It has been the week of lemons for us. Thanks to my in-laws' prolific tree, we brought back a bounty of Meyer lemons from our California trip a couple of weeks ago. This led to a batch of Lemon Sugar Puff Pastry Twists, which disappeared faster than Donald Trump's presidential bid. From there we moved onto Grilled Lemon & Rosemary Chicken, which has earned a place in our summer grilling line-up.
My mum, who was here for a visit, set to work juicing the rest of the lemons, producing six cups of fresh citrus juice. She rummaged around for extra ice cube trays in our pantry and, using a small ladle, filled them with the juice. We now have lemon juice to last for the summer, which will help me avoid those extra trips to the store when I discover the lemons I bought two weeks ago are now shriveled specimens.
Now, I know some of you are thinking, "Why doesn't she just use the bottled lemon juice or the lime juice in those cute little plastic, squeezable limes?" This is where my "fresh is best" snobby side comes out. The side of me that can't palate bottled lemon or lime juice (or bottled garlic, for that matter) is the same side that flips out at house guests when they try to use my "day off" mug for their coffee. Seriously, my husband and I have special mugs dedicated to our weekend coffee and tea breaks, to be used only on the weekend...only by us. Now you really want to come and stay with us, don't you? Well, I may not let you use my mug, but I do promise to make you some great dishes fresh citrus juice.
How to do it:
To make the fruit easier to juice, roll firmly on the counter with the palm of your hand to loosen up the flesh. Cut the fruit in half crosswise and juice it using a handheld juicer, food processor attachment or whatever tool you happen to favor.
Using a small ladle or a small pitcher with a spout, pour the citrus juice into ice cube trays. Each standard-sized ice cube will contain about 2 tablespoons of liquid. However, I suggest measuring the capacity of your ice cube tray to be sure.
Freeze until solid. Juice will freeze to a stage that is slightly softer than regular ice cubes. Remove cubes from the tray and place in a freezer resealable bag.
When you are ready to use the juice, remove the number of ice cubes from the freezer that you desire and defrost them.
Recipes that use fresh lemon or lime juice:
Fish Tacos with Creamy Green Chile & Cilantro Sauce
Lime Squares with Gingersnap Crust
Avocado, Tomato & Cotija Cheese Salad
How to: Store (Freeze) Lemon and Lime Juice
Ingredients
- Whole lemons
Instructions
- To make the fruit easier to juice, roll firmly on the counter with the palm of your hand to loosen up the flesh.
- Cut the fruit in half crosswise and juice it using a handheld juicer, food processor attachment or whatever tool you happen to favor.
- Using a small ladle or a small pitcher with a spout, pour the citrus juice into ice cube trays. Each standard-sized ice cube will contain about 2 tablespoons of liquid. However, I suggest measuring the capacity of your ice cube tray to be sure.
- Freeze until solid. Juice will freeze to a stage that is slightly softer than regular ice cubes. Remove cubes from the tray and place in a freezer resealable bag.
- When you are ready to use the juice, remove the number of ice cubes from the freezer that you desire and defrost them.
Stacey West-Feather
I will only use fresh and heck, I live in Oklahoma. Love your blog!
Kimby
Me, too, Stacey! (re: Oklahoma and "fresh is best!") Hope the storms passed you by last night.
blackbookkitchendiaries
this is a wonderful tip! thank you:)
doodles
There is nothing better than a meyer lemon. Sister has one in her yard in So Cal. Me I'm in an RV and would love a meyer lemon tree. But sister saw your post and is going to freeze some juice for me.
Love your lemom rosemary chicken..........thanks!
Dara (Cookin' Canuck)
Lucky you! It will be great to have that juice on hand.
nancy@skinnykitchen.com
What a terrific tip! Thanks for sharing...
The Newlywed Chefs
Yum! We're planning on lemon bars later this week. Thanks for the post!
claudia lamascolo/aka pegasuslegend
I love this ! Great info and very helpful as usual thank you!
Kay Little
This is what I am about to do...I just bought my lemons and ready to freeze the juice, but I have a question about the zest. Is it possible to freeze the zest in the juice. or maybe separate? Thanks for the inspiration!
Dara (Cookin' Canuck)
Kay, do you mean the zest or the pulp? If you mean the pulp, it's a personal preference. I don't mind the pulp, so I leave it in there, but others may prefer to strain the juice first. I hope that answers your question.
Kay Little
I was asking about the zest on the outside of the lemon....thanks for the info about the pulp that helps me too.
Monica
Kay, I've frozen the zest before, and then used it in baking. It dried out quite a bit, but still worked for my recipe. Maybe freezing it in juice would help with that, though?
Katrina
Thanks for the info!
Brandie
This is an excellent tip! Such a great idea. Loved the Donald Trump comment..hahaha.
Averie (LoveVeggiesandYoga)
I live in San Diego and run past tons and tons of lemon trees daily and my daughter's homebased preschool teacher has a HUGE lemon tree and meyer lemon tree and I have more lemons than I know what to do with in the spring thru fall...I am totally going to freeze the juice now! thanks for the idea.
I actually recently posted about lemon trees, lemons, and lemon recipes. Wish i had known about this tip!