Fresh lemon juice and lemon zest can be pretty pricey most of the year, but I eliminate this consideration by freezing the juice and zest when lemons are on sale. Roll the lemons briefly on a hard surface to release all the juice, and then use a zester tool to harvest the zest. Next, cut the lemons in half and juice into a strainer to remove the pulp and seeds. Pour the juice into a plastic ice cube tray, freeze hard and then release the individual cubes into a plastic freezer bag for long-term storage. (Hint: if you will take the time to use a measuring spoon and water to know exactly how much your ice cube tray holds in one of the partitions, you won't have to guess if you have enough for a recipe.) Freeze the zest in a recycled yogurt container. Then, throughout the year when you need fresh lemon juice or lemon zest in a recipe, you already have it.
I have frozen lemon juice in ice cube trays for years. I make lemonade and lemon pies with it year round. I also use a lemon cube in my italian sauces, soups, and many other dishes to freshen the flavor. When I make freezer jam with sure jell, I melt lemon cubes and substitue half of the water to boil the surejell in with lemon juice to help cut the sugar taste. I also use the lemon zest all year and I freeze orange zest as well, so that I can make fresh tasting orange rolls all year round. Another trick I leaned from a neighbor was to freeze lemons cut up for adding to water when I have a party or to put into a punch bowl. There are so many uses. If I still have oranges left at the end of the season that are falling on the ground, I freeze the juice and use them in smoothies all year.
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