Saving lemon/lime zest and juice?!
Answers: I just bought a zester and juicer from pampered chef and was wondering, if I buy the citrus in bulk can I freeze the zest and juice? I was thinking of putting the zest in a ziplock bag and the juice in ice cube trays...but before wasting tons of lemons and limes thought I would ask if anyone knows if this is a good idea or not. Thanks. Also, any good recipes to use this stuff with would be great (I found a lot of dessers but I would like main dishes...)
Joy of baking says to leave lemon zesting to last minute b/c it loses it zestiness very quickly The juice wil keep but freezing will wreck the zest
I have seen this done on one of the cooking shows on www.foodnetwork.com but I wasn't able to locate it. They do this for dishes that they can just throw the whole cube in the pot to melt. check out the website you might have to email them to inquire, they do respond back but it usually takes a week or so. Good luck
I agreed with MmM because that is the reason you use fresh zest. plus I dont think that there is that many items that required zest that you would have to freeze some to take the demand
I do this all of the time
When I use any lemon or lime or oranges
I zest them
it will be damp so you have to be careful or it can mold
it will lose some of it "zest" but is still good
I put the "zest" on a paper towel and let it dry
until it is dry
once it is I put in a air tight jar.
you will have to use more to get the same taste
so use fresh if you can but I do find the dried is good
for some things
for the juice I freeze it in ice cube trays
once frozen I put into a air tight container in the freezer
that way I always have some on hand
if you want to save things for when you need them another
good trick is for peppers
when ever I use green or red/orange pepper
I take their seeds out and dry them on paper towel
I keep them in an air tight container
they are great for soups and stir Fry's