Lemons-store in fridge or on counter?

[Andy M.]

...I usually roll them back and forth on the counter in the palm of my hand after I take them from the fridge. That helps get as much juice as possible out of the citrus.

Some say, roll them on the counter. Others say microwave them for 15-20 seconds. In the book, "What Einstein Told His Cook", Robert Wolke experimented and determined you should do both. I microwave lemons and limes for 15-20 seconds then roll them on the counter under firm hand pressure. Works great.

 

[Kylie1969]

yeah....no fair

I must admit we are lucky to have the climate we do for growing all this citrus fruit

 

[Canuckcook28]

Here on the Canadian Prairies...... Lemons don't have trees. I remember when I was little we went to California just at Orange Blossom Time! The only tree that rivals it here in the Great White is the Russian Olive!

Still I started keeping my Oranges and lemons on the counter. the Oranges are hardy, but the lemons seem to get quite soft. BTW, right now they are 99 cents ea.!

 

[Mad Cook]

I notice on most cooking shows that they keep their lemons/limes/oranges in a basket on the counter.
I have always stored my citrus'y things in a bin in the frig.
but then again when you buy them at a grocery store you do not find them in a cooler.
So are there any pros or cons for storing them in a fridge? Does it matter?

The lemons I was using today had a little sticker on them saying "Keep me in the 'fridge"

 

[Kitchen Barbarian]

It depends. If they were refrigerated when you got them, keep them in the fridge.

If they were not, AND if you're going to use them up in 2 or 3 days, counter top is fine. Longer than that - keep them in the fridge. It's not so much that they will rot - they'll dry out. They'll dry out in the fridge too, though more slowly. Lock 'n Locks are great for keeping them longer, or those square Rubbermaids with the green lids and the grids that go in the bottom inside. Can't remember what they're called. Either will keep citrus (lemons or limes) from drying out/rotting for a long time.

 

[JennAbbey]

If you want to store it for longer time then you should store it refrigerator. Keep them in Zip lock plastic bag. Whenever I want to use them , I just take them out of the fridge and keep them on temperature for 5-10 times before using.

 

[taxlady]

Some say, roll them on the counter. Others say microwave them for 15-20 seconds. In the book, "What Einstein Told His Cook", Robert Wolke experimented and determined you should do both. I microwave lemons and limes for 15-20 seconds then roll them on the counter under firm hand pressure. Works great.

+1

I didn't see this thread back in June. Some pretty funny posts.

 

[bbobson]

Lemons in cooking was a revelation for my wife. We use them often enough now that we keep them on the counter. For getting juice we use the roll on counter and microwave methods.
Once way we seem to get more juice is how we cut them. By cutting them on a hemisphere line it is easier to get the juice verse cutting on the 'equator'. Seems odd but it does work. My wife chuckles at the grocery store since I appear to channel her grandmother when I pick lemons, I pick up nearly every lemon and judge its weight looking for the heaviest for our use. The idea being the heavier lemons have more juice.