Preserving Whole Fresh Lemons

Fresh Lemons Frozen For Preserving

To run a house is the most difficult and tasking task as one has to manage the house within a budget yet have all necessary item ready at home. It is a regular practice that even items like fruits and vegetables are purchased from market in large amount as it comes out to be cheaper. Lemon is one thing that is required in every household daily for one purpose or the other.

It is a common complaint of the house wife that lemons get spoilt if kept for more than a week in fridge. Either they dry and become hard and thus break when squeezed for taking out juice and thus go waste or they rot thus are rendered useless. So what is the purpose of purchasing in bulk? How to keep them fresh for a long time?

Do not despair and purchase as many lemon you want when you get them less expensive in market and yes you can keep them as fresh as if they have been plucked fresh from the tree. 

Direction to Preserve Lemon:

• Purchase fresh yellow / green juicy lemons in bulk when less expensive.

• Wash the lemons and towel  dry them.

• Keep the washed and dried lemons in a Container with lid (Glass or plastic) / Plastic beg / Zip pouch.

• Keep the container with washed and dried lemons in the freezer and let them solidify.

• Lemon will become hard as the juice in lemon will solidify.

• Leave the container with lemons in the fridge and take out the lemon as and when require.

• Lemons can be kept like this for as long as a year also and the freshness will remain intact.

Fresh Lemons Frozen To Preserve For Long Time

• This is most effective method because if one takes out juice of lemon and freezes it there is chance that with passage of time lemon juice will start becoming bitter; also some amount of wastage is unavoidable.

How to use frozen lemons:

For making Lemonade:

• Take the frozen lemon and grate it.

• If one requires only half lemon then after grating half lemon rest can again be kept with rest of the frozen lemons.

Frozen Lemon Grated

• Add one eating spoon of the grated lemon in one glass of water (150 ml.) and stir nicely.

One spoon Grated Frozen Lemon For one Glass of lemonade

Grated lemon dissolved in water

• Filter and discard the solid.

Filtering the solid

• Add one / two teaspoon of sugar (as per the taste), and a pinch of salt.

• Dissolve salt and sugar by stirring and add few cubes of ice (optional).

• Enjoy lemonade of fresh lemon even after long time of purchasing the lemons.

• Grating the lemon is very easy and ensures least sloppiness and no wastage.

• The rind of frozen lemon which gets grated adds a great flavor to the lemonade.

Lemonade made from frozen lemon

 For making Fresh Soda Lime:

• Keep the glass in which soda lime is to be served in the fridge for cooling.

• Take one teaspoon of grated frozen lemon and add it to 20 ml. of water.

• Add 1 teaspoon of sugar and pinch of salt and dissolve.

• Filter the solution and discard the solid.

• Take the filtered solution of lemon juice, sugar and salt in the chilled glass.

• Place a stirrer in slanting position in the glass with juice.

• Pour chilled soda from the edge of glass slowly till the glass is half full.

• Stir and add more soda leaving an inch space of the glass empty. Stir gently and serve.

Fresh Soda lime

For salad:

• Take the grated lemon and add it to the salad just before serving.

• Toss the salad to mix lemon along with other seasonings in the salad.

• Rind of frozen lemon which gets grated finely a fantastic flavor to the salad.

For making Seasoning for Salad or any other dish where lemon juice is required:

• Take out the lemon an hour before use and keep it at room temperature.

• Lemon will come to its original texture and can be cut and squeezed to get the pure juice.

Tips:

• If you require more lemons in a day  grate them and keep in a airtight container as grated frozen lemons can be kept for 12 hrs. in fridge without turning bitter.

• Rind of grated frozen lemon add a lovely flavor and some tanginess  so do not get worried about rind spoiling the taste.

How to increase shelf life of Ginger

Ginger is one item which is required in most of Indian kitchen.  In winters its use start from the time we make morning tea to the end of the day cooking that is dinner. In cold climate it is very beneficial because of its medicinal values. 

