Remember my heftyharvest of lemonsfrom the other week ? Of those 60 - plus lemons , I put up over one-half of them in less than an time of day and none of it involved a jar ( well , just one jolt , but not in the way you think ) .

The trick to preserving all those lemons in a flash ? Freeze them !

Lemons are essential in the kitchen , but seldom do I ever practice a whole lemon at once .

Overhead shot of lemon half-slices arranged in rows on a baking tray

How many times have you wanted just a slice of lemon in your water , or notice a recipe that phone for just a tablespoonful of lemon yellow succus ? After a slice or a squeeze , I ’m usually dismayed to observe a forgotten , puckered - up stinker hero in my electric refrigerator a calendar week after .

But no more ! No more shriveled - up half lemons in the crisper bin . No more lead to the store for just one lemon . No more lemon - shaped plastic bottleful of contrived lemon yellow juice .

you may block your overbold lemons to use all year long with these three unproblematic methods .

Frozen half slices of lemons arranged on a cream-colored baking tray

Freezing method #1: Lemon slices

To immobilise gamboge slices that you’re able to drop down into drinks , lay them out on a cookie sheet and set them in the Deepfreeze for a few hours .

Once they ’re immobilise solid , hoard them into a zip - top storage bag , where they ’ll stay frozen separately ( and not clumped together into a yellow iceberg if you were to freeze out all the slices together in the bag ) .

I care to supply a slicing or two for a trivial zip to water or iced tea , or to cool down a too - spicy tea .

Frozen half slices of lemons in a plastic zip-top bag next to a cream-colored baking sheet

Freezing method #2: Lemon zest

To freeze lemon zest , I habituate a Microplane to quickly and finely grate the peel . The zest is stored in a meth jar in the freezer and one fiddling pint jar hold out quite a long time .

Whenever a recipe call for that random teaspoonful of zest , it ’s loose to scoop out as needed .

Freezing method #3: Lemon juice

Now that you ’ve stick a “ naked ” lemon , here ’s how you may block that , too .

abbreviate your zested lemon in half or in quarters , squeeze out the succus , and pour the juice into an glass cube tray to freeze .

The frozen cubes can stick in the tray , keeping it commodious for you to pop out a cube as needed , or they can go into another cipher - top udder for storage . ( I commonly keep a few bags of lemon yellow slicing and Citrus limon juice cubes in the freezer at all times . )

Wooden cutting board with a mound of lemon zest in the center, with peeled lemons in the background and a green Microplane zester in the foreground

Each lemon juice cube ( about one to two tablespoons ’ worth for a standard ice cube tray ) is the utter serve size to light up up stunner or drinks . I like to melt a lemon third power or two into soup that could use a touch of acidity , or thaw a cube to apply in sauce and fertilization .

Bonus uses in the kitchen

Before you discard those leftover lemon rind in the compost bin , here ’s an comfortable way to make them go the extra mi .

Use the rinds to clean your kitchen !

you could splash some coarse table salt on the cut surface ( fleshy side ) of a lemon yellow one-half to scrub a sink , bumbler stoppage , or wooden cutting board before rinse clean with piss .

Closeup of fresh lemon zest in a glass jar shot on a wooden surface

Use another lemon rind to polish a untarnished steel ( or chrome ) spigot or dish drying single-foot , or to remove filth from stainless steel green goddess , Pan , and cookery utensils .

Another rind or two ( or the oddment of your cleaning tasks ) can then be ground in the scraps disposal to freshen the waste pipe .

At the end of all this , you ’re left with lots of lemons , a spruce up - up space and a endearing smell kitchen !

Closeup of a hand squeezing a lemon with a citrus squeezer, and into a glass measuring cup filled with lemon juice

3 Ways to Freeze Fresh Lemons

you may freeze a firm supply of fresh lemon slices , gamboge succus and Citrus limon gusto to use all yr long !

Ingredients

Instructions

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Did you make this recipe?

This mail update from an article that to begin with appeared on February 28 , 2012 .

watch the Web Story onhow to freeze refreshful lemons .

Overhead shot of a white ice cube tray filled with lemon juice

Overhead shot of lemon half-slices arranged in rows on a baking tray

Ziploc Gallon Food Storage Freezer Bags, Grip ‘n Seal Technology for Easier Grip, Open, and Close, 60 Count, Pack of 2 (120 Total Bags)

Sunivaca Zester, Lemon zester tool, Citrus Zester Grater with Handle, parmesan cheese grater, Sharp Fine Premium Stainless Steel Blade Heavy Duty, Dishwasher Safe

ZWILLING Pro 7-inch Rocking Santoku Knife, 7’', Black/Stainless Steel