Citrus Storage … or what to do when your citrus trees are overly abundant!

October in south Louisiana: football is heating up, cooler weather is finally here, and citrus season is just beginning.

LIME ON YOUNG TREE AT CURRENT HOUSE

AMAZING SATSUMA TREE AT OLD HOUSE

When a citrus tree is first planted, it takes a while to produce, maybe two limes the first year or five satsumas the second.  But anyone with a mature tree knows the real problem: too much citrus for one family to ever possibly eat during the season!  And much like zucchini in the summer, there's usually too much to share with friends and coworkers.

LIMES FROM JULE AND LEE

So what to do?  How to store all that excess citrus?  And then, what to do with it later?  So far this year, I have only limes, but all of these ideas work for limes, lemons, satsumas, oranges, and grapefruit -- I've never tested this on kumquats as we just eat all of those!

BE SURE TO WASH ALL CITRUS BEFORE USING

First option is an easy one, but the one I least prefer.  You can juice all the citrus, freeze the juice in ice cube trays, then move the frozen cubes to containers so that you have readily available, like-fresh juice to use all year round.  It's my least preferred option because I'm an optimizer of resources, and I don't want to do any extra work now that may never benefit me in the future.  (In other words, I'm unlikely to use all that juice before next citrus season, so I don't want to put in the effort to juice everything only to toss it next year.)

ORANGES, LIMES, AND LEMONS AFTER JUICING

Second option is my favorite.  Wash the fruit, slice it in half, freeze the halves on a tray, and - when frozen in an hour or two - toss all the halves into a large plastic freezer bag or other container.  When you are ready to use them, there are a couple of options: (1) if tossing the entire half of the fruit into something, say for a pot of boiled crawfish, simply wrap the fruit in cheesecloth, allow it thaw a bit, then proceed normally, or (2) allow the fruit to thaw (about 20-30 minutes on the counter or microwave on low for 30-second intervals, up to about 90 seconds) then juice in your normal fashion.

WASHED, HALVED, AND READY FOR THE FREEZER

LIMES AFTER FREEZING

TOSS FROZEN CITRUS IN BAG UNTIL READY TO USE

Third is a variation on the second: wash, slice in quarters, remove all seeds, THEN freeze.

Fourth is another of my favorites: slice the fruit for future use as ice in a pitcher of sangria!

SLICED AND READY TO FREEZE FOR SANGRIA

I serve my own recipe for sangria at nearly every party I host.  One of my tricks is to make the sangria a day in advance, add all fruit, and let it sit overnight.  When it's time to serve, I place frozen citrus in a clear pitcher, then pour just the sangria (straining out the marinated-for-a-day fruit!) over the frozen fruit.  This keeps the sangria cold for a long period of time without watering it down.  (Another clever alternative is to freeze grapes and use them as ice instead, but we're talking citrus here, and I almost always have a bag of frozen citrus on hand for just such an occasion.)  Here, I added my limes to some oranges that I froze this summer.

FRESHLY SLICED LIMES ADDED TO PREVIOUSLY FROZEN ORANGES

THE END OF A PITCHER OF SANGRIA

Fifth, make things with your citrus!  Right now, I have a lime liqueur resting for about five more weeks (rum, sugar, lime peels), and I am going to make some pineapple-lime curd next time I have a fresh pineapple (use within three weeks or freeze for up to six months for freshest flavor).  Key lime pie (with regular limes instead of key limes) is currently on my short list of upcoming desserts.

When I get lemons in a few weeks, I'll freeze some (as above), and I'll also make limoncello and lemon curd.  For the holidays, I bake lemon pound cakes, lemon pies, and all kinds of citrus treats.  (Lemon curd is a great filling for lemon pound cake, especially when topped with a yummy cream cheese frosting!)

LEMON CURD, READY TO TOP ANGEL BISCUITS, WITH A SIDE OF SATSUMAS

When I have multiple types of fruit at the same time, I'll mix them for things like a delicious tangerine-lime curd, or maybe a fresh lemon-orange syrup for crepes, or I'll add a bit of zest from various fruits to a cream cheese frosting for a refreshingly light topping for cupcakes or cakes.

LEMON POUND CAKE WITH DRIZZLED LEMON FROSTING AND STRAWBERRIES

 (Thanks to my friends Julie and Lee for letting me pick limes from their tree … PICTURES: the lime on the tree is from my own very young lime tree, the rest of the limes are from Julie and Lee!  All others are from years past and are making me ready for the rest of citrus season!!)