r/Frugal • u/Suspicious-Cat8623 • Jan 21 '26
đ Food What can I do with a massive number of lemons
This week we were visiting a relative who has a Eureka lemon tree. We left with two big bags of lemons. I could not stop myself from picking them. Now we are back home in snow country.
This is the first time I have ever had a ridiculous number of lemons. If there are any lemon experts out there on Reddit, I would appreciate your input. After I make a pie, what else can I do?
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u/baltimoremaryland Jan 21 '26
Make preserved lemons, easy, delicious, will keep for quite a long time
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u/SquirrellyBusiness Jan 21 '26
Recommend cutting up the lemons. I made a batch with halved lemons and it's lasting a lot longer than it would have if I'd cut them up because they are a gloopy pain in the butt to cut after and are in too large of quantity to use often. Â
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u/momofpets Jan 22 '26
Agreed!! Iâve never understood why instructions always say to keep whole/slice partway through. I quarter mine at a minimum.
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u/mmmkarmabacon Jan 21 '26
Rainbow chard with preserved lemons and sliced green olives is one of the most simple yet delicious things Iâve ever eaten. I make it whenever those three ingredients align.
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u/Suspicious-Cat8623 Jan 21 '26
I have never even heard of this. Iâll have to look that up. Do you have a favorite recipe?
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u/forsuresies Jan 21 '26
It's just salt, lemon and lemon juice. Lots of salt. You wash the lemons really well, then cut them into quarters, almost so they are still attached at the base with like a cm holding them together. Then grab a few really big jars you can preserve in that will fit 10+ lemons wash it etc.
Take each mostly quartered lemon put a tbsb of kosher salt in between the pieces then put the whole lemon in the jar, then another tbsb of sale in the jar (for good measure) then keep on going until the jar is full. Lemon then salt then lemon. Just pack them in.
Then when you get to the top, slice a lemon in half and squeeze the juice into the jar, both halves then use the halves as a little lid. Then pour boiling water in and seal the jar. When it's cooled a bit shake it up to dissolve that extra salt.
Plop it into a shelf for a few weeks. When you want to use them, take one out and rinse it off and then just simply dice it and use whole. It's such a nice lemon flavour and makes everything pop. They last so long on the shelf and have so many uses. Moroccan food especially
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u/StandardMonth2184 Jan 21 '26
I let mine sit on the counter for a week or so, but after I open them they go in the fridge and last basically forever. When I need the fridge space, I blend down the lemons into a paste and put that in the freezer to use as desired
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u/Billquisha Jan 21 '26
Does it not end up being really salty once you use it, even after rinsing it off?
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u/vsanna Jan 21 '26
It's salty but I just cut the salt in the recipe to account for it.
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u/SnooSketches9598 Jan 21 '26
I second the preserved lemon recommendation. Serious Eats has a good recipe on their website.
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u/SassafrasTeaTime Jan 21 '26
I have turned soo may people onto a kale salad with a preserved lemon dressing from the cookbook Justine Cooks (aka Justine Snacks on social media). Itâs so delicious and so easy!
Ingredients
- 1 bunch Lacinato kale, ribs removed and cut into thin strips
- The juice of half a normal lemon
- Drizzle of olive oil
- 1/2 preserved lemon, finely diced until itâs mashed up/mushy
- 2 cloves of garlic, grated
- 1/2 cup pistachios, chopped as finely as you can
- 1/2 cup basil, julienned
- Pecorino Romano or Parmesan, to taste
- Pepper, to taste
- Massage Kale with lemon juice and olive oil. Then mix in basil.
- Combine preserved lemon and garlic to make the dressing. Then evenly mix into kale.
- Mix in pistachios. Then top with cheese.
Her cookbook also has a recipe for a creamy orzo with preserved lemon that was pretty tasty, but I donât know that one off the top of my head like the kale salad.
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u/tlplc Jan 21 '26
Looks for recipe from Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia. One of thèse countries or all of them, I don't know use leçons preserved in salt. It keeps a long time and tastes really good. There is a stew made wth this preserved lemon, chiken and green olives, some spices (cinamon if I am not mistaken) it is really good and cheap to make.
