Every winter, we are the lucky recipients of a bounty of citrus from both family and neighbors.
My fruit bowls and pantry are full of blood oranges, grapefruit, and lemons.
Citrus generally ripens during the winter and the cold snap that we had last week had many people picking the citrus fruit from their trees so that the fruit wouldn’t be damaged by the frost.
The problem arises that either I have too many lemons in winter and none in the summer unless I want to spend a ridiculous amount of money on lemons.
So, what do you do?
Well, I juiced them a week ago and made “lemon ice-cubes.”
Then, I promptly forgot about them until I was searching in the freezer for the chicken to thaw out for dinner.
So, I took them out and put my lemon ice cubes into freezer bags.
have three freezer bags full of lemon ice cubes, which will last me through the coming year.
What do I use them for? Well, many of my favorite dinner recipes call for a tablespoon or two of lemon juice, and they are great for making ice tea.
You can also save the lemon zest, (just before you juice them), and freeze the zest too.
My kids love grapefruit (I don’t) and have been eating some for both breakfasts and a snack. They have also been taking the blood oranges to school in their lunch boxes.
My friend, Becky, from Tucson, made ‘Orange Peel Vinegar’ which she uses as a cleaner with her extra oranges.
What do you do with an overabundance of citrus?
