Storing whole lemons at home
If you keep lemons indoors, they will remain fresh for no more than 1-2 weeks. In most cases, they will begin to dry out, and if you place them in plastic bags, they will simply rot.
However, if you create optimal conditions for the fruit, the shelf life can be extended by several weeks or even months.
Fresh lemons do not lose their appearance and taste for a long time at a temperature of 6-8 ˚C. If it drops below, they freeze and become soft. They do not like fruits and exposure to direct sunlight; they are stored only in the dark. At home, a household refrigerator is ideal for storing citrus fruits, but you can do without it.
How to Store Whole Lemons in the Refrigerator
It is convenient to store a small amount of lemons in special containers or bags. They can stay fresh for 4-5 weeks. For this:
- Select fresh, healthy fruits with bright, glossy skin. They should be tight and free of damage and mold.
- Before storing fruits, wash them and allow them to dry in water.
- Place in storage containers, close and place in the refrigerator.
- You can also wrap each fruit in paper. It will help conserve moisture and prevent all the fruits from spoiling if some of them start to disappear.
If it is necessary to preserve lemons even longer, they are greased with vegetable oil. The film of fat prevents moisture from evaporating and prevents spoilage of the product. These lemons can be stored in zip bags or containers for up to 2 months.
Whole fruits can be stored in a jar of water for 2 to 3 weeks. Lemons are simply placed in a clean container and filled with cold liquid. Cover with a lid and place in the refrigerator. To prevent the product from spoiling, change the water every day or every other day. Lemons are also washed.
Other ways to preserve fresh lemons for the winter
Where and how can you store lemons for the winter if there is no space in the refrigerator. Lemons intended for preservation can be treated with wax. This will keep them fresh for a long time. To prepare, you will need to melt natural beeswax and brush each fruit completely with a brush.
After the crust has dried, place the lemons in open plastic containers and store them in a cool, dark place.
Waxed paper is also used for storing fruits. Each lemon is wrapped in it separately. Place the blanks in a small convenient container. Store in a cool place with good ventilation.
No less successful is the method of long-term storage of lemons in boxes with sand or sawdust. For this:
- The fruits are washed and then allowed to dry thoroughly.
- Prepare clean, dry sand or sawdust.
- 3-5 cm of filler is poured into the bottom of the boxes, then lemons are laid out in one layer. The fruits should not touch each other.
- You can also wrap each fruit in paper.
- Next, the workpiece is completely covered with sand or sawdust to a height of up to 5 cm.
- If there are a lot of lemons, they are stacked in several rows.
- Store boxes of lemons on the balcony or in the basement.
Using these methods allows you to keep lemons fresh for 3-6 months. The timing can vary greatly depending on the accuracy of temperature and humidity levels.
Where is the best place to preserve fruit?
It’s annoying to find a lemon covered with strange spots, soft and bitter inside. If stored improperly, citrus fruits quickly wither and are affected by green and gray mold fungi.
To prevent the fruit from disappearing prematurely, the storage location should be cool, moist and dark. The shelf life of fresh domestic lemons is 5-9 months, imported ones - 2-3 months.
Temperature
Citrus fruits do not last long in a warm room. They become glassy and taste bitter. The alcohol content of the pulp increases.
At temperatures below -2 degrees the fruits become cold. At +1+4 degrees they are affected by mold, brown spot and other diseases. In addition, low temperature stops the ripening process.
The optimal storage temperature for lemons is +6+8 degrees.
Illumination
Lemons are not recommended to be stored in light, especially in direct sunlight. Under the influence of ultraviolet radiation, they lose vitamin C and overheat.
The storage place should be dark.
Humidity
Dry air is detrimental to citrus fruits. The fruits begin to fade quickly, especially small and greenish (immature) fruits.
For long-term storage of lemons, it is recommended to maintain relative humidity at 80%.
Neighborhood
Fruits are stored separately from meat, fish, and prepared foods. These are the golden rules. Besides:
Lemons do not tolerate being near bananas and cabbage.
You can store them next to melons and tangerines. Neutral neighbors are apples, grapes and potatoes.
Simple ways to store cut lemons
Lemons in sugar
To add to tea, it is convenient to store lemons in sugar. For this:
- Prepare clean, dry jars.
- The fruits are washed, allowed to dry, and then cut into thin half rings.