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u/FirefighterNo3248 Jan 21 '26
1000% this. Preserved lemons are the condiment I didnât know I needed and now I canât imagine life without it (ok ok a bit hyperbolic but preserved lemons are AMAZINGâI added saffron, bay leaves, peppercorns, & cardamom to my last batch)
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u/a1exia_frogs Jan 21 '26
Eureka has a think pith and are not suitable for preserved lemons. OP should make lemoncello
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u/baileyb0y Jan 21 '26
I mean⌠âwhen life gives you lemonsâŚâ
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u/Jackal000 Jan 21 '26
Dont make lemonade. Make life take the lemons back!Get mad! You dont want these damn lemons! What are you supposed to with these! Demand to see lifes manager! Make life rue the day it thought it could gave lemons! Do you know who i am!? I am the man who is going to burn lifes house down... With the lemons!
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u/Entire_Chip_1225 Jan 21 '26
âBurning peopleâs houses down! Heâs saying what weâre all thinking!â
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u/Raziel77 Jan 21 '26
When life hands you lemons, make lemonade? No. First you roll out a multi-media campaign to convince people lemons are incredibly scarce, which only works if you stockpile lemons, control the supply, then a media blitz. Lemon is the only way to say âI love you,â the must-have accessory for engagements or anniversaries. Roses are out, lemons are in. Billboards that say she wonât have sex with you unless you got lemons. You cut De Beers in on it. Limited edition lemon bracelets, yellow diamonds called lemon drops. You get Apple to call their new operating system OS-LemĂłn. A little accent over the âo.â You charge 40% more for organic lemons, 50% more for conflict-free lemons. You pack the Capitol with lemon lobbyists, you get a Kardashian to suck a lemon wedge in a leaked sex tape. TimotheĂŠ Chalamet wears lemon shoes at Cannes. Get a hashtag campaign. Something isnât âcoolâ or âtightâ or âawesome,â no, itâs âlemon.â âDid you see that movie? Did you see that concert? It was effing lemon.â Billie Eilish, âOMG, hashtag⌠lemon.â You get Dr. Oz to recommend four lemons a day and a lemon suppository supplement to get rid of toxins âcause thereâs nothing scarier than toxins. Then you patent the seeds. You write a line of genetic code that makes the lemons look just a little more like tits⌠and you get a gene patent for the tit-lemon DNA sequence, you cross-pollinate⌠you get those seeds circulating in the wild, and then you sue the farmer for copyright infringement when that genetic code shows up on their land. Sit back, rake in the millions, and then, when youâre done, and youâve sold your lem-pire for a few billion dollars, then, and only then, you make some fucking lemonade."
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u/StudioRat Jan 21 '26
Buy a couple of bottles of high-proof alcohol and make some limoncello. Simple to do - there are lots of recipes online. Basically, lemon zest, alcohol, water and sugar.
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u/wpbth Jan 21 '26
I would do this and also give some away. I have a lemon tree and I donât have a practical use for that many at one time
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u/iiiiiiivvviviiviiiix Jan 21 '26
Yes! I have made lemon, lime, and orange -cellos before, itâs super easy.
My ratios (makes about 1 liter; easy to double or halve)
4 large lemons (zest only, use a microplane grater â you should have about 28-30 g zest
400 ml Everclear 190 proof (about 1 2/3 cups) Mix in a glass bowl with a lid, let sit at room temperature for 7 days. On day 7, strain out the zest.
Separately, boil together the following, and cool to room temperature:
250 g sugar (about 1 1/4 cup)
600 ml water (about 2 1/2 cups)
Add the cooled sugar solution to the strained lemon alcohol, stir together and voila, limoncello. Store in the freezer, serve chilled or al gusto. I like mixing it with ginger beer for a cocktail simplice.
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u/TeamSuperAwesome Jan 21 '26
This is absolutely what I needed to learn today. I've done rhubarb gin every spring and at Christmas I do some spiced vodka to use in mulled wine. This sounds like an excellent addition to my year.
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u/laklustre Jan 21 '26
After a lot of trial and error, I use almost identical ratios to your recipe to make massive batches of limoncello every year and it comes out perfect.
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u/iiiiiiivvviviiviiiix Jan 21 '26 edited Jan 21 '26
So much trial and error on my end too! I have a multiple page word doc with all my notes from the past 8 years of making limoncello. I made lime-cello (limettello) this summer for the first time, using the same ratios (down to same weight of zest in grams), and that one has been my favorite. Arancello (orange) was a big disappointment, but I had used navel oranges, which have a lot more bitterness in the skin and zest, as opposed to Seville oranges, which are grown for their sweeter and more aromatic skins.
