How To Freeze Fresh Lemon Juice || Store Fruit Juice

As delightful as it is to have fresh lemons in the kitchen, they are one of the things that always seem to end up withering away on the countertop or in the fridge. A bit of one gets used and the rest is destined to go to waste.

If you’re like many people, you solve this issue by buying one of those lemon shaped plastic bottles of ‘fresh’ lemon juice and keeping it in the fridge. Maybe you even convince yourself that, because it says 100% real lemon juice on the label, it’s a great alternative to wasting fresh lemons by the dozen.

But there is no great alternative to fresh produce. Fresh is best every time. Hands down. And a fresh lemon should be an eagerly welcomed guest in any kitchen.

Today, I’m going to share some great ways to freeze lemons with you. These methods will ensure that you get the most out of each and every lemon purchase you make. Before you know it, you’ll be buying a bag of lemons over a single fruit every time you need so much as a single slice.

Tools And Supplies Needed To Freeze Lemons

The tools and supplies you’ll need to freeze lemons will depend on which method you’re using to freeze them, of course. The following is a basic rundown of all of the tools needed for the methods in this post. You can use it as a reference. But, please note, not all tools are needed for each method.

• APPLE CIDER VINEGAR – You’ll need this to clean the lemons if they are not organic.
• BOWL – A medium sized bowl works well to wash the lemons in an apple cider vinegar bath before processing them.
• VEGGIE BRUSH – Use a veggie brush to clean the waxy and/or pesticide residue from the lemons.
• MICROPLANE – This tool is used to remove the zest from the lemon skins for freezing.
• SHARP KNIFE – Needed to cut the lemons.
• CUTTING BOARD – Also needed to cut the lemons.
• BAKING TRAY – A baking tray will be used to freeze slices of lemons before putting them in a freezer bag so they don’t stick together.
• PARCHMENT PAPER – Used to line the baking sheet, when freezing lemon slices, so they don’t stick to the sheet.
• CITRUS JUICER – There are several different varieties of juicers available. Choose one that works well for you.
• ICE CUBE TRAYS – Lemon juice can be frozen in ice cube trays to make it easier to thaw the right amount when you need just a little bit of lemon juice.
• FREEZER BAGS – Used to store fresh juice cubes in the freezer. As well as larger portions of juice for other purposes.
• MASON JAR WITH PLASTIC LID – Great option to freeze lemon zest and larger portions of lemon juice.

Preparing Lemons For Freezing

It’s a good idea to wash the rinds of the lemons you’re freezing, to remove any waxy residue from them before you process them.

This is particularly important when working with lemons that aren’t organic. As these likely have pesticide residue lingering on the lemon skin.

The easiest way to do this is with a simple apple cider vinegar bath. You can make this veggie bath by mixing 1 part apple cider vinegar to 2 parts water in a medium size bowl.

Submerse each lemon in the solution and scrub it well with a vegetable brush. Then rinse the whole thing under a stream of running warm water.

If you are processing organic lemons, you can skip the apple cider vinegar bath and simply rinse them in warm water before you process them.

How To Freeze Lemon Zest

I’m the first one to admit that zesting a big pile of whole lemons can feel a bit daunting. I’m also the first one to admit that, having a jar of fresh lemon zest in the freezer is one of life’s nicest simple pleasures.

We’ll talk more about the ways you can use this culinary treat in the kitchen later. For now, let’s cover the zesting.

A microplane is the best way to remove the zest from the lemon peel. If you try to use a cheese grater you will almost certainly scrape away some of the bitter white pith, that lies just under the zest, along with it. 

The pith is very unpleasant tasting and it doesn’t take much to ruin a whole batch of zest. So, go with the microplaner and take care not to scrape any deeper than the zest.

Simply, scrape the skin of the whole citrus fruit over the microplaner until all of it’s bright yellow surface is removed. Scrape the zest from the microplaner into a mason jar, keeping it loosely packed, and top it with a plastic lid.

It can be stored directly in the freezer in the jar. When you need to use a bit of zest for a recipe scrape it right out of the jar. So simple.

Don’t allow the jar to thaw. Be sure to remove only the zest you need and put the jar directly back in the refrigerator. Otherwise, the zest will freeze together in a lump and you won’t be able to easily remove small portions for use in the future.

If you choose not to zest the lemons, don’t let the leftover lemon rind go to waste. It is packed full of lemon oil that contains some great properties for cleaning, in addition to it’s amazing flavor profile.

They will do a great job at cleaning up the kitchen when you’re done working. Sprinkle some household salt on them and use them to scrub down the sink and the cutting board you used to process the lemons.

Then, run them through the garbage disposal. The whole kitchen will smell like fresh squeezed lemons. And who doesn’t want that?!?! 

How To Freeze Lemon Slices

Lemon slices are great to have on hand in the freezer. I don’t really recommend slicing and freezing zested lemons. Without the oil in the zest to balance out the flavors, the bitter flavor of the pith will likely overpower the pleasant lemon flavor of the juice when you use them later on.

Instead, when freezing lemon slices, keep the fruit whole. Slice the tips of the lemon off, then cut the whole lemon into slices.

