Difficulty level: very easy
Lemons. Zesty, citrusy, fresh – help us brighten flavours and add balance and colour to our dishes. However, a little lemon goes a long way and often, we don’t end up using a full lemon in our dish.. so, what to to do with the left over half to save it from the shrivelled up destiny in the fridge?
I learned this clever hack from my parents who take their left over lemon halves, slice them up into rounds or half rounds and freeze them! Then any time you wish to have a glass of refreshing lemon water on a hot summer day or to cool your tea while instantly infusing it with the wonderful lemony flavour – you have frozen slices all ready to go! They tend to defrost almost immediately once in water and are handy to have on hand.
Whats more, considering the distance lemons have to travel to get our north american store shelves, using every last bit of the citrusy goodness is a good way to honour the labour and the journey that goes into getting these nutrient dense fruits to our kitchens.
As for nutrition, lemons are rich in vitamin C, low in calories, and contain other health promoting minerals and oils that help lower risk of heart disease, cancer, and kidney stones. Lemons are also abundant in pectin, which a type of soluble fiber that helps lower blood sugar.
Method
- slice lemons into rounds or half rounds
- arrange the slices, spaced out, onto parchment covered baking sheet
- place the baking sheet into the freezer for a couple of hours
- once the slices are frozen quickly transfer them to a plastic ziplock bag and seal tightly until ready to use
- For optimal taste use within a month or two
Tips
- removing as much air as possible from the freezing bag would help prevent freezer burning the lemon slices
- frozen lemon slices can be a great addition to smoothies for a nutritional punch and to cocktails as they help keep the drink cool without adding any extra water unlike melting ice cubes
- frozen lemon slices are not ideal for decorating deserts, so for creating beautiful looking deserts opt for a fresh lemon (and freeze the left over lemon for tea!)
- lemons are high in pectin – a type of fiber necessary for adding jelly consistency to our jams. use frozen lemons when making berry jam for added pectin and flavour.
The Global Fare 