- Sugar is poured into the bottom of the jar, several layers of lemon are placed on it, then everything is repeated. For 1 kg of fruit, 1 kg of preservative is consumed.
- The jars are filled completely and kept at room temperature until the sugar dissolves.
- Cover tightly with lids and place in the refrigerator. Store for up to 6 months.
Fresh lemons can also be ground in a meat grinder and sprinkled with sugar. In this case, 2 kg of preservative will be needed for 1 kg of fruit. The ingredients are simply mixed well, poured into jars and placed in the refrigerator, covered. Use as needed. The shelf life of this preparation, as in the first case, is up to 6 months.
Storing lemons in salt
Lemons can be preserved in salt. They are perfect for preparing second courses. To make a blank:
- The fruits are cut into thin slices, halves or quarters.
- Place them tightly in a jar, layering them with salt.
- Add bay leaf and pepper if desired.
- Store covered in the refrigerator.
Frozen lemons
Those who like frozen foods can use this technology to store lemons as well. The easiest and fastest way is to prepare fruit in slices. To do this, the fruits are washed, dried, and thinly sliced. Fold in one layer and place in the freezer for 4-5 hours. Then they take it out and put it into bags or containers. Store without defrosting for up to 1 year.
Shavings are prepared from whole frozen lemons. The fruits are grated together with the peel before they have time to melt. The workpiece is placed in storage containers and kept in the freezer.
Lemon juice is frozen in molds for 12-24 hours, then briefly removed from the chamber, allowed to thaw slightly, transferred to bags and sent back to the freezer. Use like any other frozen product for 1 year.
Storage on a saucer
One cut fruit is stored in the refrigerator. To prevent it from losing its freshness, it is placed cut side down on a saucer or flat plate. A layer of salt or sugar is poured onto the bottom of the container. Cover with a glass, jar or cup on top. Store lemon this way for up to 3-4 weeks.
Shelf life
In a cool, dry room, the fruits are stored for up to two weeks.
Whole lemons will keep in the refrigerator for up to three months. Candied lemon will keep for up to six months.
Wedges sprinkled with sugar keep in the refrigerator for 3-4 weeks. Lemons in a bowl of water stay fresh for up to three months.
Grated zest and lemon juice can be stored in the freezer for 6 months.
In the freezer, sliced fruits last up to a year, dried - from 6 to 9 months.
A cut lemon on a saucer under a plate in the cold remains usable for a week.
How to properly store lemon zest
It can be frozen, dried or preserved with sugar. In any case, the fruits are first washed and dried well. For freezing, the zest is obtained by grating the peel. Fresh shavings are placed in bags or containers. Immediately put into the freezer. Use for 1 year.
To dry the zest, remove it from the lemons with a sharp knife. Lay out in a warm room in a thin layer on paper or a plate. Wait 3-5 days until the product dries completely. Then the zest is ground into powder, placed in clean, dry jars, and the containers are covered with lids. Store in a cool place for up to 2 years.
Candied zest is prepared from grated base and sugar in a ratio of 1 to 2. Mix the ingredients well and put the mass into small jars. Keep covered in the main compartment of the refrigerator. The product is stored for up to 6 months.
Lemon with ginger: how to prepare and how long to store
A well-known natural remedy for boosting immunity and treating colds is lemon and ginger. Honey is often added to these ingredients. To prepare, take ginger root, peel it, wash it and grate it.
Lemons are peeled after the same preparation (but you can leave it). Then the fruits are ground in a meat grinder. Add to the ginger and mix well. Next, the resulting mass is mixed with honey. The mixture is transferred to clean, dry jars and closed tightly with lids. Store on the refrigerator door for up to 1 month.
The author of the video shares his methods for storing whole and sliced lemons.
Pickle
Lemons with salt - for preparing fish and meat dishes
Storing lemons in salt makes them a seasoning for main courses. If you like spices, add bay leaves, cloves or spices that you like.
For salted preparation you need:
- wash each fruit thoroughly;
- cut lemons arbitrarily (semicircles, slices, etc.);
- Place layers of citrus fruits in a glass jar, sprinkling each with salt;
- Store the jar of salted lemons in the refrigerator, first closing it with a tight lid.
Watch the video on how to pickle lemons
How and where to store lemon and honey
The lemon-honey mixture is an excellent cure for many diseases and is simply a tasty product that people often like to drink with tea. It's easy to prepare. It is enough to mix lemons and honey in a ratio of 2 to 1. But in order for the composition not to lose its benefits, it must be stored correctly. The mixture should be:
- in a hermetically sealed jar;
- In the dark;
- at temperatures from 5 to 10˚C;
- humidity 60-80%.
