How long can I store whole and sliced ​​lemons at home?

Juicy and fragrant bright yellow citruses are firmly entrenched in the life of modern man. Against this background, housewives sometimes ask how to store lemons correctly, if even after a few days in the refrigerator they begin to deteriorate. This applies to both sliced ​​and whole citrus fruits, so many prefer to limit themselves to buying just one fruit, even very high quality.

In fact, there are many approaches that allow you to keep food fresh for a long time. You do not need to use chemicals or preservatives, all methods are very simple, affordable and safe.

The most effective and convenient methods for storing whole lemons

There are several options for storing lemons at home. Here are the most effective in terms of obtaining the longest possible result (up to several months):

• In sand. We take clean, carefully dried sand, you can even calcine it in the oven. Pour it into a convenient container with a layer of about 3 cm. Wash each fruit, dry it, wrap it with parchment paper and put it on the sand. Pour citruses with another 3-4 cm of sand and close the lid. Store the container in a dark, dry place. If the depth of the container allows, then we make several layers of lemons.
• In wax. Pretty troublesome and not the cheapest, but very effective way. In the process of processing lemons, you can use wax paper or wax. In the first case, the products are wrapped in paper (each fruit separately) and laid out in a resealable storage container. When using wax, it must first be melted in a water bath and with a brush apply a thin protective layer on each citrus. After the product has hardened, lemons are laid out in a container. In order to preserve fruits in this way and not spoil their taste, the container should be regularly ventilated.
• In a vacuum. You can use a special device or resort to an effective folk method. We take a glass jar, put several fruits in it, filling it with no more than half, put a candle on top. We set fire to the wick, close the container with a lid. When the air is over, the candle will go out, and lemons in such an environment will be perfectly preserved for a long time.

Tip: Even if you simply remove the lemons in a dark place, you can count on a longer preservation of their freshness. In a bright place, the product may deteriorate in a matter of hours.

Here are some more options on how to save lemons, however, they will not give such a lasting result (no more than a week):

• In fridge. If other methods used at home are unavailable for technical reasons, or you need to save fruits for just a few days, then you can simply put them in the right compartment of the refrigerator. After pre-packing each fruit in tracing paper or parchment paper, you can add them a few more days.
• In water. To lemons do not dry, it is recommended to use containers with water, it is best if they are glass jars. Wash my container, dry, put clean lemons and, pouring water, close the lid. The fluid needs to be changed every two days, while washing the fruits.

The listed methods will only be effective when working with fresh, high-quality fruits without traces of rot or softening. Even slightly rotten fruits from such exposure will deteriorate faster.

How can one preserve the freshness of sliced ​​fruits for a long time?

The cut lemon will not soften, dry and become white coated for several days, if you save it using one of the following methods:

• We take a saucer, sprinkle it with sugar, if in the future it is planned to use lemon as a dessert or as an addition to tea, salt - if the fruit goes to make a sauce or snack. Lay the lemon on a saucer with the slice down and put it in the refrigerator or in a dark, cool place.
• Fruit that goes for dessert or is served with tea is best sugared. To do this, cut the fruit with very thin plates, put it in a sealed plastic container and pour it with sugar. No less popular among housewives and lemon-sugar mixture. In this case, the fruit is cleaned of seeds and crushed with sugar in a blender or meat grinder. A lockable glass jar is ideal for storing such a product.

The proposed storage methods for aromatic citrus are simple, affordable, safe and time-tested. With their help, you can harvest products for a long time and not worry about their safety. If desired, fresh limes can be subjected to the same processing, but these approaches are not recommended for storing oranges or grapefruits.