Lemon Question

[Gourmet_Mom]

William has gotten onto a lemonade kick lately and bought a juicer. I haven't been able to catch him before he makes it. Poor thing can't seem to wrap his brain around the fact that...I NEED THAT ZEST!!!!!

My question is, how far ahead can I zest the lemons?

I assume they need to be refrigerated after zesting until used for juice. I figure if I can zest them when he buys them, I won't have to worry about missing out on all that wonderful zest....LOL!

[farnfam]

I have zested lemons and put them in a baggie in the fridge. They seemed to keep pretty well, but I'm not sure how long they would have lasted, we used them pretty quick. I've also stored the zest in a baggie in the freezer. That worked okay but gradually lost it's zesty-ness after a few weeks.
Also, did the same with oranges, with similiar results
So go ahead, try it, see what you think.

[HomeCulinarian]

I don't know about freezing zest, but wanted to mention that we have discovered grilling our lemons for garnish with fish dishes. I don't think it really changes the flavor, but it does break down the structure of the lemon and makes it easier to squeeze.

[bjcotton]

I have zested and frozen it from many lemons/limes/oranges. It does indeed slowly lose it's zestiness, but in a pinch it works, you just have to use more. I have used it up to 2 years later (after vacuum packaging) but had to use 2-3 times as much.

[pjcooks]

I've had the same experience as Billy. I haven't kept it quite that long, but it has lasted a few months in the freezer. You'll probably use it before then, anyways.

Fresh squeezed lemonade, so good. I keep a pitcher of simple syrup in the fridge over the summer, it seems to last forever.

PJ

[cjs]

I always freeze the zest when I have an abundance of lemons too.