These indicators are optimal for honey, which is the main preservative of the product.
At a lower temperature it loses its properties, at a higher temperature it does not disappear if stored alone, but when mixed with lemon it begins to ferment. For the fruit itself, a temperature of 6-8˚C is needed.
Therefore, after preparing the mixture, it is better to keep it on the refrigerator door. The product must be used within 1 month. Remove the product from the jar only with a clean and dry spoon.
Which fruits to choose
Lemon is present on store shelves all year round. There is always the opportunity to buy fresh fruit. But often prices in winter are not at all pleasing to thrifty housewives, so they wonder, what if they buy the product in the fall? How to store lemon at home? These questions also worry gardeners, especially during a harvest year.
Lemon is not the most fussy and can easily lie for two weeks at room temperature, for example, in a fruit bowl.
Advice! If you wipe the surface of the fruit with vegetable oil, you can extend storage for another week.
In order to preserve citrus fruit throughout the winter, it is important to choose the right product. Many people avoid fruits with lumpy, uneven skin, considering them to be of poor quality. It really depends on the variety and degree of ripeness. Bright yellow fruits with smooth, thin skin are worth buying only if you plan to eat them in the near future.
Slightly unripe fruits with a greenish, dense skin are best preserved. It is important to check that there are no dark spots on them, this is a sure sign that the fruits are starting to rot from the inside.
Lemon jam
Another simple and “tasty” way to preserve lemons is lemon jam. To prepare it you will need:
- 1 kg lemons;
- 0.5 l of water;
- 1.5 kg of sugar.
Lemons are washed, cut into pieces together with the peel and passed through a meat grinder. Then add sugar and water to the resulting mass, put it on the fire, and cook in 3 stages. First, cook for 7 minutes and then leave to infuse for 10 hours; cook for 10 minutes and leave for 12 hours and finally cook for 15 minutes and pour into jars.
Lemon jam should be stored in a cool and dark place. Saving period - up to 2 years. Use jam as a dessert with tea, or add it to baked goods or ice cream.
How long does lemon juice last?
Preparing the drink for the winter is carried out in the following ways:
- Sterilize washed jars and lids, pour squeezed lemon juice into them to the brim and roll them up. Transfer the containers to the cold. When pouring juice, you can add a little almond or olive oil. If it will be used for cooking, then sunflower will do;
- Lemon juice is poured into food containers, bags or ice trays and left in the freezer. Used for cocktails.
The steps to obtain the drink must be performed quickly, because the components of lemon are very volatile. Also, when squeezing juice, it is recommended to use special devices that prevent contact of citrus with metal, as it contributes to the destruction of beneficial substances.
Candied fruit
To prepare candied fruits, you will need ripe lemons, which are cut with a sharp knife into thin slices no more than 5 mm thick. They are placed in a pan, filled with cold water and left for 1 day to remove the bitterness. Then the water is drained, and the slices are placed in a saucepan in layers, sprinkled with sugar.
After 2 hours, when the lemons have released their juice, put the pan on the fire and boil for 5-7 minutes. Remove from heat and leave overnight. After this, the lemons are boiled and infused 1 or 2 more times. Then the lemons are placed in a sieve to allow the syrup to drain, and then onto a baking sheet. Dry the slices in a warm place for 2-3 days. During this time, they are turned over several times and sprinkled with powdered sugar. The finished candied fruits are wrapped in parchment and sent to the refrigerator.
Preserving lemons if there are too many of them to eat at one time is within the power of every housewife. To do this, you just need to use any of the proposed options for storing these fruits at home.
Is it possible to freeze lemons?
The advantages of this method are the speed of preparation and long-term freshness of the product. At the same time, the aroma and taste of citrus suffer greatly, so it is recommended to leave lemon in the freezer in exceptional cases.
At home, it is impossible to deep freeze, which leads to the loss of most of the vitamin C, but the remaining micronutrients are practically not destroyed. The use of such lemons helps strengthen the immune system to a lesser extent, but for other systems of the body the benefits of the product remain in full.
Attention! It is recommended to freeze citrus fruits in small volumes for no longer than 2-3 months. Frequent defrosting will speed up the spoilage of the product.
