Friday, February 27, 2015

How to Can Lemon Juice ~ Citrus Series


Twas a dark and dreary day... But even the lack of light didn't threaten the resolve of the determined mother and daughter duo. They had planned to can lemon juice and were glad that they did. The final jars standing by the window were like a beam of sunshine, a beacon of light for all who passed by, proclaiming that a project was indeed completed! 


To begin, prepare your canning equipment (step-by-step canning procedures will be found here). Next, wash up your lemons making sure that they are all nice and firm. You will need a grocery bag filled with them in order to yield a batch of seven pint jars (sorry I don't have weight measurements to give you).


The next step is to cut your lemons in half and juice them. I used the citrus juicer attachment on our Bosch mixer but you can use whatever method you know to extract the juice (even some old fashioned squeezing!).


Finally, strain the juice through a sieve to remove any pulp and particles. Place the juice in a large pot and heat it to a low simmering boil.


Once that is accomplished, begin filling your sterilized jars (making sure to keep the juice "hot" but not boiling while doing so) and leave 1/4 inch headspace from the top of the jar. Process the hot jars (pint or quart) of lemon juice for 5 minutes in a boiling water bath canner.

{To learn how to can, visit here and the tutorial we used to can our lemon juice was found here.}



I think this lemon juice will come in handy! And how fun it was to line up the jars onto our pantry shelves! It is very enjoyable to do some preserving in the chilly winter months and these seasonal citrus projects are just perfect! You may also be interested in making traditional lemon marmalade, honey-lemon marmalade or even preparing your own lemon extract! Do you have an abundance of lemons right now? What have you been doing with them? Here is a list of our lemon inspired projects.

23 comments:

  1. Great canning post for lemon juice, JES. I have a question(s). Are those one-piece lids on your jars, and if so, where does one buy them? I've actually reused some that I got on jars of food from the store and they actually sealed. I should also say the "experts" say not to do that. o.O
    Have a great weekend!

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    1. You are so cutting edge :) Anyways, the one piece lids were purchased at https://www.sks-bottle.com . This is actually the canning system used by the Europeans and Australians. I will purchase these lids when I have an abundance of a certain sized jar that I recycled and they work just fine. You heat up the lids in simmering water to get them gummy and place like you would the Ball canning lids. The only difference is they are hot to touch so you need to use a potholder to screw them on. Otherwise, it is just as safe to use for canning (I did research it first).

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    2. Thank you for the link, JES. That's a great site for lids, nifty syrup bottles, etc. And I like that they use American made products when they can. Thanks again. :)

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  2. JES. I am SO heading to the store for a nice bag of lemons. The sun is streaming thru my kitchen windows, it's. -7 out at 7 Am. I am out of here. Well, breakfast 1st! Last week 'jammed' the raspberries from my freezer. Have more to do. But marmalade? That's the ticket!!!

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  3. love this thanks-never thought to canned lemon juice-but this would be handy to have

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  4. I love how versatile and beneficial this juice is. Thanks for sharing how to can it. :D

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  5. How neat to can your own lemon juice! We don't live in an area where we can grow lemons so this is probably not something I will ever do but that is pretty fun that you can!

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  6. I had no idea you could do this. If I find a good source for lemons, then I might be doing that this year.

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  7. Now I feel like I've had my head in the sand.... I did not realize you could can lemon juice! The thought simply never crossed my mind :) I would LOVE to can some so thanks a bunch for sharing, my friend. Hugs to you!

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  8. It is nice to meet you. Thank you for visiting via Stephanie. I never thought of canning lemon juice either. My husband's late parents once lived in FL and would share the biggest lemons with us!

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  9. I am very excited about this. Now I can't wait for bulk organic lemons to go on sale through Azure Standard. Found you through the Homestead Blog Hop!

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  10. Love this! We get tons of lemons and limes in the summer in our vegetable co-op! Pinning this! =)

    Rosemond
    www.bighairandbooks.blogspot.com

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  11. Love this! I make homemade lemonade and everyday and this would really come in handy!

    I better get my canning stuff out and get started...

    Hugs and Blessings,
    Amy

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  12. I would have never thought about doing this.

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  13. Thanks for linking up to Awesome Life Friday!

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  14. Thanks Jes for sharing this with us at Good Morning Mondays. The bottles look great. Blessings

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  15. How long does the lemon juice keep for?

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    1. Should be good up to 2 years! :)

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    2. P.S. It may darken a bit over time but is still fine to use.

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  16. How long does it keep after you open the jar?

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    1. Good question! At least a month I noticed... basically when I see growth inside, I toss it... Hope this helps!

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  17. can you can with the pulp included?

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