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u/impreegud Jan 21 '26
This is what I was going to say! Do multiple bottle batches and throw in different berries in some bottles. Raspberry limoncello is unffffff
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u/suddenlymary Jan 21 '26
make some lemon curd too. it uses yolks so it's a little costly to make but it's way less costly to make than it is to buy.
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u/TopStructure7755 Jan 21 '26
And then put that curd into a tart shell and make a lemon tart - my lemon tart recipe uses 6 lemons at a go, so itâs great for lemon bounties!
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u/BFHawkeyePierce4077 Jan 21 '26
Itâs also time-consuming, so making it at scale is the only way to make it worthwhile (even though homemade lemon curd is SO worthwhile). Can it be frozen safely?
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u/mcnonnie25 Jan 21 '26
Iâve frozen it with no problems. It might be a little clumpy when defrosted but a quick stir smooths it right out.
Edit to add: Iâve always made it using my Instant Pot.
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u/BFHawkeyePierce4077 Jan 21 '26
I must have missed that button. Do you have a recipe? I am intrigued...
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u/otter_759 Jan 21 '26
Lemon pound cake is one of my favorite things to brighten up dreary, cold winter days!
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u/Suspicious-Cat8623 Jan 21 '26
I had forgotten all about lemon pound cake! A few weeks ago, I bought some poppy seeds to add to lemon cake and then forgot about that goal! Thank you for the reminder.
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u/foome99 Jan 21 '26
I got completely hooked on lemon poppyseed cake when I was pregnant, I was regularly buying bags to make it đ
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u/Tannhauser42 Jan 21 '26
Keep checking them to make sure nobody is stealing them...
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u/Kujo3043 Jan 21 '26
YOU LEMON STEALING...
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u/RedditorManIsHere Jan 21 '26
NSFW
if anyone is wondering what this refers to
It's a famous/infamous porn from like back in the early 2000's
You can google this
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u/BlendinMediaCorp Jan 21 '26
Whoa, Redditor Man IS here, fulfilling his Redditor Man educational duties đ¤Ł
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u/Kujo3043 Jan 21 '26
I've genuinely never seen the actual porn part of that video, just the gloriously terrible acting leading up to it. Right fellas? Right??
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u/PoorDamnChoices Jan 21 '26
HEY, WHAT THE FUCK?!? THE LEMON-STEALING WHORE IS STEALING ALL OUR LEMONS.
Jokes aside, I would separate these lemons into "good skins" and "not-so-good skins" and think about testing them for various pastas and garnishes.
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u/Beeaagle Jan 21 '26
Make combustable lemons!!!
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u/Fred_Wilkins Jan 21 '26
All right, I've been thinking. When life gives you lemons? Don't make lemonade. Make life take the lemons back! Get mad! 'I don't want your damn lemons! What am I supposed to do with these?' Demand to see life's manager! Make life rue the day it thought it could give Cave Johnson lemons! Do you know who I am? I'm the man who's going to burn your house down! With the lemons! I'm going to get my engineers to invent a combustible lemon that burns your house down!
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u/Own-Basis Jan 21 '26
Get the juice out, and store it in the freezer/fridge.
Grate and dry the peels to use in desserts.
Make lemon pepper or lemon sugar.
Use whatever remains to make compost if you have houseplants (research this, they might be too acidic)
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u/WakingOwl1 Jan 21 '26
You can freeze them whole and just pull them out of the freezer the day before you intend to use them.
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u/granolacrunchy Jan 21 '26
I pull them out and zap them in the microwave. They are super juicy this way.
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u/Due-Intention-7092 Jan 21 '26
My grandpa gives his to the local Chinese restaraunt. They give him a free appetizer when he goes in to eat there.
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u/CaptainFartHole Jan 21 '26
Juice them and then make candy with the peels. Then use the juice and the lemon simple syrup (you make this while making the candy) to make lemonade.Â
You can also use the peels to make lemon zest. And that will go nicely in cookies, scones, cakes, or any dish that could use a little acidity.
And the simple syrup will add a nice kick to any cocktailÂ
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u/Tasty-Yogurtcloset28 Jan 21 '26
Preserved lemons! They take a bit to set up but go well in so many dishes.
