How to Freeze and Save Lemons
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Not too long ago my cousin gave me some amazing lemons. That same week a neighbor of mine gave me a ton more lemons. I ended up with three grocery bags filled with lemons. Take a look at the Instagram picture I shared…
Now, there’s no way I could go through that many lemons at one time. So I decided to save the juice and zest of them to use later. This got me thinking that maybe I should share this great idea in case you haven’t done it for yourself. It’s super easy! Thus, “How to Freeze and Save Lemons”.
Pretty much everything from a lemon can be frozen. Heck, you could probably freeze the whole lemon, but I’m thinking that would be more work in the long run. Though, it would make it easier to zest them.
Now, if you want to save the zest, simply zest up a bunch of the lemons. Place the zest in a small container and freeze. Once you’re ready to use it, just take it out of the container. Depending on how tightly you pack the zest into the container, you probably won’t even have to defrost the zest because it’s so small.
Here’s the lemon zest from my freezer in a little tiny container. It’ll stay fresh for a long time in there!
Next, to get the juice, cut open your lemons, and juice them. If you have an electric juicer, that would rock. I just have a hand held one, but it works pretty quickly. If you want to buy one, here’s an Amazon link for you. You can see the juicer in this little photo here…
I juice them into a large pitcher, and then pour the juice into ice cube trays. Since I had so many lemons I decided to use my star silicone tray as well. Any fun shapes will work. I think it makes it really fun to throw a star lemon ice cube into your water in the morning. It makes me feel special!
Freeze the ice cube tray, then, pop the cubes out into a large plastic ziptop bag. Now, you have lemon juice at the ready.
The lemon ice cubes can be tossed into your water for a tasty healthy treat. Or, you can defrost the cubes in the microwave to make a larger amount of lemon juice for a recipe. And there you have it, How to Freeze and Save Lemons!
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Noel Lizotte says
When life gives you lemons…! It’s funny how produce will take over during harvest time! It’s so hard for me to say “no thank you” when someone offers me goodies by the bagful! I end up like you, wondering what to do with all the produce. This is a great solution and minimizes the waste!
Garlic + Zest says
That’s a great idea when you have just too many of something. I do the same thing with pesto — make it in big batches and then freeze them into ice cubes to swirl into a soup or top with pesto. I’ve never had this many lemons before — but I know what to do if that should happen. Thanks!
Emma @ Supper in the Suburbs says
Blooming heck that was a lot of lemons. Il admit ive never thought of freezing them before and have let a few go mouldy in my fruit bowl over the years. Now i know i wont be doing that again 🙂
Beth @ Binky's Culinary Carnival says
This is a great idea! I have never frozen lemons! I preserved some a few years ago but that was a lot more work!
Platter Talk says
This is a very smart idea to do for not only leftover lemons but other citrus as well. Thanks!
Bridget says
Thank you for your help I’ve been going steAdy with my boy friend for 9 yrs now and has cooked only 1 meal. He has made bets,promises,I’ve went on strike and even had arguments . He would bring home lots of food items enthusiastically, getting me excited, telling me of this wonderful delicious dish he can make with it.9 yrs. now,9 yrs . This past week he brought home a grocery bag of “Hawaiian” lemons. OMG!!li hate wasting food especially produce! Guess what! He’s go a make lemonade or juice or whatever! I’m not picky make something,lol lol.hes Gina wait till they rot and then say awwww too bad.HAH ! Gotcha ,he’s making me lemon whatever, lol thanx
Ryan F. says
I never thought about freezing lemons! What a great idea.