I find a fresh lemon, even when cut, will last a couple of weeks on the fridge. Uncut lemons last even longer. Also I believe fresh is superior nutritionally and flavourwise. So I always have lemons here and have never used bottled. .

I will miss the frozen lemonade for frozen margaritas. 🤷🏻‍♀️Havent bought it in a long time so maybe it’s been phased out but i could count on it working with a can of lemonade, a can of tequila, and ice in a food blender made an easy and perfect one.

I also have an ancient electric juicer that does a great job, so when I don’t use a whole lemon I juice part of it and freeze in a silicone ice cube tray then throw in a freezer bag.

I read that there will be no more canned frozen orange juice either. What would my mother have done? I usually have a lemon in the fridge. When I use it, I zest it first and freeze the zest in a bit of waxed paper to use in baking later on. Any leftover juice goes in a tiny, tiny Rubbermaid container, to be frozen. If I need a teasppon or so, leaving it out on the counter for 10-15 minutes will thaw enough for what I need.

Yes, I heard that recently. Are there other brands of frozen juice available where you shop?

Fresh lemons. That is all I have ever used.

I drink the frozen orange year round. The frozen lemon in the summer and the frozen lime for margaritas.

I have been getting the orange juice from Publix, and lemon. Maybe they will keep making it. I detest the premade orange juice.

Fresh lemons are all I ever buy. I drink lemon water all day, and like the real thing squeezed in the bottle.

Always fresh! Easy for me since we have a lemon tree. As already mentioned, you can freeze the juice and zest.👍🏻

I’ve never used anything but fresh. I just buy one when I need it and usually use it up before it goes bad. I’d never have the need for a bag of lemons.

Freezing the juice is a great idea; why didn’t I think of that?

I just don’t use lemon juice much, or when I do it’s a small enough amount that I don’t notice fresh vs bottled. I forget what the brand was, but I had a small bottle that I bought at Whole Foods that lasted a pretty long time.

I freeze lemon juice from the lemons that are about to go bad - I squeeze the juice into an ice cube tray and then pop the frozen cubes into a freezer bag.

I usually have frozen lemon juice - I buy half a dozen lemons - juice them and freeze the juice in 1/2 oz cubes (Tablespoon). I freeze leftover tomato paste (hate wasting a whole can when I only need a couple of tablespoons) and often ask for a small container of sauce when I order pizza - freeze the sauce and drop one of the frozen cubes on the top of a slice when re-heating since the sauce soaks into the crust and looses it's moisture content.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07RK1FWWM?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_dt_b_fed_asin_title_3&th=1

I just made a King Arthur order and was going to buy Lemon Powder to try - freeze dried lemons - great reviews, but it is currently out of stock.

For years I’ve been freezing whole lemons. The juice and zest are as fine as the day they were frozen, are perfect for cooking and lemonade but certainly cannot be used as wedges as they are very soft when thawed. No one has ever mentioned an off or odd taste.

We have a lemon tree that produces most of the year but there are periods where none of lemons are ripe. I freeze fresh juice when the tree is full. Freeze both ice cube and cup size trays. Works great.

“Or as bad as the little lemon-shaped plastic bottles?”

My mom always had one in the fridge. The brand was ReaLemon. Kind of cute but, yes, bad.

News story about Minute Maid

https://www.axios.com/2026/02/05/minute-maid-frozen-juice-concentrate-discontinued

Welch's quit making frozen grape juice concentrate during COVID. Or thereabouts. I hated that.

As to what I would do? Buy that bag of lemons, squeeze them, and toss them in the freezer.

Video for easiest way to squeeze them yourself

Only fresh. they last a long time

A story about freezing fresh lemon juice. I used to do it often before we had a lemon tree using ice cube trays. DH would mix some cubes with water and sugar in a glass. I also would freeze buttermilk in cubes for baking. One day I noticed DH’s glass of ”lemonade” looked sort of weird and frothy. He’d used buttermilk cubes instead of lemon. When I pointed it out he said, ”I thought it tasted kind of funny.”😵‍💫

I always buy fresh to have on hand but often they mold before I use them. I noticed a bottle/jar of lemon juice at trader joe's recently and thought I'd try that - I usually like their products and I think it was in glass, which would help with off-taste, I would think. This reminded me that I do have a package of King Arthur lemon powder that I never have opened.

My inlaws lived in So Cal. and had lemon trees and avocado trees in their yard. She worked for the airlines and flew for free, so they visited us often. They would bring an extra suitcase filled with both fruits whenever they visited. They marveled at our orchard filled with apples...we were both envious of the other's bounty! My brother in law would bring a suitcase of Coors beer for my husband when he visited, when you couldn't buy it in WA.

This thread triggered my interest to give a taste to the Real Lemon product we keep in the fridge for occasional use. To squeeze into guac to prevent browning, to add lightly to a gin and tonic- we use little lemon juice otherwise.

I put some in a small glass and tasted it - very sour, definitely lemony, no off flavor notes. It seemed fine.

We have access to and receive a wide variety of citrus fruits when we're in SoCal. Juice oranges, eating oranges, blood red oranges, limes, lemons of various varieties, etc. Most citrus trees are so prolific that having them can be burdensome (to dispose of ripe fruit). Ditto is true for a close friend who has nearly out of control passion fruit vines growing on their fences. THAT'S worth the effort in my book.

