Dining and Cooking
Preserving Lemons for the Pantry: Canning, Fermenting, and Real Ingredients
In Condiments and Seasonings

Preserving Lemons for the Pantry: Canning, Fermenting, and Real Ingredients



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In this week’s video, I’m preserving fresh lemons in two traditional ways: water-bath canning lemon juice and fermenting whole lemons.

I also explain why I choose to preserve lemons at home instead of buying bottled lemon juice from the store, looking closely at ingredients, preservatives, shelf stability, and long-term pantry use.

This isn’t about perfection or fear. It’s about stewardship, knowing what’s in your food, and using simple methods that families have relied on for generations.

If you’re working on building a more intentional pantry, reducing reliance on ultra-processed foods, or just want practical ways to use seasonal citrus, this video walks through:

🍋How I preserve lemons through canning
🍋How I make fermented lemons for long-term storage
🍋How store-bought lemon juice differs from homemade
🍋Why preserving your own ingredients matters in everyday cooking

This is part of my ongoing Three Rivers Challenge, where we focus on using what we have, preserving food simply, and making the most of every bit

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31 Comments

  8. @thewitchykitchen

    We are fortunate to have a Meyer lemon tree, that produce 100 pounds of fruit every year. I always freeze some in ice cube trays, since I often don’t need a full pint of juice. I also cut off all of the zest, before I press the juice out. Some zest are frozen in tablespoon size, some are used for lemoncello, and the rest of the peel, I use to make lemon extract. It’s super easy to make the extract and it saves me a lot of money each year. I do give away some of the extract, but the most we use up. The majority of the extract I use to make a lemon cleaner. The last thing I so is fermenting some lemons, and I freeze dry some for tea. I grow purple basil and the mix of purple basil and lemon makes for a fantastic tea. We also grow oranges and tangerines, and I preserve them in a similar manner.
    As for the fermented lemons, I use a lot in salat dressings. The flavor is amazing. 😊

  9. @rlm9093

    Thanks for the lemon juice canning!
    I'd never thought of canning lemon juice. I definitely want to do this myself at some point.

  10. @peggymoss3185

    I know you are in the middle of a pantry challenge but you could consider this part of it so that lemons would not spoil

  11. @sparrowgarden1401

    We have 2 Meyer lemon trees. They actually are more like bushes. Besides the lemons tasting wonderful, you can leave them on the tree until you need them. I still like to preserve some of them. One thing I have never done was to can them, for the same reason you mentioned. But it would be convenient to have at least one batch canned. It would cut the work when you need juice for a recipe. I like the fermented lemons and use them in malva mallow salad recipe. Malva or mallow is a weed that grows abundantly in our garden. Unfortunately people steal our lemons from one tree. It is easily reached from our neighbor's driveway. And some years the rats come and eat the peels from them and some years are not a good production year. I cannot imagine being without lemons or having to buy them. So I preserve some every year.

  14. @marilynhoops3498

    Thank you for the update. Enjoyed as always. It's very cold here also. We ended up with 7" of snow and ice, too. I haven't been out for 2 weeks. Afraid I will fall. We still have ice and snow. Hopefully, the temps will go up enough tomorrow to melt some of this stuff. I will be 74 on the 14th of this month. I have had replacements also. So I can't afford to fall. Stay warm, and God bless all of you.

  15. @theafricanhomesteader7621

    Thanks for this video.

    My question to ask is why do most Amish water bath everything?

    Whenever I would ask if they use pressure canners they would always say no.

  17. @mamamode1312

    Oh, straining those spent cranberries in the lemon juice combined with some fizzed water , sherbet would make a lovely party punch, and then the chx could enjoy the cranberries you got out.

  18. @denaliprincess

    Sodium metabisulfite is also the main ingredient in Stump-Out, a root, vine and stump removal product. I've also seen it used in gold refining. Why are they putting that in our food?

  19. @user-xb7sj2uk4u

    Canned lemon juice yesterday. Had a very cheap deal on 25 lemons from work in the reduced price section and couldn't pass it by. Got 4 small jars at about 150 mil each out of them and the skins are steeping in white vinegar to make a hopefully nice and effective household cleaner in a few months time 😁

  21. @AnnesPlace-63

    Hi saw your name on "realoutdoors" shoutout, came to look, liked and got subscribed. Nice to meet a new friend.☺Looks like you had great fun with the kids on the snow – nice lemons.☺

  24. @RubberMony

    I would say your product is very much so more comparable to the Pure lemon juice products as opposed to the powdered and reconstituted then homogenized great value lemon juice. Just my personal opinion. Plus the "love" added to your recipe❤

  26. @ashleyedvalson6048

    I wondered how you get those citrus fruit. I looked up that farm and they outsource it to places I’m not close to and you said they’re delivered to you when buying in bulk with your community, how can I get hold of the to get that because I’d love to buy in bulk and have them be organic as well.

  29. @katherinegeorge2400

    Great idea! Those who worry about the acidity part can get pH strips to check. I am against the extra junk in bottled lemon juice, as well as the plastic leaching so I WILL do this, thank you for the video.

  30. @maryschmidt6945

    Don’t forget that during winter the outside makes a good freezer. This would store that frozen lemon juice until you could have room in your freezer. Didn’t the pioneers prolong their ice blocks when it warmed up by packing it in layers of straw. Maybe you could do similar with some of your frozen goods during the winter until you opened up room in the freezer. The straw would protect from those occasional warm days that happen during the winter. This process would be better used with fruit or juice that wouldn’t spoil as bad as meat would and wouldn’t be as expensive of a waste if they did thaw. Nowadays we have available other materials that would work instead of the straw. You could insulate a box or use a cooler and add a big block of ice to keep things cold. Add drainage for the melting ice and you could have something that would keep things frozen during the winter.