Oleo Saccharum

In our restaurants we juice a lot of lemons. Which led me think I could best Jeffrey Morgenthaler's self-described "lazy" Oleo Saccharum method, if not in quality, at least in lazy-ness. Morgenthaler, you see, peels lemons, but I just collect the left-over peels after the lemons have been juiced. These hollowed-out lemon halves are mixed in a big bowl with sugar, them vacuum sealed in bags. We date them and label them (don't want to confuse them with salted, preserved lemons) and store them in the refrigerator. By the time we're ready to use the Oleo Saccharum, the lemon oils and whatever juice remains have dissolved the sugar. The exact ratio of lemon to sugar is a matter of feel, but equal amounts by weight would be a good starting point.

By the way, buy Jeffrey Morgenthaler's book, it is excellent, and represents years of learning and hard work, yours for the taking, with just a few hours of reading. Talk about a time saver....