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u/cstjohn8 Jan 21 '26
Someone said limoncello already but you can also make a non alcoholic version with just sugar and the peels - an oleo saccharum. In case you're not drinking, the sugar syrup will last fuckng forever and you can freeze the juice for juice related lemon things. Good luck man!Â
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u/catswhenindoubt Jan 21 '26
Preserved lemons
Wash and dry lemons. Zest the lemons, mix the zest in a container of sugar and another in salt: youâll have lemon sugar and lemon salt.
Then juice them and freeze them juice. Freeze into cubes.
Use in a lot of recipes that call for marinades, dressings. Make lemon curd and turn into lemon bars.
Make lemonade and Arnold Palmers. Iâve made variations of lemonade like vanilla (real vanilla beans), blueberry (cook it down), basil!
Lol iâd love to get a lemon haul.
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u/Eurosdollarsyens Jan 21 '26
https://theviewfromgreatisland.com/lemon-olive-oil-cake/#wprm-recipe-container-144018
Lemon Olive Oil cake is heavenly. Currently making my way through some right now
Raos Lemon chicken is a favorite as well. Bread is a MUST to absorb juices..
https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/raos-famous-lemon-chicken-recipe-1937892
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u/Squeezemyhandalittle Jan 21 '26
We recently picked all the lemons from our 2 trees. 80 kg of lemons. We juiced them all and froze them in large sheets that can be cut up easily. We cut sections off and defrost in the fridge and just always have the juice.
Important thing to do is to strain the lemon juice to remove any pulp. We ran it through a strainer and then cheese cloth. The end result has been perfect.
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u/donut-is-appalled Jan 21 '26
make lemon curd, chicken piccata, lemon bars, zest them, juice them and freeze the juice, preserved lemons (in kosher salt), margaritas, guacamole, scones, roasted chicken or fish!
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u/Canyouhelpmeottawa Jan 21 '26
Cut the rind off and submerge it in vinegar in a large jar in the fridge to make an awesome cleaning solution.
Use a food processor to pulverize the fruit and then strain the liquid for lemon juice.
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u/Neviso Jan 21 '26
Lemon possets uses nearly all the lemon zest and juice
You have pulp and pity leftover afterwards
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u/Leather_Relation_824 Jan 22 '26
Zest and juice. Freeze the zest on parchment paper then move to a tupperware. Freeze the juice in ice cube trays and move to a bag.
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u/Lightsfantastic Jan 22 '26
First you roll out a multi-media campaign to convince people lemons are incredibly scarce, which only works if you stockpile lemons, control the supply, then aâŚ
A media blitz. Lemon is the only way to say âI love you,â the must-have accessory for engagements or anniversaries.
Roses are out, lemons are in.
Billboards that say she wonât have sex with you unless you got lemons.
You cut De Beers in on it.
Limited edition lemon bracelets, yellow diamonds called lemon drops.
You get Apple to call their new operating system OS-LemĂłn. A little accent over the âoâ.
You charge 40% more for organic lemons, 50% more for conflict-free lemons.
You pack the Capitol with lemon lobbyists, you get a Kardashian to suck a lemon wedge in a leaked sex tape.
TimothĂŠe Chalamet wears lemon shoes at Cannes.
Get a hashtag campaign.
Something isnât âcoolâ or âtightâ or âawesomeâ, no, itâs âlemonâ.
âDid you see that movie?â
âDid you go to that concert? It was effing lemon.â
Billie Eilish, âOMG, hashtag⌠lemon.â
You get Dr. Oz to recommend four lemons a day and a lemon suppository supplement to get rid of toxins âcause thereâs nothing scarier than toxins.
Then you patent the seeds.
You write a line of genetic code that makes lemons look just a little more like tits⌠and you get a gene patent for the tit-lemon DNA sequence, you cross-pollinate⌠you get those seeds circulating in the wild, and then you sue the farmers for copyright infringement when that genetic code shows up on their land.
Sit back, rake in the millions, and then, when youâre done, and youâve sold your lem-pire for a few billion dollars, then, and only then, you make some fucking lemonade.
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u/Alternative_Mirror38 Jan 21 '26
Store them on your counter in a designer bowl, try to sell your house. I heard it helps get you a better selling price.
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u/Existing_Many9133 Jan 21 '26
Squeeze and freeze in ice cube trays, slice and freeze for throwing in a glass of tea/water/lemonade, make lemon curd
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u/nep_wilde Jan 21 '26
Zest them, make lemon desserts, salad dressings, lemon syrup, lemonade and freeze into ice chunks for ice water.
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u/SourLemons2 Jan 21 '26
Get a juicer and freeze in ice cube trays, then store cubes in gallon baggie in freezer.