This one is good. It is a glass bottle and only contains lemon juice.

It lasted quite awhile in the fridge. I just cooked with it.

Lemons never get that inexpensive here in SoCal, and there are lemon trees everywhere. You can’t even give them all away. Right now our lemon tree is loaded, and lemons are 79 cents each at our grocery store. You can find them for less in those mesh bags at Trader Joe’s, Aldi and other places but they’re often quite small. Maybe okay depending on your needs.

When we run out of lemons from the tree, I use the Italian brand Volcano. They also produce lime juice.

I bought this. Not cheap, but worth it to me. The biggest drawback is hand-washing.

I buy a big bag of lemons, squeeze them, and freeze the juice in ice cube trays. Then store in the freezer in a zip-lock bag.

I tried the Santa Cruz juice once. I don’t care for it. IIRC, I poured it out.

Sister bought the Italian Volcano lemon juice. It’s okay. Not as good as fresh but better than most bottled stuff.

I hate to admit it, but I use Real Lemon to make lemon squares. Fresh lemon juice is not tart enough.

Never liked the taste of bottled lemon juice, and we always had fresh Meyer lemons for years and years - which taste different than regular lemons you usually get. I used to freeze them whole as well - so much less work and a bit easier to squeeze than the fresh ones. I also had a Key lime tree, but the fruits are super perishable - even frozen whole, so I learned to make a cordial with the juice & peel.

Now I prefer limes and buy organic, mostly @ Trader Joe's - they're usually seedless and seem to last forever in the fridge.

One thing I do, which seems to make citrus last longer in the fridge, is to put the mesh bag of fruits inside a produce or or other plastic bag so the skins don't get dried out. I don't really leave any fresh fruit out unrefrigerated, except bananas, or if it needs to ripen.

I use ReaLemon bottled lemon juice, and have for years, for adding to cooking or hot drinks. I use fresh for baking lemon pies/tarts/meringues

As others have mentioned we also use real lemons, I only wish that I could grow a lemon tree outside here....limes and oranges too!

I think the frozen juice market is a vestige of the past and may go away altogether. I remember that everyone used frozen juice when I was a kid, everyone had a supply of Tupperware and other covered pitchers to make and store it in. Those days are long gone from what I've seen. Ready to drink juice sold from refridgerated cases dominate.

There's a citrus disease that destroys trees and fruit that has been at epidemic levels in Florida in the past few years. I wonder if that's had any effect? I've read that the citrus industry is expected to effectively shut down there as there's no comprehensive way right now to limit or prevent the disease and its spread. Maybe some of you in Florida have better info than what I recollect seeing.

Production of fruit and juices has plummeted and, I believe, the juice industry in the US, if not now but soon, relies on imported juices. That's a different business than growing and producing juice.

@bbstx I posted my juicer like that when I did my lemon curd tutorial. The juicer was my maternal grandmothers . It is the best. I just rinse it out ddy and put in the drawer.

The Santa Cruz and other brands of lemon juice are pretty terrible.

I bought the Barfly juicer after using one like it at my old roomie’s house. Hers had belonged to her mother. I now have 4 juicers - a wooden reamer, an enameled half circle squisher (that’s a technical term), and the classic kind that is stainless steel and catches the pulp and the seeds before the juice goes into the bowl it sits on. By far, the Barfly juicer is my favorite and the easiest to use.

Sheeshie mentioned freezing the entire lemon. I think this method is worth a try.

Bottled lemon juice ( I buy Real Lemon) is required for water bath canning of tomatoes and tomato juice. Freshly squeezed lemon juice isn't safe because the acidity varies. Except for canning, I use fresh lemons and always have them in the fridge.

Last year I was making some lemon dessert I found online. The recipe author swore by using Nellie & Joe's Key West Real Lemon Juice, so I decided to try it. It really was good! Typically, though, I buy lemons on sale, grate and juice them, and freeze.

Like, @Sherry8aNorthAL I keep Santa Cruz brand lemon (and lime) juice in my fridge.

I never thought about freezing fresh-squeezed lemon juice, that's a great idea!

If lemon is the star of the dish, I will use fresh from the source I often have frozen whole lemons or limes that I can zest/juice for those dishes that need it. I always have bottled lemon or lime juice in the fridge for canning purposes but I find they are adequate when I need just a smidge to brighten up a dish. I also keep True Lime and True Lemon powder in my pantry which also work for those times when I want the oomph but do not want to go to the store. The powders are crystallized lemon or lime. I tend to be a fickle cook, so having options helps me to prepare meals according to the whims of the day.

Like Sherry8 and localeater, I also use Santa Cruz lemon and lime juice.

We mostly use our own frozen lime juice cubes but have also tried the Trader Joe’s bottled lemon juice. It tastes slightly watery to me but when I’m in a hurry, it serves the purpose.

DH had kidney stones, only once (knock on wood). So now he keeps a glass bottle of Lakewood lemon juice in the fridge. He mixes a little each morning in a bottle of water.

For cooking, I like to use real lemons.