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My husband’s family lives in California and they sent us loads of lemons; fresh from their lemon tree. What to do with so many lemons?… Can them and give them to your friends and neighbors!
Canning lemons is a simple, thoughtful and inexpensive gift idea. Not, to mention, canned lemons are awesome with tea. We’ve been enjoying them for a couple of weeks. And what Russian/Ukrainian person doesn’t like tea? Each pint-sized can holds 2 to 2 1/2 lemons. They will stay wonderful at least a month in the fridge.
This isn’t a typical canning recipe, where you can set them on the shelf for months, so don’t try it. Keep those canned lemons refrigerated.
Ingredients for Canned/Preserved Lemons:
8 lemons (for 3 pint size jars)
2-3 cups sugar
3 pint size glass jars
How to Make Canned/Preserved Lemons:
1.Start by washing your jars with soap and water, then fill each jar 1/3 with boiling hot water and swirl it around, then drain and repeat. Or, you can boil the cans in a large pot for 5 minutes (if you’re a real germaphobe) or run them through your dish washer. Do the same with the lids.
2. Wash your lemons thoroughly using a sponge or dish brush, then slice them into rings or half circles.
3. Place sliced lemons into jar (about 1/2 lemon at a time). Cover lemon slices with at least 3 Tbsp sugar.
4. Repeat layers of lemon and sugar till you get to the top, pressing down the lemons as you go.
5. Go on, add more sugar until you get to the top. Cover with the lid and refrigerate. You can also put a nice piece of fabric over the flat lid and screw the top over it for a nicer presentation. The sugar will turn into a syrup as it stands in the fridge. There you have it!
Canning Lemons
Ingredients
- 8 lemons, for 3 pint size jars
- 2-3 cups sugar
- 3 pint size glass jars
Instructions
- Start by washing your jars with soap and water, then fill each jar 1/3 with boiling hot water and swirl it around, then drain and repeat. Or, you can boil the cans in a large pot for 5 minutes (if you're a real germaphobe) or run them through your dish washer. Do the same with the lids.
- Wash your lemons thoroughly using a sponge or dish brush, then slice them into rings or half circles.
- Place sliced lemons into jar (about 1/2 lemon at a time). Cover lemon slices with at least 3 Tbsp sugar.
- Repeat layers of lemon and sugar till you get to the top, pressing down the lemons as you go.
- Go on, add more sugar until you get to the top. Cover with the lid and refrigerate. You can also put a nice piece of fabric over the flat lid and screw the top over it for a nicer presentation. The sugar will turn into a syrup as it stands in the fridge. There you have it!
♥ FAVORITE THINGS ♥
Shown in this post: (nope, no one paid us to write this; just stuff we love):
*This lovely (and incredibly useful) Wusthof Classic Ikon Knife *My 2-cup liquid measuring cup gets the most use Anchor Hocking Measuring Cup *Wide-mouth jars are the easiest to fill and use Ball Mason Jars*We’ve had our Philips electric kettle for about 8 years, still going strong. It’s not available anymore, so hopefully it will never break ;).
Thank you for stopping by my blog, reading, commenting, and sharing my recipes with your friends and family. It’s the best feeling to see one of my recipes on your Instagram or Facebook feeds, or when you pin my recipes. Seriously, thank you!
-Natasha
Hi, I love love anything lemon, and yellow is my favorite color. Sweet or savory love lemon. Thank you for sharing
Can these be frozen? I just made a couple jars and popped them in the fridge, however, I can’t see finishing them all in a couple months. Looking to have less food waste. Thanks.
Hi Wendi, I haven’t tied that myself. If you experiment, let me know how you liked the recipe.
Hi!! My Mother does this and uses a large pickle jar… layers lemons, combo with limes, or even pomegranate😋 with organic sugar… leaves the jar out for 3 months and the syrup that is squeezed from the fruits is placed in an sterilized apple cider vinegar jar!! Placed in fridge and used for so many things! Great for refreshing drinks with added water, sparkling water or added to recipes. I look forward to her jars all the time!!! 😋
Love it! Thanks a lot for sharing that with us, we appreciate the added info!
Thank you for this lovely refrigerator lemon canning recipe. I learned to can the “old fashioned” wayfrom my grandmother. Born in 1800s. Water bath that is. 😊
You’re welcome! Thank you so much for sharing that with me.
Hi Natasha!
I have made this before but my syrup came out tasting bitter. I did exactly as written and also took out all the seeds. Any ideas? Thank you!
Hi Yen, make sure to use enough sugar to submerge the lemons fully, otherwise the flavor of the white pith can come through more. The seeds don’t really affect the flavor. Also, make sure to store in the refrigerator.
Thanks, I love it. I also add cloves.
You’re welcome, I’m glad you enjoyed this recipe!
hi, i was wondering does this process naturally seal the can or do i have to seal it somehow after the sugar has naturally melted? i made some using the water bath method but the sugar kind of clumped together and i was wondering if i can use water bath method to seal after sugar melts or should i use traditional method of melting down sugar with the fruit before jarring?
Hi, this recipe is intended for refrigerator storage and not shelf storage as it doesn’t seal.
Can this method be used with strawberries and raspberries?
Hi Julie, I can’t say this specific method will. We do have preserve recipes HERE & our jam recipes here.
How long should it take for the syrup to develop?
Hi Jennie, it usually takes a day or so, but you just want to make sure the lemons are covered in sugar so when the syrup forms, they will be submerged.
If you really pack them with sugar, do you need to refrigerate?
Hi Karen, I haven’t tried it without refrigerating and this recipe is really intended to be a refrigerated recipe. Without testing it that way, I can’t really say if it would work to store them at room temp if boiled and vacuum sealed. The recipes I’ve seen that keep at room temp use loads of salt but I just haven’t tried it that way.
hi ,Natasha
can we use canning lemon for making lemonade drink,
I haven’t tested that but I think it could work. If you experiment, let me know how you liked the recipe.
hi, Natasha. i was wondering if you have a recipe for lemon water?
Hi Dasha, I do have a post for several varieties of flavored water. I hope you love it!
Hi well I’m insulin resistance so putting all that sugar in the lemon wouldn’t be a very good idea for me..Although I love your idea for other folks. What I did was cut all the lemons up put them into a pan and simmer them for about 15 minutes… I had my jars all ready and then I divided up the liquid and lemons put them into five jars, put the lids on and sealed them tight. What I will use this for in the future is to heat up a jar and put honey in for tea or sore throat aid.. …
That sounds like a great idea!! Thank you for sharing that with us 🙂
Do you think it would taste as nice if I use oranges instead of lemons?
Hi Tracy, I haven’t tried persevering oranges this way only because I’m not sure how I would use them. I put lemons in tea and if you can find some usefulness for canning oranges, I think it would be worth an experiment since it’s pretty easy to make. Let me know if you try that! 🙂
Can this be done with Splenda?
Hi Lillian, I really don’t have any experience with splenda so I’m not sure if it would preserve the lemons the same way or if they would spoil faster. Maybe someone else has some insight into this? Thanks in advance! 🙂
Splenda does not pull fluid like sugar so no!