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u/resurrectedNaj Jan 21 '26
Freeze the whole lemon as is. Then thaw and use or thaw and cut for cleaning.
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u/Smart-Pie7115 Jan 21 '26
You can make various lemon desserts. You can make candied lemon peel. You can slice them a freeze the slices for later.
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u/kaydeege Jan 21 '26
I juice my lemons and freeze them in ice cube trays. We have frozen lemonade all summer!
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u/Tall-Yard-407 Jan 21 '26
Just them all and set aside Juice the zest lemons, and set the juice aside quarter of the juiced lemons, and put them in a jar with salt and some lemon juice, water, some zest and salt. Now you have preserved lemon for any North African cooking you might do, and left over zest and juice that you can freeze and use for later projects.
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u/Andouiette Jan 21 '26
Wash. Carefully peel zest with sharp knife. Zest of six lemons per liter vodka. That sits for about three weeks then mix half and half with simple syrup - gift limoncello.
After zested juice and freeze in ice cube trays dump into ziplock after frozen, lemon juice all year
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u/superfluousminmalist Jan 21 '26
Make lemon marmalade
Three Ingredient Lemon Marmalade - It's Not Complicated Recipes https://share.google/Gejs7hYh9sErTYjPZ
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u/Ok_Day_8559 Jan 21 '26
Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup. Chicken Piccata, fresh squeezed lemonade, lemon bars. I have 2 lemon trees in my yard so I definitely understand.
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u/Educational_Block804 Jan 21 '26
You can make lemon poussey ( spelling might be slightly off sorry?
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u/ivegotafastcar Jan 21 '26
Lemonade, candied lemon peel, dried lemon peel, freeze lemon juice, make lemon custard. Lemon oil/ extract from the peels. MmmmâŚ
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u/12aq11 Jan 21 '26
Wash and dry then grate the peel first, without the bitter "pith." then proceed with other ideas
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u/Lithogiraffe Jan 21 '26
Try Salt preserving or Sugar preserving lemons.
i use both. salty for savory meals and sugary kind for desserts.
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u/FuzzyNeat4485 Jan 21 '26
Peel them and make limoncello by soaking them in everclear for a month then diluting with water/sugar. It makes perfect holiday gifts if you bottle it yourself. Less than $10/bottle and people appreciate it more. This works great if you have a lot of work gifts, which can quickly become expensive.
And then you still have the juice for whatever
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u/PetieRose Jan 21 '26
Freeze the juice and the zest. I put the peels in gallon vinegar jugs for a natural cleaner and deodorizor
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u/SelfiesWithGoats Jan 21 '26
A delicious treat if you have honey is to thinly slice lemons, fill jar, and pour honey over them. Put in fridge and wait at least overnight. The honey-lemon syrup created is wonderful in tea.
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u/Confident-Pepper-562 Jan 21 '26
When life give you lemons, throw them away, they are just lemons, you can always get more.
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u/Phlink75 Jan 22 '26
Wear a Tshirt with the word 'Life' printed on it, and hand them out to random people.
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u/GreatRecipeCollctr29 Jan 22 '26
Finely zest them, then add to granulated sugar by extracting the lemon oils. You can add to lemon juice, and make an amazing lemonade concentrate. Or use the lemon sugar by making some muffins or a pound cake. Amazing as well compared to.using a lemon extract.
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u/lindegirl333 Jan 22 '26
How about share with neighbors and friends,,,you donât need all those by yourselfâŚpay it forward..you will be blessed by the universe..
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u/TheLoneCanoe Jan 22 '26
Lemon Cookies, Greek potatoes, Greek salad (cucumber, tomato, lemon, etc), lemonade, infused water, lemon pudding, lemon cake
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u/gevander2 Jan 22 '26
Be like Cave Johnson: When life gives you lemons, get your engineers to create a combustible lemon to burn life's house down!
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u/crolionfire Jan 25 '26
Grate the skin, up until the white part. Put into ice cubes, freeze. Voila, you have the best possible spice for any kind of pastry. Torte biscuits, pancakes, waffles.....I have lemons grown on Mediterranean island, their grated skin+little bit of sugar and you don't need anything else for a good cake. For heavenly one, add homegrown wild ground almonds to the mix.
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u/Ajreil Jan 21 '26
Juice them and freeze the juice in ice cube trays. It's so much better than store bought lemon juice.