While it might be a bit more labor-intensive and have a much shorter shelf life than bottled lemon juice, there's nothing quite as refreshing as freshly squeezed lemon juice.
It's a great thing to have on hand behind your home bar when hosting a party, but there are plenty of other reasons you might want to squeeze fresh lemons that have nothing to do with saving yourself time while mixing cocktails.
Fresh lemon juice is packed full of vitamin C, antioxidants, and other healthy nutrients, without any added sugar.
If you're looking for an easy and delicious way to add lots of vitamins, nutrients, and electrolytes to your life, check out this great guide!
Jump to:
- 🍋 Fresh Lemon Juice vs. Bottled Lemon
- 🍋 Ways to Use Freshly Squeezed Lemon Juice – Other Than Cocktails
- 🍋 The benefits of fresh lemon juice are extensive
- 🍋 Ideas for Your Leftover Lemon Peels
- 🥘 Ingredients
- 🔪 Instructions
- 🍽 Equipment
- 🌡 Storage & Tips
- 🙋🏻 FAQ
- Other Lemon Recipes for You to Try
- 📖 Recipe
- 🤎 You might also like
- ⛑️ Food Safety
- 💬 Comments
🍋 Fresh Lemon Juice vs. Bottled Lemon
Depending on who you talk to, it's almost never okay to use store-bought citrus juices. Whether you're cooking, baking, or shaking cocktails, most home chefs will tell you that bottled lemon juice just can't compare to the real lemon juice.
When you squeeze your own lemons, the citric acid is full of bright, more fully pronounced flavors. Plus, if you have a microplane on hand, you'll still have the rest of the lemon to use for lemon zest!
Lemon juice concentrates can't compare when it comes to the vibrant flavors you'll find in the freshly squeezed stuff, and they're often also full of preservatives to artificially extend their shelf life.
Bottled juice can come in handy in a pinch if you're not living in Southern California with a lemon tree in your backyard or don't live somewhere where you have access to out-of-season fresh fruits. I recommend using it while cooking rather than adding it into mixed drinks. If you're used to fresh fruits and real lemon juice, you can tell the difference!
🍋 Ways to Use Freshly Squeezed Lemon Juice – Other Than Cocktails
While I love lemon juice in my cocktails as much as the next gal, there are a lot of reasons you might want to slice into this nice, bright yellow fruit! Of course, you might be making homemade lemonade, but outside of the most obvious choice, there are so many health benefits to adding fresh lemon juice to your diet.
One of my favorite ways to enjoy it lately has been in a "nature's Gatorade" or "Switchel" recipe I stumbled across on TikTok. The super hydrating, super nutritious drink calls for a walloping half cup of freshly squeezed lemon juice, half cup of apple cider vinegar, a full cup of freshly grated ginger, and a half cup of maple syrup – along with a pinch of salt and splash of mineral water.
I'm sure the recipe varies from one content creator to the next, but no matter whose recipe you use, it's sure to be punchy, tangy, and pack full of electrolytes. It'll help keep you well hydrated with a comparable amount of electrolytes to commercial "sports drinks" without all the unnecessary added sugars and artificial flavors.
🍋 The benefits of fresh lemon juice are extensive
It's been touted, with helping to clear skin and relieve upset stomach, even preventing kidney stones and cancer. It can help aid your digestion and regulate your blood sugar.
It's full of vitamins and nutrients like vitamin C, calcium, potassium, and folate, but even the healthiest of foods should be enjoyed in moderation. Too much lemon can actually weaken your tooth enamel and cause distress to those who already have gastrointestinal issues.
🍋 Ideas for Your Leftover Lemon Peels
Before you throw your leftover lemon peels in the compost, the rinds are actually fantastic for cleaning! If you love a fresh, lemony scent, sprinkling your leftover rind with some salt actually makes an excellent tool for scrubbing away grime and soap scum from your skin and bathtub. It can help remove grease or sweat stains from your clothes and deodorize your garbage disposal. Or you could burn them for a great citrus aroma throughout your home.
Alternatively, you can actually use them in many recipes like homemade lemon pepper or even candied lemon peels.
🥘 Ingredients
- Lemons
See the recipe card for quantities.
