• Home
  • Cooking
  • Frugal Living
  • Home Management
  • Homeschooling
  • Real Life

The Happy Housewife™ :: Cooking

Where Martha Meets Real Life

  • Menu Plan
  • Recipes
  • Meal Planning
  • Food
    • Food Talk
    • Real Food
  • Kitchen
    • Kitchen Tips
    • My Kitchen
  • Archives

How to Dehydrate Lemons

by Toni Herrbach

  • Share
  • Pin

So, after juicing over 67 pounds of lemons I still had a bunch left over. I read somewhere (sorry, I can’t remember where) that you can dehydrate lemons and they will last for a long time.

You can use dehydrated lemons in water or tea, or anything else you would put a slice of lemon in that is liquid. The liquid rehydrates the lemon and gives your beverage that lemon-y taste.

To begin, wash the lemons well. The rinds will be in your drink so you want them to be clean.

Slice the lemons into circle shaped slices about 1/4 inch thick. Try to get them all the same size, but as you can see from my photo I didn’t achieve this uniformity. 🙂

If your lemons have large seeds, try to remove as many of them as possible before dehydrating. If you have a dehydrator, arrange the lemon slices on the trays.

If you don’t have a dehydrator, you can do this in the oven, but it takes a long time. Place the lemon slices on a cookie sheet and bake at 200 degrees until they are finished.

Set your dehydrator to the fruit setting (about 135 degrees) and begin. My lemons took over 24 hours to dehydrate, but I think that was partly due to the fact that my slices were thick.

You will know they are finished when the inside of the slice is a dark brown color.

Comments | 14 comments

« Lemon Meringue Pie
Double Decker Brownies: Bloggy Progressive Dinner Dessert »

Comments

  1. The Penny Hoarder says

    at

    What a great idea! My parents always give us a bucket of lemons each year from their backyard. I usually get tired of juicing them for lemonade and my lemon meringue pie was a bust this year :). I might use some of the leftovers next year for this.

    After you’ve dehydrated them do you freeze them? Or just leave them in the pantry?

    Reply
    • TheHappyHousewife says

      at

      I put mine in the fridge, but I am pretty sure you can store them in jars or the freezer.

      Reply
  2. Michelle says

    at

    My lemons turned dark brown too, but I read that fresh lemons do not. Do you know if this is true?

    Reply
    • TheHappyHousewife says

      at

      Hmmm, well my lemons were right off the tree so I don’t know how much fresher they could be. I think they turn dark brown because all the liquid if removed.

      Reply
    • Ayla says

      at

      They turn brown because of the oxidation that naturally occurs when the fruit is exposed to air for a period of time. It doesn’t affect the flavor but if you wanted them to remain bright, you could dunk them in food grade sodium bisulfite which is a natural antioxidant. I don’t bother with this though because I don’t mind the color change.

      Reply
  3. Andrea says

    at

    I’d love to see an after pic. of the what the dehydrated slice looks like in a cup of hot water. Does it have a brown-tinge? & wondering how much “lemon-y” is steeped out. How close in quantity is it to using a fresh slice, do you think?

    That’s so awesome you have a lemon tree!
    🙂
    ps, I do find it waaayyy easier to navigate your blog..but miss the “cozy family” appearance to it.
    🙂

    Reply
    • TheHappyHousewife says

      at

      I would say the quantity is as good as fresh lemon in water, although you do have to give it a few minutes to hydrate. I haven’t tried it in tea because I don’t drink tea.

      Reply
  4. Amber @ Classic Housewife says

    at

    How cool is this?! Things like this intrigue me, having grown up in a day and age where we don’t preserve things..Thanks for the tutorial!

    Reply
  5. Kelly says

    at

    I live in the So Cal in the desert and during the summer I take excess lemons and oranges and slice and put on towels in my backyard to dry out…for some reason, unlike the oven or dehydrator, they stay their natural color this way and are very pretty. I use them in my Christmas garlands. I’ll be putting some aside for drinks now…thanks.

    Reply
  6. monique says

    at

    Cool. Thanks for sharing.

    Reply
  7. Christian McMahon says

    at

    My advice is to cut off the yellow part of the rind. The rind has too much taste and over powers the lemon.

    Reply
  8. Alex says

    at

    Hi,

    Is there any way to preserve a more yellow colour or do they lighten somewhat when rehydrated?

    Thanks
    🙂

    Reply
    • TheHappyHousewife says

      at

      They do lighten when rehydrated, although they don’t look like a fresh lemon.

      Reply
  9. a.scientific.mind says

    at

    Citric acid is used to keep pears from browning. While lemons have lots of citric acid it’s possible that
    there’s not enough to keep them from going brown.

    it’s a cheap product to buy , sometimes called ‘sour salt’ but there’s no salt in it

    Don’t buy a name brand product. just look for ‘citric acid’

    Give it a try. It can’t hurt and you can make lots of use of it .. i put it in my spaghetti sauce to
    give it a slight edge. Make drinks from it using it, sugar, water, a bit of lemon oil or any flavor. like lime, or orange, ..anything.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




STAY UPDATED!

Get every article delivered to your inbox!

CONNECT WITH ME

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Get a FREE Trial

Simplify your busy life with eMeals

Latest Posts

  • How to Cut Warm Brownies – So they don’t fall apart
  • Reconstituting Frozen Mashed Potatoes
  • Easy Black Bean Soup
  • Hot Chocolate Mix
  • Crockpot Beef Tips Sliders
  • Can You Freeze Pumpkin?
  • Homemade English Muffins

Save on Groceries!

Print Free Coupons

Favorite Recipes

  • Apple Butter Stuffed French Toast
  • Butternut Squash Soup
  • Cranberry Cheese Ball
  • Gluten Free Zucchini Bread
  • Meatloaf Cupcakes
  • Roasted Almonds with Pumpkin Pie Spice & Honey
  • Whole Chicken in a Slow Cooker

STAY UPDATED!

Get every article delivered to your inbox!

FEATURED

Pantry inventory worksheets

Frugal Pantry Inventory Check List

5 Simple ways to menu plan

5 Simple Ways to Menu Plan

CONNECT WITH ME

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

CATEGORIES

ARCHIVES

Copyright © 2025 · Tasteful theme by Restored 316

Privacy Policy

HOME | CONTACT | ADVERTISING & PR | DISCLOSURE | PRIVACY POLICY

© 2025 – TheHappyHousewife.com. All rights reserved. | Design by Joy @ Five J's Design | Site maintenance by Klong Designs