What can I do with lemons

[Dreaming of Chickens]

My grandmother has a lemon tree which is FULL of lemons right now. She is going to give me a whole bunch of them which is great, but what can I do with all of these lemons. I will certainly make lemon pie and lemon aid. I also plan to pickle a bunch in salt and water. So here's the question: What do I do with the pickled lemons when they are done? Is there anything you would said NOT to do with it?
Also, if I make a lemon marmalade or jam, what can I do with that? I don' t think I'd like it on a sandwich or a cracker.

 

[deb4o]

Oh i would juice and make lemon curd, so good over just plain ol pound cake mmmmm

 

[ORChick]

Assuming that your lemons aren't sprayed, make sure you use the peel. When I have extra unsprayed lemons (not so often now that I don't live in California) I would always zest the peel, even if I didn't need it for a recipe. Put the zest in icecube trays (about a half teaspoon each cube) and fill with lemon juice. That way you will always have lemon zest handy for cooking. You could also dry it, but I don't like the results as well. You can peel off the zest with a potato peeler, and drop it in a jar, and cover with olive oil. In a few weeks you'll have a tasty lemon oil to add to salad dressings, or add a few fresh herbs to a tablespoon or two, and have a nice dipping oil for fresh bread. You can also candy the peels, and use the results in holiday baking. Any lemon juice that you don't need immediately can also be frozen in ice cube trays, and pulled out as needed for lemonaide or other recipes. One tip: take the zest off before you do anything else - doing it after you have juiced the lemon is much harder.
PS - Pickled lemons are used a lot in Moroccan cooking; you might google for recipes. I tried making the salted lemons once, but didn't like them. I'm not fond of salt, so it wasn't a good match for me. I'd try it again though, with a different recipe (maybe not quite so much salt), just because I like Moroccan food - but I don't have access to extra lemons anymore.
PPS - Lemon marmalade is great - like orange marmalade, but lemony. The sugar makes it palatable. Very nice on breakfast toast. I like to mix a couple of tablespoons of orange marmalade in with cooked carrots; I bet lemon marmalade would also be tasty.

 

[FarmerChick]

something I never tried to store. I wondered if I could freeze them. YUP

I don't use alot of lemon. I just buy a few every now and then to flavor my water and other needs but never had tons of them to handle.

BUT you peeked my interest in storing some juice because I hate bottled lemon juice. I am off to google this. I gotta know more info now!

 

[Marianne]

Oh yum.

I'd be juicing, chopping, grating, freezing and then make candied lemon peel. I have a major sweet tooth for fruity sweet stuff.

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/candied-lemon-peel/
Make some candied orange peel to go along with it.

And I'd have to make some strawberry lemon slushes, too.

 

[FarmerChick]

Dreamin' you are lucky Marianne isn't your neighbor. At night that tree might get picked clean! :bun

 

[Marianne]

Uh, I'd leave a few....

 

[snapshot]

Per the "vinegar for fabric softener" thread--Put some lemon peels into a gallon jug of white vinegar to scent it!

 

[Dreaming of Chickens]

Dreamin' you are lucky Marianne isn't your neighbor. At night that tree might get picked clean! :bun

 

[Dreaming of Chickens]

Thanks everyone! I will be trying lots of new things in the next few days! I'll let ya'll know how it all turns out!