Earl Makes Lemons from Lemons

My family calls me cheap. I prefer frugal. either way, I do not like waste. Our recycle bin has 10 times what our actual garbage has in it, if not more. I try not to throw food away. That includes leftovers, drippings or rendered fat, fresh food, canned food, frozen food, and any other food stuffs we may have. I don't consider sell by dates the same as throw away dates. I can usually find a true bargain at a dollar or thrift store. I can walk into a store and walk out without buying anything either because what I needed, wasn't a good deal, or I was scouting for good deals. I have a knack for finding ways to use things others discard. I do recognize quality, but value is my prime consideration. When people say "you get what you pay for" they probably paid too much. I strive to get more than I paid for...legally. That said, I hate coupons. Coupons benefit manufacturers and the sales taxing authorities. When you think you are saving 25¢ you are paying taxes on the full price, so you are not.


All of this brings me to this post. I bought my wife, who loves lemons, a bag of Meyer Lemons...two in fact. It was for a recipe she was making, and I was sure she would eat them happily, and I would eat what she made so it seemed like a great trade-off. I have never bought lemons on a regular basis because they usually go bad before they get used. Even though my wife loves them she forgets or they get buried. I know she doesn't like them when they are not FRESH. My recipe books are littered with recipes calling for lemon juice or lemon zest, and I usually have to omit it, because the pre-squeezed lemon juice in the plastic fruit shapes is NEVER recommended.

Well the lemons got a bit past fresh, and we still had quite a few left. When my wife told me she wouldn't be finishing them, I took that as a challenge to be frugal. I started looking for ways to preserve lemons...WOW are there a bunch of ways, many of which I would not dare try. What I determined I wanted was a way to preserve zest and lemon juice, the two components my recipes call for most often. I had a plan and proceeded.

Step 1: Prepare the lemons by washing and wiping or allowing to dry.
Step 2: Get a container for the lemon zest and lemon juice. Get a tool to zest with. I used a microplane, but dedicated zesters are available too, or you could use a simple grater's finest grate. Also, get a tool for squeezing the juice from the lemons.
Step 3: Zest the lemons FIRST. Be careful to zest the yellow portions of the skin only. The white pith is bitter. Take the zest you have made and place in a glass jar with a screw on lid. Place the jar in the freezer, and you will be able scoop out a bit whenever you need to top something with zest.

Step 4: Cut zested lemons in half and place in juicer. I used a small, plier-type of squeezer. Whatever you normally use is fine. I juiced this into a bowl.
Step 5: From the bowl, take a measuring tablespoon measure and pour into ice cube trays. I used the egg trays from our fridge, which we never use, because they hold exactly one tablespoon and look cool when done. Freeze until solid.
Step 6: Remove the juice from the tray and place in a freezer bag. Now you have a bag of lemon juice you can use a tablespoon at a time. Just toss a cube into your dish while it cooks and it will melt and be just like fresh squeezed!

So, next time someone give you lemons, make lemons!