Okay, I’ve got a quick tip for you today that I hope will as life changing for you as it was for me. Here it is: you can freeze whole citrus. Say whaaaaa? If you’re already privy to the magic that happens when you cook with fresh citrus, but hate paying a dollar or more for just one lemon, this tip may just change your game. If you’re sitting here thinking, “Why on earth would I want to freeze whole citrus fruit??” read on and allow me to explain…
Why Cook with Fresh Citrus?
Between bottled juice and freeze dried citrus peels, there are a lot of ways to add citrus flavor to your food, but none compare to fresh juice and zest. It’s just a whole different beast when fresh. Cooking with fresh citrus is a total game changer and will take any meal up about ten notches. Sure, I will sometimes still use bottled juice when it’s a more secondary ingredient, or just needed to act as an acid in a chemical reaction, but when I’m making a recipe where lemon or lime is the star of the show, fresh is an absolute must.
Here are some of my favorite recipes that feature the awesomeness of fresh citrus:
- Greek Turkey and Rice Skillet
- Lemon Blueberry Cream Cheese Galette
- Lemon Butter Green Beans
- Lemony Cucumber Couscous Salad
- Lime Crema
- Cilantro Lime Chicken Drumsticks
- Mexican Red Lentil Stew
- Easy Orange Chicken
- Simple Cranberry Sauce
Freezer to the Rescue!
The problem is that buying a single lemon or lime can be super pricey. They’re quite a bit less expensive when you buy them by the bag, but I can never seem to go through an entire bag before they shrivel and die. UNTIL, that is, I learned that you can freeze whole citrus fruit. So go ahead and buy a whole bag without worry. Use one or two now, stash the rest in your freezer, and use them as needed.
Frozen lemons and limes are almost easier to zest, and once thawed they’ll release their juice more readily because, as with any fruit or vegetable, freezing and thawing weakens the cell walls. You can thaw the fruit quickly with a brief 15-20 seconds in the microwave, or by running under warm water for a few seconds. Always zest before you thaw because once the fruit is soft post-thawing, zesting can be difficult.
Must the Citrus be Frozen Whole?
Nope, you can totally cut or slice the citrus fruit before freezing, or even just freeze your unused leftover peels on their own, but I prefer to freeze the fruit whole. Why? Because I usually use a combination of the juice and the zest in my recipes for extra citrusy flavor, and they are much easier to zest when whole (and frozen solid). Plus, keeping them whole protects the insides from drying out as quickly. Natural protection!
The Method:
- Wash and dry your fruit to remove any waxy coating. While the waxy coating will actually help protect them in the freezer, you don’t want to have to worry about the waxes later if you plan on zesting your fruit straight from the freezer.
- Place the whole citrus fruit in a heavy duty freezer bag and seal it up tight. Air exposure is the enemy when it comes to freezing food because it sucks out moisture and deadens flavors.
- Freeze the citrus. There is no exact cut off date for how long the citrus will last in your freezer. Instead, they will just slowly dry over time. Over a long time. Like months. If and when the peel begins to dry out, the zest may not be as flavorful, but the juice inside will still be quite usable. That being said, I usually try to use up my frozen foods within three months to ensure optimum quality.
- To use the frozen fruit, remove it from the freezer bag and zest the fruit while frozen solid. Once zested, thaw the fruit through by either microwaving for 15-20 seconds, or running it under warm water. Once thawed, slice in half and squeeze the juice as usual. The juice should flow from the citrus quite easily.
And that’s it! I hope you get as much use (and FLAVOR) from citrus as possible in the future, without having to pay a premium. :)
:-O AMAZING!! I freeze a ton of stuff already (cheese, bread, butter, baked goods, cooked beans & pastas/rice, chopped onions, garlic) but never thought about citrus! Totally doing this next time we get groceries.
Good for you Brittany!
We just had to throw away a few lemons recently, I’m so glad I saw this post! I hate to waste and this will allow us to still be able buy them cheaper in bulk but not have to throw any away! Thanks Beth!!
Great Tip! I use limes in my guacamole which I make often. Now I can buy limes when the price is low. And get zest more easily, too. Thank you SO much.
You are a freaking genius! My new plan versus having them get moldy and throwing them out!
Any reason this wouldn’t work with oranges? I’m about to have several bags of ripe, straight-from-the-tree oranges in my. possession, and I’d love to stash a few away for later use!
It definitely should! Just keep in mind that they won’t be good for peeling and eating because they break down and get soft, but they’d still be great for juicing and zesting. :)
Beth, that is an awesome tip! I have wasted so much citrus over the years and this never would have occurred to me in a million years. This is great, thanks!
As a side note, many of your recipes have gone into our regular rotation over the years. It’s pretty rare that a week goes by without using one or two of them (Dragon Noodles are a particular favorite.) Your creations are inexpensive and completely delicious. Thank you for all the hard work you put into this website, we really appreciate you. :)
Thank you, Janet!!
This is genius. I so often waste food, including citrus that goes bad before I can use it all up. Bags of Meyer lemons ahoy! Thanks su much, yet again.
Great idea. Thanks.
Super lemon-aid tip, Beth!
As someone who despises food waste, I’m still angry at myself for the beautiful bag of Meyer lemons that spoiled before I could use them up a few months ago. But that will not happen again, thanks to you.
Budget Bytes is a continual source of scientific information, responsible frugality, and pure gastronomic delight.
And with great usability & aesthetics to boot!
Thanks so much for your wonderful website (and app).
Thank you, Kara!!
Thank you from someone with ripe limes and Meyer lemons on my back yard trees
Another tip I got from Mother Earth News on reducing food waste is to freeze lemons and limes that you have already squeezed or zested. They still have flavor and can be used at a later time for stuffing chickens or turkeys. Or boil them on the stove with water, whole clove, and cinnamon stick for a quick and chemical free kitchen air freshener.
That’s such a great tip!!
Does anyone know a good, reusable alternative to disposable freezer bags?
Alternative to freezer bags:
+ Steel Latching Containers
+ Tupperware
+ Glass Storage with Stainless Steel or Rubber Lids
+ Silicon Storage Bags (The closest alternative to actual plastic storage bags.)
http://nymag.com/strategist/article/best-reusable-eco-friendly-food-storage-bags.html
I’m going to try this with my foodsaver bag.
I use wide mouth mason jars, bought a case of quart and pint ones and they work well.
This is excellent! Love citrus, hate wasting food. I’ve also been freezing mass quantities of peeled garlic.
Yay!! Soooo excited to find out about this. Once again you’ve saved the day!
Awesome tip. I can’t tell you how many limes and lemons have died because I forgot to use them.