Have you got a whole heap of lemons ripening at once? Did you know that you can freeze them whole? I’d not thought of this before, but after getting the heads up from Trisha in her Lemon Madeira Cake recipe, I tried it and have to agree with her. Frozen lemons are brilliant.

Once frozen they’ll keep for a few months. It’s best to give them a wash before freezing so they’re ready to be used right away. Grating frozen lemons is easy; I love to use the zester and sprinkle the lemon zest on top of salads, pasta or coconut ice cream.

Lemon peel has up to ten times more vitamins than lemon juice and it also helps to rid the body of toxins, so don’t let it go to waste. After grating, you can juice the lemon easily once thawed. Place in cold water for around 10 – 15 minutes to thaw your lemon or leave it out for about an hour.

If you’d like to preserve your lemons, freezing them first will help the process as it breaks down their cells. For preserving cut the lemons into long ways into triangles then place on a tray and freeze. Annabel Langbein has a great recipe for preserving lemons using this method, here’s the link Annabel Langbeins Preserved Lemons.