Lay the slices out on a parchment lined baking tray. Leave the tray in the freezer overnight.

Remove the slices from the tray and place them in a freezer safe ziploc bag. And they are ready to store long term in the freezer.

Note that, lemon slices will not have the same structural integrity when thawed as they do when fresh. They will be a bit mushy. But there are a variety of ways that a frozen slice of lemon can be used in the kitchen.

You can read more about that further down in the post. Also note that, you only want to remove the slices that you need from the freezer bag. Don’t allow the bag to start to thaw at any point.

If you do, you will find that you have a bag full of mushy lemon slices that are really not good for much of anything.

How To Freeze Lemon Juice

In order to freeze fresh lemon juice, you must first juice the lemons. You can choose whether or not you zest them first. It doesn’t effect the juicing process all that much. 

A zested lemon isn’t as easy to handle when juicing. But having the zest is well worth the extra effort it takes to juice the lemon later on. 

So, when I’m juicing just a lemon or two I don’t bother zesting them. It doesn’t result in much zest anyway. But, when I’m juicing a lot of lemons, I go ahead and zest them all. You do you. 

The process for juicing will depend on the tool you are using for the job. I use my hand held juicer. I like the way it works. And, because I live in a small space, I don’t want to keep a bulky kitchen appliance around for the job.

No matter what tool you use, be sure to roll the lemon back and forth over the countertop, under the palm of your hand, applying a little pressure as you go before you juice it. This is a great way to prepare the lemon to release it’s juices.

It will make the juicing process go faster and may result in a more abundant juice supply as well. Freeze the lemon juice in an ice cube tray to get easy to use small portions.

Once it is fully frozen, you can pop the lemon juice cubes out of the tray and store them in a resealable plastic bag. You’ll be able to easily pull one from the bag whenever you need it in the kitchen.

Alternatively, you can freeze portions that you commonly use in other containers. I often freeze portions large enough to make a gallon of lemonade in mason jars.

If you make a lot of lemonade in the summer, it’s a great way to go.

You can add lemon slices to the jars of juice when you freeze them. That way the lemonade will have slices floating in it when it’s served. This is perfect for parties.

When you freeze lemon juice in mason jars, be sure to leave a little head space in the jar. The liquid will expand as it freezes and you want to be sure there is enough room for it to do so. 

Leave the lid off until the juice is completely frozen. Once you know it still fits in the jar after it’s expanded you can put the lid on and store it more long term

How To Use Frozen Lemon Zest, Slices, And Juice

At this point, I’m sure you’ve caught on to the fact that freezing lemons is pretty easy to do. Even with all the different ways to get the job done, there’s nothing hard about it at all.

I love that lemons never contribute to food waste in my kitchen anymore. I’ve worked hard at reducing waste of any kind in my home and food is no exception to that rule.

I also love that I can freeze a bunch of meyer lemons when I come across them in the grocery store.

There was a meyer lemon tree in many backyards when I lived in California. They are my favorite lemons, and I got used to having them readily available.

Here on the east coast they pop up in stores every now and then. But you can’t count on being able to get them all the time.

Knowing how to freeze their lemony goodness makes it so I can stock up when I see them in the store. And a bunch of fresh citrus juice from meyer lemons in my freezer is a good thing!

The zest is perfect for making impromptu tea blends in my French press; a simple ginger and lemon tea is great on a cold winter day.

And I love having it on hand for recipes that call for zest. it’s so easy to scoop out a small portion when I need it.

A single lemon slice is perfect for cooling down a cup of tea that’s too steamy hot to drink. They work well in any beverage that calls for a little lemon slice.

And they are great to have on hand when cooking poultry or seafood. You may even find yourself topping your favorite lemon cake or sweet bread with them. 

​This needs to be done before it is baked of course. That way they will nicely bake down into the batter. Releasing their lemony goodness as they go.

Lemon ice cubes are probably the most used form of frozen lemons in the kitchen. Lemon juice is more often called for in recipes than zest. And having a freezer stocked with frozen juice is very handy.

It’s really great to have a lemon cube or two to use in sauces and dressings. It makes using fresh lemon juice in your sautés really easy. And it’s wonderful to drop a few cubes in any beverage that calls for it.

Having a morning lemon water becomes a no-brainer. And it’s so good for your health. It’s also a bit of a no-brainer to make a batch of fresh lemonade. Especially on a hot summer day.

There’s a great recipe for blueberry lemonade on the blog that you can make if you want to add a little bit more somethin’ somethin’ to the pitcher. This is really fantastic during blueberry picking season. 

But, honestly, great any time of year. You can do it with other berries as well. 

I also have a lemon syrup recipe on the blog that’s outstanding. It’s perfect for pancakes. And so much more. You can check out the post for it to see all of the things you can use it for. It’s easy to make too!

Freezing lemons is the most versatile way I know to preserve them. But salt preserved lemons is another good way to preserve this fruits citrusy goodness.

I suggest you give that a try the next time you have lots of lemons, and you don’t really need to have any more back up supply of zest, slices, or juice in the freezer.

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