Hi all, quick question. I made some preserved lemons about three weeks ago. The recipe said to simply put the lemons in a preserving jar, cover them with lemon juice and add about a quarter cup of salt, then leave them in a warm place for 21 days. I used a preserving jar that had been "sterilized" in the dishwasher but later learned that dishwashers don't do a very good job sterilizing, but was told that since this was a high-acid, salty recipe there were no safety issues.

So today I opened up the jar to use some of the lemons and discovered that the juice is no longer completely covering them. The lemons on the top are sticking out of the juice, I suppose because the juice has been absorbed by some of the lemons. Anyway now I'm not sure if these are safe to eat because they've been exposed to air. I actually took the top ones out and tossed them, then added more juice but am not sure if that's good enough. Anyone know?

Thanks in advance!

Becki