The problem encountered by a house wife is how to make this quintessential item last long so that money, time and efforts all are saved. My mother used to purchase ginger in bulk when it used to be least expensive and would dig a hole in a shady corner of the garden, put the ginger in it and cover with soil, making sure that spot is never watered. When ginger would be expensive in the market she would remove the required amount and cover the rest again. After 4-5 months ginger would start getting dried and she would soak it in water for 10-15 min before using. She used to say it is ginger chest of mother earth. Now when open space and gardens have become rarity the methods of preserving and storing have also changed. In the absence of garden I devised this method of storing ginger which I want to share hoping it would benefit my readers and followers.

Direction for Preserving Whole Ginger:

• Wash ginger nicely.

• Scrape all peeling from washed ginger and remove any spoiled part from it.

• Wash again the peel ginger to make sure no dirt is adhering to it.

• Drain all water from peeled and washed ginger.

Washed and peeled Ginger

• Dry with the help of a cloth.

• Keep the cloth dried ginger under the sun for 10-15 min to evaporate surface moisture.

Ginger kept for drying under the sun

• Wrap the peeled, washed and dried ginger in a cloth / Paper.

•  Keep the ginger wrapped in cloth / paper in a Cloth bag / plastic bag / Zip pouch.

• Keep the bag with ginger in the fridge.

• Ginger will not get spoilt for 30-40 days.

Ginger after 30 days in the fridge

• Dip the peeled, washed and dried ginger in vinegar.

• Remove after 10-15 minutes and spread it on a clean cloth.

• When the surface of ginger has dried then wrap it in the cloth and store in a cloth bag/plastic bag / Zip pouch.

• Keep the bag with ginger in the fridge. Ginger will remain fresh for 4-5 months.

Tips:

•  If the bag used if paper or cloths bag it gives the best results also less use of plastic saves environment.

• If you have dipped ginger in vinegar and want to use it for making tea, then take out the amount you want to use and wash it with water 2-3 times and then soak in water for 2-3 minutes then grate and add to water being boiled for tea.

• Never add ginger to milk till it has not started to boil no matter how many times you have boiled it earlier, else milk will get spoilt.

How To Increase Shelf life of Green Chilies

De-Stalked Green Chilies and The removed Stalks

Green chilies are integral part of Indian cooking thus a must commodity in the kitchen. Problem comes when you take them out from fridge and find that they have rotted away when you were assured of their presence in the fridge. The main reason of cilantro (Dhaniya), mint, Palak, Methi, Green chili rotting while being stored in fridge is dirt and moisture. In case of green chilies even when cleaned chilies are stored they rot soon, this is due to the stalk of green chilies.I found that when green chilies are store in proper way they last for almost 15 days in the fridge. Hope my friends to benefit from my this experiment and are spared the letdown feeling when they want fresh green chilies. and get rotted one from fridge.

Time for Storing: 30 minutes

Shelf Life: Minimum 15 days

Material required For proper storing Of Green Chilies:

• Green Chilies

 Green Chilies

• Water

• Cotton Cloth / Towel

• Old News paper

Direction For Proper Storing Of Green Chilies:

• Take healthy fresh undamaged green chilies.

• Remove the stalk from green chilies carefully without damaging the green chilies. Discard the stalks.

De-Stalked Green Chilies and The removed Stalks (To be discarded)

• Wash green chilies in plenty of water.

• Dry the De-stalked and washed green chilies with cotton cloth / towel.

• Allow the wash dried chilies to stand in shade at room temperature for 20-30 min.

• Wrap the green chilies in a newspaper and place the packet in a cotton bag.

• Keep the bag with the packet of green chilies in the fridge.

• Chilies will remain fresh for 15-20 days.

• Enjoy the freshness of green chilies, bonus you do not have to wash them every time you want to eat them.

Tips:

• Make sure the green chili body is not damaged. Damaged body rots fast.

• Chilies should be completely dry before storing.

• For longer shelf life while wrapping the green chilies in paper, first place few chilies, fold the paper, again fold the paper so that there is paper between one layer of washed, dried chilies in the packet