Right here’s every little thing you want to know concerning the shelf lifetime of lemons. Learn the way lengthy they final relying on the way you retailer them and what are the spoilage indicators to look out for.
Love lemons? Refreshing, zesty, and nutrient-rich, lemons add a pleasant zing to on a regular basis dishes, desserts, and drinks.
Reading: How to tell if a lemon is bad
However like different fruits, it’s potential to go overboard and purchase too many. So what if you’ve bought extra lemons than you may deal with? Do lemons go bad?
Or perhaps you’re debating one of the simplest ways to retailer lemons. Does refrigeration assist? And if so, what’s the distinction between the shelf lifetime of a lemon saved at room temperature and one chilled within the fridge?
If any of those questions and doubts sound acquainted, this text is for you. In it, we undergo shelf life, storage, and going bad of lemons. If that’s one thing you’d like to study extra about, learn on.
Table of Contents
How Lengthy Do Lemons Final?
An entire lemon ought to final about a week on the counter, and a few days longer within the pantry. When you refrigerate it, it’ll maintain for about 3 to 4 weeks. Lemon that’s reduce up will solely final 3 to 4 days within the fridge in an hermetic container or freezer bag.
When you go the additional mile and seal your entire lemons tightly in a bag, you may assume they are going to maintain for five weeks and even a bit longer. Extra on that within the storage part.
That stated, any kind of fruit goes bad when it’s saved lengthy sufficient. Lemons aren’t any exception. However, as a result of the lemon’s rind is fairly thick, it’ll take a whereas earlier than this citrus fruit goes bad. The identical is true for limes.
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Associated: How lengthy do limes final?
When it comes to reduce up lemons, they keep high quality for about 3 to 4 days within the fridge. They often don’t go bad that shortly, however they are going to inevitably soften and dry out. And eventually, they’ll most likely develop mildew.
Final however not least, if you want to retailer your lemons for a longer interval than talked about above, you may freeze them.
Associated: Are you able to freeze lemons?
Now that you recognize what to anticipate when it comes to the shelf lifetime of lemons, let’s talk about spoilage indicators.
How to Tell if a Lemon Is Bad?
Discard your lemon if:
- There’s seen mildew. Lemons often go moldy after you narrow them up, however if the rind is closely bruised, it would develop mildew too. If that’s the case on your lemon, it’s time for it to go.
- It’s very smooth, shriveled, or slimy. In fact, you don’t discard a lemon on the first signal of softness, however solely on the level that it’s too smooth (or shriveled) on your liking. When you’re okay with one which’s sort of smooth however okay in any other case, use it. However if you’re not, it’s superb to let it go. If the fruit is slimy, it’s positively no good.
- It’s closely bruised or discolored. A lemon rind sometimes has all types of imperfections, and that’s okay. However if it seems to be prefer it has taken a beating, or it merely seems to be bad sufficient that you just wouldn’t really feel comfy utilizing it, toss it.
- It smells humorous. This one is uncommon, however if your lemon doesn’t have a zesty aroma and smells sort of off (in any method), play it secure and throw it out.
At their freshest, lemons have a vivid yellow rind (with some discolorations and imperfections right here and there), bitter style, zesty aroma, and are fairly agency to the contact. Over time, they are going to lose a few of the scent, grow to be squishy, and if they sit in storage lengthy sufficient, slimy.
Now, if it’s a entire lemon and also you’re not fairly if it’s best to discard it instantly or not, reduce it in half and see how issues are going inside. Use it if the flesh seems to be okay, or toss it in any other case.
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When it comes to leftover lemon slices, halves, and the like, it’s often apparent. If it’s moldy just like the one beneath (that I forgot about), there’s no debate on whether or not it’s spoiled or not.
How to Retailer Lemons
Principal article: How to retailer lemons?
Like with all fruits and veggies, to retailer the meals merchandise for the longest, you begin by selecting one of the best ones potential.
Within the case of lemons, meaning selecting yellow fruits which are agency to the contact, and avoiding considerably squishy ones with browned or blemished rind. Of all three, the blemished rind is the least of a drawback, so if there aren’t any good ones, select ones with the not-so-perfect rind.
Now let’s speak about how we retailer these bad boys. Many individuals simply put them on the countertop within the kitchen. And that’s positively a legitimate possibility if you propose on utilizing them up inside a week or so. When you select a cool and dry space, away from sources of warmth, just like the pantry or a cupboard within the kitchen, that’s a bit higher, however nonetheless positively not good.
The fridge is one of the best place to retailer lemons if you need to retailer them for the long run. The best method is to merely put the bag with the fruits within the crisper drawer.
When it comes to reduce lemons, the fridge is the place it’s best to retailer them. The chilly air will dry out the reduce fruits, so to forestall that you just want to wrap them tightly. Use plastic wrap, and never aluminum foil for that.
Alternatively, you may put the fruit into a freezer bag and squeeze out the air earlier than sealing. That technique works greatest for lemon halves. So if you wanted one half to make some lemon juice for a dish, put the second half in a freezer bag and refrigerate it. Or juice each halves and freeze the leftover lemon juice.
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