Whole Lemons in Water at Room Temp

I put a bag of whole washed lemons in a mason jar filled with RO water and left it room temp to try to get some more life out of the lemons. When I remembered and opened it 2 weeks later the water was all bubbly. I put the lid back on and left it because I wanted to do some research to see if they were still good. I forgot and it now 2 months-ish later and the water is still bubbly. It’s smells great too. I did finally take a lemon out and cut it. It also smells wonderful and is just softer than it normally would be. Are these lemons still good? Did they ferment themselves? I’m very curious and know almost nothing about this kind of thing.

Kristi
  • Posted by: Kristi
  • March 18, 2022
  • 6548 views
  • 5 Comments

5 Comments

Nancy April 14, 2022
Food safety news/warning. Brad Leone has been strongly criticized (April 2022) for unsafe advice a recent video on how to make pastrami. He used celery stalks and sauerkraut juice for preserving, but their chemical contents are uneven and may not produce safe fermentation. Also a seafood video he made was removed approximately one year ago for similar reasons. See this article for more information.
https://nypost.com/2022/04/13/chef-posts-experimental-pastrami-recipe-and-the-internet-explodes/
 
Nancy March 19, 2022
Funny, I've been doing something similar unintentionally.
I keep a jar of drinking water on the table, loaded with a cut up lemon and some orange peel trimmings. After about a week with the sane citrus, it gets a natural slight natural and pleasant fermentation.
If you want more info on fermentation, check out Sandor Katz abd Brad Leone (books, videos).
The tip for storing-citrus-longer-in-water (up to about 3 months) works at fridge temperatures. See article here by Valerio Ferris, 2020.
 
Nancy March 19, 2022
Sorry for some spelling errors.
BTW, Katz and Leone are separate authors/presenters. Though they've done at least one video together.
 
Nancy March 20, 2022
More information at:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandor_Katz
https://spoonuniversity.com/lifestyle/how-brad-leone-is-making-a-difference-in-the-food-world
 
702551 March 19, 2022
Yes, it appears they fermented themselves, just like someone serendipitously discovered 10,000 years ago.

Submerged under water, this was inaerobic, most likely a lactic acid fermentation. The citric acid in the lemons probably prevented other unwanted microorganisms from developing by creating an unsuitable acidic environment.

As for whether or not they are good, no one here can say authoritatively. Generally speaking good-smelling fermentations are edible. White is generally good, green or black is generally bad.

Over millennia humans have discovered that they can increase the chances of a good lactic acid fermentation by creating an environment that favors LAB (lactic acid bacteria).

Salt does a particularly good job and 2% salt by weight is a commonly accepted threshold that discourages the growth of most undesirable microorganisms. This is something humans have done for thousands of years (sauerkraut, kimchi, etc.) to provide more reliable, repeatable results rather than hope for sheer luck.

It is your call whether to taste or toss. Since I have been making my own sauerkraut for years, I'd probably taste a small amount if the scent is clean.

Best of luck.
 
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