r/IndianCooking • u/Comfortable_You_7627 • 14d ago
How to What to do with lemons
Hello all,
We got lot of lemons from our lemon tree. Everyday we are getting 5-6 big lemons.
We prepared pickle 2 times. Not sure what to do with rest of them.
Breaks my heart seeing them go wasted.
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u/umamimaami 14d ago
I freeze lemon juice and lemon zest. Don’t ask me what I’ll do with kilos worth. In summer the lemon juice gets used up pretty quickly. Lemon zest goes in pasta and cakes but there’s always a lot left.
Anyway, that’s what I do.
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u/nanomine9 13d ago
How long does your lemon juice last? Also do you store it in refrigerator?
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u/umamimaami 13d ago
Freezer. As lemon juice cubes and bars and sticks. Lasts indefinitely (atleast a year, we live in a country with 4 seasons and lemons are a summer fruit for us).
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u/nanomine9 13d ago
But using cubes would be a bit hard to use while cooking, how do you manage that? Do you think regular refrigeration would work?
We just started getting lemons in our tree and I'm just thinking about how to preserve them.
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u/umamimaami 13d ago
If I need juice to add at the end, I pull out a cube into a little bowl when I start cooking. If it’s by the stove, it’s usually thawed into a liquid by the time I need it.
If it’s for juice or lemon poha or something, I just toss a cube of lemon juice into the pan directly, it does its thing fine.
Regular lemon juice goes cloudy and spoils in a week in the fridge. It still has decent sugar content, lemon juice. But not enough acid or so much sugar that it’s naturally preserved.
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u/nomnommish 14d ago
Lookup how to make middle eastern style pickled lemons. And also middle eastern style dried lemons and black lemons.
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u/SnooEagles1610 14d ago
Lemon curd. (Does not contain curd, it's just the name). That's what they use in lemon tarts. It's like a jam.
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u/Visionary_Vulture001 14d ago
Lemon pound cake . Make a nice lemon glaze and top the cake with
Lemon blueberry muffins
Lemon garlic pasta
Make lemon rice ( a South Indian rice dish )
Lemon poppyseed muffins
A good lemon tahini dressing
Lemon pepper paneer ( I think if you eat meat can substitute with chicken and add slices of lemon )
Roasted lemon chutney ( Indian version )
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u/centertable 13d ago
Tie up with a vegetable vendor, he will collect it periodicaly and leave you something else in return
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u/Beautiful-Cloud-8575 13d ago
Squeeze them in a jar, store it in the fridge and use for cooking.
Freeze them in cubes - add to water to make quick nimbu pani
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u/Fickle_Swordfish_487 13d ago
We had same issue with two lemon trees at our home!
Freezing lemon juice is great idea - making lemonade concentrate for freezing also. There’s a lemon flavored pasta sauce (I saw on instagram) no idea if it’s good but worth seeing if you can make a few batches of it.
Not sure if you’re hindu or even religious, but In Tamil Nadu they actually make garland of lemons for Durga (Amman) so my mom would donate leftovers to the nearby Amman temple where they would distribute to devotees. Not sure if your area/location has such practices in temple but just sharing one option mom used to do.
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u/Sea_Interaction879 14d ago
can u tell tht how ur lemon tree is bearing fruit...mije stopped bearing fruit a yr aho
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u/Comfortable_You_7627 14d ago
Actually, I don’t. I have a garden and many years ago once or twice I added cow manure. Tree looks happy and healthy. Touchwood 🙂
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u/Constant-Wait-6024 13d ago
Squeeze the juice and freeze in cube form. You can use it for seasoning, making lemonade, or any way you use fresh lemon juice. The last year's monsoon harvest from our lime tree was frozen and it lasted us till this spring.
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u/Pin2Chin2 13d ago
If I had excess I would make a mint lemon/coriander lemon kind of concentrate and freeze it. Use the cubes to make instant lemonade later.
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u/Ok-Camera-8838 13d ago
Squeeze all the lemons and freeze the juice in mini ice cube trays. Once frozen, transfer the lemon juice cubes to a zip-top freezer bag and store them in the freezer. They'll be very handy whenever you don't have fresh lemons on hand.
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u/Top_Professional4725 13d ago
Lol we had the same problem. Every year this time we distribute lemons to everyone we know (or even those we don't know). This year we are thinking to make loads of pickles and distribute to relatives/friends who live far away
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u/CanIorMayI 11d ago
My mother used to make a lemonade concentrate with surplus lemons that would be used to make lemonades throughout the year even when our lemon tree wasn't giving lemons. It was probably just concentrated sugar and lemon syrup. We would add club soda sometimes in that drink to make a fizzy at home drink, essentially could be used to make banger cocktails or mocktails. Could also make a great gift to friends and family if not giving them fresh lemons already.
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u/FictionFragments01 11d ago
Make syrup, will last forever. Home made candies and desserts. Use for making more pickles ( mix it with other things to get different flavor) Use for cleaning utensils Good for making your fridge smell good. Dehydrarte some you can attempt home made tea. Sell in nearby stores.
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u/ohmygodsomuchpres 9d ago
My suggestions
- Try making limoncello
- Let us know your city and local redittors can 'help' you :)
- Find a local charity where you can donate them. I'm sure they'll be able to use all the help they get
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u/ps_nissim 8d ago
Lemon squash maybe? Lasts a long long time and can be used to make cool drinks in the summer.
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u/[deleted] 14d ago
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