The Amazing Frozen Lemon Hack You Need To Try

Love adding lemon flavours to your cooking? If you can’t always rely on having fresh lemons on hand but still want that fresh lemon flavour, you need to know this handy frozen lemon hack. Find out how freezing a whole lemon can prevent waste, save time and add flavour.

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Why freeze lemons?

You may be lucky enough to have your own lemon tree, or get given lemons from family and friends, Either way, you are sure to have times when you have too many to use. And whether your lemons are home grown or store bought, availability of lemons is seasonal. It’s might be more difficult or more expensive to source fresh lemons at some times of the year.

Freezing lemons means that you can stop lemons from going to waste, as well as ensuring that you always have fresh lemon flavour available for cooking.

Freezing a whole lemon

The key to freezing a whole lemon is to make sure you choose one that is nice and fresh. Ideally choose a recently picked, organic lemon.

If you don’t have a lemon tree or can’t get any fresh lemons from family and friends, it’s fine to use store bought. Store bought lemons are sometimes coated with a fruit wax to make them last longer, Make sure to remove any fruit wax first.

Gently wash your lemon and pat dry. Make sure to remove any stem. Place the lemon in a resealable freezer bag and squeeze to remove as much air as possible. Seal tightly and place the lemon in your freezer.

How long it takes for a lemon to freeze completely will depend on the temperature of your freezer. I usually leave mine overnight, but it may take as little as a few hours.

How to use your whole frozen lemon

It is possible to freeze whole lemons and then defrost them later to use for their juice. However, this simple lemon trick is a little different.

With this frozen lemon hack, you simple remove the whole frozen lemon from the freezer and grate. By doing this, you won’t just be grating the skin for zest, but you’ll also be grating the frozen flesh and juice. The whole lemon can be grated just like you would grate a block of cheese!

Make sure you use a good quality sharp lemon grater/zester for best results.

Grating a whole frozen lemon is perfect for when you want to add a burst of extra lemon flavour to dishes like:

• rice;
• pasta;
• chicken, fish or lamb;
• vegetables;
• salads; and
• desserts.

This frozen lemon hack should NOT be used to replace precise quantities of lemon zest in recipes. By grating the whole frozen fruit you’ll also be adding lemon juice, which may alter the desired results of your recipe.

Save using your frozen lemon for when you simply want to add some lemon flavour to a dish, but not when zest or juice is needed in precise quantities.

How long will a frozen lemon last?

Provided you freeze your lemon in a suitable freezer safe bag or pouch to prevent it from freezer burn, your frozen lemon will last for 3 or 4 months. In my experience, you’ll love this lemon trick so much that you won’t be keeping them long anyway.

More about lemons

Discover more ideas for cooking with lemons or try some of our delicious lemon recipes, like Greek lemon rice pilaf or easy lemon curd.

If you grow your own lemons, make sure to read our growing tips including how to control citrus galls wasps and how often your potted lemon tree needs water.

Of if you just love lemons, you’ll love our roundup of fabulous lemon print pillows and phone cases, how to decorate a vase with lemons or how to use lemon yellow.

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