Quarter 4 of the lemons, but don't cut all the way through; leave the slices attached at one end.

Sprinkle a pinch of salt in the bottom of a glass jar with a lid or an earthenware crock.

Liberally sprinkle a few pinches of salt on each cut lemon, and pack tightly into the container, crushing them to release the juice. Squeeze the remaining 4 lemons and add the juice to the container so that the lemons are almost covered with juice.

It is difficult to predict how many lemons you will need for this process because of varying amounts of juice in lemons.

The lemons you are preserving don't need to be totally covered with juice.

Cover the jar or crock and refrigerate for about 4 days, then stir the lemons, re-cover, add cloves and peppercorns and return to the refrigerator.

Leave undisturbed for at least one month. Rinse the lemons in cold water, discard the flesh and pith, and slice the rind before adding to a recipe.