preserved lemons from Rue Traversette for comparison, and other compotes and preserves on our shelves.

Content 625 g – Drained weight 325 g