How to Freeze Whole Lemons for Convenience and Ease

Did you know that you can freeze whole lemons and limes and always have one handy for fresh lemon juice or lemon zest!

I buy organic lemons or limes by the bag at Trader Joe's.  They usually are good for about a week. Sometimes I just don't get to use them fast enough, so they start to spoil. While browsing Pinterest, I found a post that says you can freeze lemons or limes for convenience and ease!
Who knew?

I love the idea!  Not only does it prevent waste, but you will always have lemon in the freezer if you need some. Frozen lemons/limes defrost quickly and are great to have in a pinch. You can even buy extra organic lemons when they are on sale and keep them frozen until you need them. 

How to Freeze Lemons and Limes: 

Wash the lemon or lime well and pat dry. Depending on how you want to use the lemons or limes in the future, either freeze the whole lemon/lime just the way it is,  or cut the lemon into quarters. Do not remove the peel. Place in a baggy and label the baggy with the date for future reference.

How to Use Frozen Lemons:

• Lemon zest? Simply remove the frozen lemon from the freezer without defrosting. You can zest the lemon more easily while frozen. The zest itself will defrost in seconds. 
• Lemon juice? - You can use quartered or halved lemons. Simply defrost for 10 minutes and squeeze. 
• Make ice cubes and put a piece of  cut up lemon in each cube. Use in drinks as needed.
• Make my Middle Eastern Lemonade Recipe

Stop! Don't Throw Away the Peel! 

Ever since I became aware of the intense nutritional benefits of lemon and lime peel, I've been obsessed with creating recipes that include them. Apparently, we lose a lot of the nutrients from lemons by not using the peel!

Some sources say that the peel provides 5-10 times more vitamins than the lemon juice itself and a much higher Vitamin C level.According to the a post on Healthious- I'll let you read that yourself if you are interested- lemon peel has healing properties. Another post on Healthy Holistic Living goes into even more detail about cancer treatment and lemon peel.

Actually, I recently went to a vegan pot luck hosted by a holistic researcher and  biochemist , and he suggested throwing half of an organic lemon ( with peel and pits) into your smoothies each morning ( you need to use a Vitamix or a very strong blender to completely pulverize the peel)

The same biochemist confirmed that the lemon peel has a wealth of health benefits to offer, and we lose out by not using it. Of course, he suggested using only organic lemons and pulverize well.

Two Recipes which use the entire lemon with the peel:
bold lemon salad dressing and watermelon limeade

If you would like a recipe using the peel, I use whole lemons with the peel in my Bold lemon salad dressing. 

And I use a lime with the peel in my 3 ingredient refreshing watermelon limeade

Do you freeze your lemons? How do you use lemon peel ?

Regardless of how you intend to use your lemons, freezing extra lemons makes sense from an economical and practical viewpoint.

I'll be linking this post to these  blog carnivals