When citrus is in season, it seems like you have tons of it all at once. While that is good, there are times when you have too much and you do not want it to go to waste.
Then, there are times later in the year when your recipe calls for fresh blood orange juice, and you have none because the season has ended. Maybe you want to make your favorite Meyer lemon cheesecake but there are no more citrus on your tree.
What do you do?
There are some easy ways to keep and use your citrus after the main growing season has ended. These will work for lemons, limes, and oranges where you want to use both the zest and the juice.
Firs, zest the citrus onto a piece of parchment paper. Keep each fruit separate from the other types. Then, put the zest in a small freezer-safe container. It is important to make sure it is one that seals well. Ideally, if you have small containers you could measure out two tablespoons in each container. This is a typical amount of citrus zest your recipe might call for.
We keep the zest for up to six months. Use it when baking when the recipe calls for citrus zest or as a garnish. It’s so much better than the jar of dried zest you may be tempted to purchase.
Once your citrus is zested, juice your fruit. Fill an ice cube try with each type of fruit juice. You can measure if you like. We just fill up the trays. Once a try of juice is frozen, transfer it to another tightly sealed container and put in your freezer. We have kept the juice of most citrus for six months as well. You can thaw out as many cubes at a time as you need.
It would be a good idea to label, especially if have regular lemon, Meyer lemon, lime, orange, and blood orange in the freezer all at the same time.
Now you have citrus zest and juice to use even when your trees are not producing fruit.
For other citrus recipes and ideas, check out https://www.forkscorksandbrews.com/forks/