By Chef Jeremy McLachlan

There's nothing better to get those Christmas songs out of your head than a citrus cleanse. I hear the songs singing and ring ting tingling until I have a lemon drop! This month I am devoted to showing you how wonderful citrus can be. Tis the season for the best citrus and here's how you can preserve it and enjoy it in the spring. My favorite preserved citrus recipes are below. I love preserving lemons and oranges in sea salt or olive oil. This makes for a great vibrant treat in the middle of your spring cooking. It's also good for you, as nutrition blogger Kathy Kingen explains in Orange You Glad Its January?

Salt-Preserved Kumquats (or any Citrus) Recipe

Use any citrus in this recipe but I love the way kumquats taste and change with preserving. Salt-preserved kumquats are great added to just about any dish. They are wonderful chopped up and put into butter for smearing across bread, chicken or fish!

Ingredients

1 pound kumquats
1/2 cup kosher salt
2 each 1-quart Mason jars, cleaned and sanitized
2 sprigs rosemary
6 lemons

Directions
Clean kumquats under cold water, then dry. Cut kumquats in half lengthwise and remove seeds. In a bowl, toss kumquats in salt. Place 1 sprig of rosemary in each Mason jar and then fill with the salted kumquats. Top each with juice from 3 lemons. Seal jars and place in a dark cool place for 48 hours. Refrigerate and use after 30 days.

Olive Oil-Preserved Lemon Recipe

This recipe is all about the olive oil not the lemon. This oil is perfect for finishing dishes or dressing salads. If you cannot find Meyer lemons then peel the lemons before placing in the oil (this removes the pith that will make the oil bitter).

Ingredients

1 bottle olive oil
2 Meyer lemons, sliced
6 peppercorns
pinch sea salt
2 juniper berries (optional)

Directions
Warm olive oil slightly to above room temperature (85 degrees). This assures you are getting all the oil out of the bottle. Pour the olive oil into a sealable jar (save bottle for finished product). Add lemons, peppercorns, salt and juniper berries to sealable jar. Shake the jar like a maraca then place in a cool dark place. Continue to shake the jar every 12 hours; after 48 hours, heat the oil to 85 degrees to loosen up the oil from the ingredients. Strain through a fine mesh strainer or cheesecloth. Place back into the jar you removed the oil from originally and store in a cool dark place.

(Author of Kitchen Talk, Jeremy McLachlan is also Corporate Chef for Salty's Seafood Grill restaurant group. He says: My love is to create great dishes with fresh seafood, as we are a seafood restaurant, but not forget the meat lovers. My goal is to match exceptional food with our incredible views. Living in the Pacific Northwest, we are fortunate to have an abundance of regional treasures. The use of these fresh ingredients is key to Salty's Northwest cuisine. If you have any questions about cooking, feel free to email me at chef@saltys.com.)