🔪 Instructions
The lemons only need to be halved and then squeezed.
If you're making your own lemon juice for cocktails, you can funnel off your lemon juice into a bottle with a spout. You'll be amazed by how much this will speed up your homemade cocktail crafting game.
🍽 Equipment
- Lemon Squeezer
- Bottle
- Funnel
- Liquor Pourer Spout
🌡 Storage & Tips
It's important to remember that freshly squeezed lemon juice will only last one day in the fridge – so don't try to squeeze in bulk!
In order to help get as much juice as possible, and make the squeezing a little easier, be sure to firmly roll your lemons before cutting them. You can think of this as a "pre-squeeze" that'll help speed along the process.
🙋🏻 FAQ
In the grad scheme of things, yeah, bottled citric acid from the grocery store is technically the same thing. Using fresh juice in your recipes will make all the difference, though! The flavors are a lot more bold and vibrant, since they aren't relying on any added preservatives to keep them fresh.
The answer to this question really depends on who you ask, but for our purposes, I highly recommend you opt to squeeze your lemons instead of turning to lemon juice concentrates.
Yes, it's perfectly safe to drink freshly squeezed lemon juice, though I highly recommend mixing it into something – like a cocktail! You can also use it for homemade lemonade! Personally, I like to garnish my glasses with lemon slices, or even throw a few lemon slices into the pitcher!
If you want to squeeze your own fresh juice at home, all you'll need is lemons! It's important that you roll your lemons firmly on the counter before slicing into them to help break some of those membranes in advance. After you slice into them, I highly recommend using a lemon juicer to make the process a little quicker for yourself, but you really don't need anything too high-tech to enjoy these bright, citric acid flavors.
Other Lemon Recipes for You to Try
- Lemon White Chocolate Chip Cookies
- No Bake Lemon Cheesecake with Blueberry Sauce
- Homemade Vodka Sidecar
- Immune Boosting Saffron Water
- Lovely Lavender Spritz Cocktail
If you make this recipe, let me know how you liked it by ★★★★★ star rating it and leaving a comment below. This would be awesome! You can also sign up for our Newsletter or follow me on Pinterest or Instagram and share your creation with me. Just tag me @combinegoodflavors and hashtag #combinegoodflavors, so I don't miss it.
📖 Recipe
Fresh Squeezed Lemon Juice
Equipment
- 1 Bottle
- 1 Funnel
Ingredients
- 22 Lemons
Optional
- Water
- Sugar
Instructions
- Cut 22 Lemons in half.22 Lemons
- Squeeze them.
- Using a funnel, pour the freshly squeezed lemon juice into a bottle.
- Close the bottle and store in a cool place.
- If you want, you can dilute the lemon juice with Water or sweeten it with Sugar.Water, Sugar
Nutrition values are estimates only, using online calculators. Please verify using your own data.
⛑️ Food Safety
- Cook to a minimum temperature of 165 °F (74 °C)
- Do not use the same utensils on cooked food, that previously touched raw meat
- Wash hands after touching raw meat
- Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods
- Never leave cooking food unattended
- Use oils with high smoking point to avoid harmful compounds
- Always have good ventilation when using a gas stove
For further information, check Safe Food Handling - FDA.
Alexandra says
There is nothing quite like fresh lemon juice - I add it to so many things. This is the perfect addition to a cocktail trolley when entertaining - for both alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. Thanks for all of your tips!
Nora says
Thank you so much, Alexandra!
Jacqueline Debono says
I love freshly squeezed lemon juice drinks like the French citron pressé made with lemon juice, mineral water and sugar. They serve it in cafés all over France and Belgium. In Sicily, where my husband comes from, they add salt instead of sugar and call it seltz! They say it helps rebalance the electrolytes lost through sweat during hot summer days.
Nora says
Oh, cool! Awesome idea, adding salt! Thank you, Jacqueline!
Andréa Janssen says
I liked this blog post, because I think I know a lot more about fresh lemon juice. So thank you for sharing.
Nora says
Thank you, Andréa!
swathi iyer says
Nothing can beat freshly squeezed lemon juice in any day.
Nora says
Yes, I agree with you!