Lemon trees are popular fruit to grow at home in your own backyard because you can have a constant supply of them all year round. However, sometimes the green lemons are knocked off the tree early or need to be removed for some reason when the fruit is green. In these circumstances can you ripen the lemons?
When green lemons come off the tree early it is possible to get them to change color from green to yellow. To do this green lemons ideally need to be placed in a dark location and they will turn yellow within a couple of days or alternatively place them near an ethylene-producing fruit such as bananas or pears.
However, it is important to note that while you can get the fruit to turn yellow generally it will not develop much more sugar content and therefore will remain relatively tart compared to fully ripe lemons. As a result of this, the flavor tends to be more similar to a lime at this stage though they are not identical.
The reason for this is that most of the limes that are sold commercially are still green. Limes actually turn yellow when they are fully ripe and become sweeter over time.
What Can You Do With Green Lemons?
Once you end up with a whole heap of green lemons what do you actually do with them in the kitchen? Well, there are several solutions to use up your green lemons which can produce some lovely products.
The first option is to create a marmalade which you can do by using any normal marmalade recipe and replacing the fruit with green lemons to produce a great result.
The second option is to use the lemons in a chutney however you do need to use them sparingly as the flavor can overwhelm a chutney. Lemons can also be juiced for use in drinks as you normally would with ripe lemons.
Additionally, they will still make a very nice lemonade even though they are not that ripe because sugar helps to cover many of the floors associated with the green lemons. The other alternative is to candy the lemons to produce delicious sweet treats.
How Many Times A Year Do Lemon Trees Produce Fruit?
The number of times that a lemon tree produces fruit in a year will be highly dependent upon the variety that you were growing. Eureka lemon trees will typically only produce fruit two to three times a year and during these periods it is common to have new flowers appearing along with small immature fruits as well as the fruits that are full ripe.
Whereas Lisbon and Meyer, lemons will produce lemons year round however their peak season is in winter and early spring which is the period where you are most likely to get a whole of green lemons appearing.
Should I Pick All The Lemons Off My Tree?
Generally, it is not necessary to pick all the lemons on a tree even if they are ripe. They are able to sit on the tree for an extended period of time. However, during this period it is a good idea to remove at least a few of them so that you do not overburden the tree with fruit.
The trees themselves will naturally drop lemons on the ground which you can also pick up and use quite happily as well.
When Is The Best Time To Prune Lemon Trees?
One of the main reasons that you end up with green lemons is that the plants need to be trimmed, particularly if it is leaning over a path or walkway. Additionally, lemon varieties such as Lisbon have thorns but can be extremely prickly. But when doing this you may be wondering exactly what is the right time to prune the lemon trees to minimize the amount of green fruit that you remove.
Generally, the best time to prune lemon trees is in summer after the main flush of flowers has been and gone and you have immature fruit. The main reason for this is that it is much easier, at this point in time to see how much fruit you have on your lemon tree and therefore how much you can afford to lose in the process of pruning the tree to limit the size.
If you have a tree that has gotten away from you a bit and has become relatively large it is almost inevitable that you will end up removing some of the green fruit in the process. However, if you want to be selective about which fruit you remove it is best to select those that are larger and more mature fruits as they are going to be more readily usable than very young fruit which will have limited amounts of juice and also sugars which will mean that they will not taste very nice.
How Long Will Lemons Last After They Are Removed From The Tree?
Generally, lemons will last quite a long time once they are removed from the tree, however, this is highly dependent upon the conditions in which lemons are stored. Generally, if you store the lemons in a fridge, which most people do not, you can get the lemons to last two to three months before you need to eat them.
However, if you store lemons in the kitchen in a fruit bowl they will generally only last a month or so before you start to see signs of deterioration which usually is things like mold starting to appear on the skin of the fruit.
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