I often freeze lemons at home. Why not use the lemon peels for marmalade, it's so delicious!

I just finished making a huge batch of lemon marmalade! I wanted to wait until just the right time, and it turned out that a rainy fall day here in Sweden was it. All cozied up in my warm wool slippers of course!

As you might remember, I bought around 13 pounds (6 kg) of lemons from CrowdFarming this summer. The plan was to use the lemons for elderflower juice and of course delicious homemade lemon marmalade. I was really impressed with the lemons I ordered. We have kept them in the fridge, and they are still nice and fresh.

Read more: Lemons from CrowdFarming

These lemons are organic, not a drop of pesticides in sight. So naturally, I decided to keep all the lemon peels. I was hellbent on making the most out of them and use everything I could. This is how I freeze lemons (and peels) at home:

How to freeze lemons

You can freeze lemons by first simply cutting them into wedges or slicing them. After that, you just put them in bags or jars and pop them into the freezer. The lemons will get a bit mushy after freezing, so they won't be as nice as when fresh. But you can use them for your cooking, or make refreshing lemon water with them. Simply add a few slices to your water pitcher and let them thaw in the water.

Remember to wash the lemons carefully before freezing them though! Especially if you didn't buy organic lemons.

It doesn't matter if the peels are completely fresh, or if you used them for lemonade before. You can freeze them regardless.

Freezing the peels

Freezing lemon peels is just as easy as freezing whole or sliced lemons. When you have such great produce as this, I think it's really important to use as much of it as possible. So, don't forget about the lemon peels!

I only use organic lemons and rinse the peel carefully. Especially if I know that I'm going to freeze them. First of all, I use the lemons for other things. For example by squeezing the juice or using lemon slices for fresh lemonade. I also make use of some of the zest before I freeze the rest of the peels.

After using the lemons, I simply put them in bags. Sliced, cut in wedges or halves. It doesn't matter. I fill the bags as I go along.

When you want to use your lemons, you simply fish them out of your fridge and put them in a bowl to thaw. I just love this process, my entire kitchen is marinated in the beautiful scent of lemons. It's wonderful! So, when the lemon peels are thawed, you will notice that they are a bit mushy. This is actually perfect when you want to make marmalade or jam though. I'm going to write more about this soon!

More about fruit: My Ice peach tree

No unnecessary plastic around these lemons. They come in a cardboard box and every single one of my lemons looks absolutely perfect.

Open house

I was so happy with my batch of lemons from CrowdFarming that I decided to buy more! We will get another 33 pounds (15 kilos) at Christmas, and I'm really excited about it. Plenty of my readers have been writing me questions about this system, and I only have good things to say about it. These lemons are the best I have ever had here in Sweden. Far better than the ones you can buy in the supermarket.

We decided that my latest huge batch of marmalade will be served at our next open house. We often welcome visitors into our garden for scheduled tours, and I'm hoping we can do it once a month May through September. If you happen to be in Sweden at this time, make sure to book a tour of the kitchen garden. Looking forward to having you!
/Sara Bäckmo