I know JohnM has said that you can leave them on the tree until you need to use them - until even as late as March (he just said this yesterday in a post). I would not pick all of them at once. I made a delicious green lemon chicken soup that was incredible just a few days ago, although I used a baboon lemon. I have made wonderful lemon bars with Meyers, lemon meringue pie, lemon curd. Just a few days ago there was a thread with a recipe for lemon curd that I want to try. Enjoy your lemons. They look beautiful and delicious!

Your lemons look great. I'd probably make a pie with them and use 1-2 to season chicken for the next two weeks.... leaving them on the tree is also an option. You can pretty much use lemon/meyer where you would use vinegar.... but less acidic obviously. Tea..... so many options, not enough lemons lol.

The editor of the San Francisco Chronicle newspaper once devoted half a page to an editorial in praise of the Meyer lemon; in which he said, "Until you have had a Meyer lemon martini, you have not experienced that small piece of heaven on earth". You can freeze Meyer lemon juice for a year without any loss of quality; and when defrosted, the juice does not separate. We leave our lemons "warehoused" on the tree until we have use for them, or buyers for them... unlike most citrus, they do not fall when mature. For a small tree, I would probably pick half or so, for the sake of the tree; they will last up to 60 days if you cut them, leaving a small piece of stem on the fruit; keep them in a cool place; but unless they are waxed, do not put them in the refri... it will only dessicate them.

Nice lemons. I'd just enjoy looking at them until needing one. Would make lemonade, or some other kind of drink. Good time of the year for honey lemon ginger tea.

I don't think I've ever frozen a whole lemon before, so can't say how that would go. I have make ice cubes out of lemon juice. That works.

Your Meyer lemons look better than the ones I saw at the store today (they were from California the sign said).

We have experimented with freezing whole lemons.... up to a year... they are fine; but when you thaw them, you have to use them at once; because they become mushy.

You could also preserve them, Moroccan-style. I'd imagine that Meyers make really great preserved lemon.

PacNor,

The finest and most expensive preserved/salted lemons in the world are made with Meyer lemons. In Guatemala you can sometimes get them at Epicure in Antigua

It's amazingly easy to do yourself - all you need is lemons, salt, and lemon juice! I'd imagine you have plenty of those ingredients laying around on a lemon farm!

I’m going to preserve a few Meyers. I have several recipes I’d like to use them in and if preserved they last about a year or longer.

I've never tried lemon preserves. Sounds interesting, I''ll have to look up some recipes. That would be a good way to use up all our Meyers. We have one bush tree that has cranked out the biggest most perfect looking lemons we've ever had, I'd guess over 40 from that one little tree. We've been giving them away to neighbors. Feels kind of good to get that 'wow' factor. (You have a lemon tree, in NC? Wow!).

I sometimes freeze the whole lemon, then when I need juice, just put it in the microwave for a minute, cut and squeeze.

Picture perfect!

GOD your all making me huuungry

corey - you can't just drop that picture there and not include a recipe!!!!! :-p :-D

I read somewhere that you can freeze the whole lemon and then grate off as much juice or rind as you need from the frozen lemon. I tried it and it works, but sometimes I do get more skin than juice, and it can get bitter, so I guess you have to discard the first few gratings.

KC

KC,

The rind of the Meyer is not bitter; so if you zest a little too deep, no worries. I usually just peel the skin with a vegetable peeler and then chop it; but don't try that with other lemons.

John, you’re right. It wasn’t Meyers I froze, but a mixed bag of lines and lemons. Now that I know the Meyer rind isn’t bitter, I’ll freeze only those. Thanks.

The last batch of Meyers I made Marmalade , earlier i preserved it whole in salt comes handy for Tagine .