Canning Lemon Juice

When parents hand you lemons, can the lemon juice. The best lemons are those picked fresh from the trees, during season, where the citrus smell is so strong and fresh.

I love lemons. You can make lemonade. Put some in tea, use some when cooking meat, pour some juice over salad, bake some dessert, add a bit to a homemade cleaner, and much more.

Canning lemon juice is so easy because lemons are so acidic you can water can the juice.

Once you have all the lemons start by washing them, slicing them in half, and juicing them. You could strain the pulp or leave the pulp. If you leave the pulp, it will become a little bitter.

In a pot bring to a boil your jars and lids. You want to sanitize everything. Heat your lemon juice in a separate pot. You simply want to warm up the lemon juice, so a low simmering boil will do.

Fill the jars with lemon juice. Leave 1/4 inch on top. Wipe the rim of the jars. Place the clean lid and slightly tighten the rings. Put the jars in your water canner and make sure that the jars are covered with at least 2 inches of water that is boiling. If your using pint or quarts and your altitude is 0-1,000 ft you need to boil the lemon juice for 5 min. 10 minutes if you’re at 1,001- 6,000 feet and 15 minutes if your located above 6,000 feet.

After the time is up, you need to lift the jars out of the water and let them cool. Make sure that jars are not touching each other. Once the jars are cool, you can wash the outside of the can, and this is when you check to see if jars have sealed. I like to lift the jars by the rim. If you press in the center of the lid nothing should change. If it pops up and down, you need to put the jar in the refrigerator.

You now have lemon juice on your shelf for 18 months to 2 years.

Below is a great resource if you plan to can anything.
http://pickyourown.org

Thank you for reading our blog post.