Did you know that stored properly, lemons can be used for up to one year’s time? Lemons are sold year round in supermarkets and being a commonly found ingredient, no one ever needs to store them this long, but it’s still good to know there are storing techniques this efficient.
You do need, however, to store lemons if you don’t use them immediately because left on the counter, they’ll dry out to the point where you’re not going to be able to use them.
Here are some clever techniques on how to store lemons and lemon juice to last you as long as possible, especially when you buy in bulk or on sale.
Option 1 – put the lemons in a bowl of water and refrigerate.
It doesn’t take long for lemons, when stored at room temperature to start to lose their moisture, so what you can do to prevent that from happening is to immerse in a bowl with water or a glass jar and store in the refrigerator.
Naturally when the rinds of the lemon harden, they start producing less juice. Just as naturally, water will prevent evaporation of the juice by sealing the moisture.
Wash the lemons to rid them off any bacteria that reside on the rind before using this technique. Lemons may contain bacteria that will deteriorate the fruit if not removed, but more importantly, you don’t want your lemons immersed in water with germs on it as this could cause health issues after consumption.
Option 2 – store whole lemons or lemon wedges in a ziplock bag.
You can use the ziplock bag method to store whole lemons or lemon wedges, usually this method being more commonly used for storing cut lemon when you need some lemon in your salad and you don’t want to waste any cuts. This is how you do it.
Put the lemons in a ziplock bag and seal it well before placing in the refrigerator, or alternatively wrap each lemon wedge in food wrap as this will help retain all the juice, then seal them in a ziplock bag where they’ll keep well up to four weeks.
Option 3 – freeze lemon slices or lemon wedges in an ice cube tray.
If you need to store lemons for the longest time, use the freezing method. Cut your lemons into slices or wedges, put them in an ice cube tray and fill each section with water.
Place the tray in the freezer and your lemons are good to store for up to 3 months. The freezing method works just as well for freezing juice. If you have zested lemons, you can extract the juice and freeze it to maintain acidity and taste.
You can also use an airtight container to store lemon slices instead of the ice cube tray. Plus the same methods can be used for limes, lime juices and other citrus fruits.