Freezing Lemon Zest

I just picked the last of my lemons off the tree.  Fresh lemons are so nice to have around I wish they would last all year.  I can't tell you how wonderful it is when a recipe calls for fresh lemon juice or zest to just walk out to your backyard and grab a lemon.  Sadly that day is gone for another nine months for me.  It is always frustrating to me when I have to buy lemons at the store.  There is a great way to make that lemon taste last a lot longer.  Did you know you can freeze lemon zest?  I could always use bottled lemon juice in a pinch if I needed to but you can't buy bottled lemon zest.  So here is how you do it.

Before you juice your lemons for lemonade zest them in whichever way you find easiest.  I love my microplane zester.  I was at a cooking class once that said to use the microplane upside down to catch the zest.  It is SO much easier that way!  You don't have to worry about the zest getting everywhere and when it is full you just dump it into a bowl.

Next you lay out a sheet of plastic wrap and dump the zest onto it about a tablespoon at a time two to three inches apart.  In the picture I don't have them quite that far apart and it worked but I would rather it have been farther apart.

Next carefully wrap the zest up and twist in between the sections like little sausages.  Stick the whole thing in a freezer bag and freeze!

I have so far only tried it frozen up to two months and it worked great.  Longer than that probably works too but since I have not tried it I don't know for sure.

 Next I'll be freezing orange zest!