When life gives you lemons

Dennis Kercher and his wife Mary teach Italian cooking classes locally at Whole Foods Market. I talked to Dennis about what he’s making these days with a bumper crop of Meyer lemons.

“The first thing is I juice them. I keep the juice in a quart jar with a plastic stopper that won’t corrode. It lasts for nine months in the refrigerator. I’ll use that for a marinade or a lemon and olive-oil vinaigrette.

“I always make preserved lemons with rock salt and a little water. After about 30 days, they’re ready. I use them in places where you would use lemon zest for baking or cooking. You can also boil them for 10 minutes to take the salt out and use them on salad.

“I’ve been candying lemon peels as well. I boil them three times in a sugar syrup and use them in baking cannoli and pound cake.”