I definitely use bottled lemon juice, for all of those things. Hummus, tzatziki, marinades, sometimes a splash in water or mixed drinks. I only bother with lemons for things like pies that will also call for zest. People pretending that the taste is oh so different seem to be putting on a front here. It tastes like lemon juice, because it is lemon juice, stabilized at a particular acidity.

Also, if you do any canning, you need to use bottled lemon juice, not fresh.

it's fine for most normal cooks/cooking unless, of course, you are a food snob.

Anonymous wrote:I use bottled lemon and lime juice (mainly for my water), but will use it in recipes if I don't have fresh. It's 100% organic lemon (or lime) juice, nothing added. Not from concentrate.

You can get it at most grocery stores, including Target & Walmart

https://santacruzorganic.com/products/p/concentrates/100-percent-pure-lemon-juice

That brought back a memory of DD taking a big ol' sip straight from the jar because she thought it was lemonade. Lemon juice went EVERYWHERE after she snorted it out of her nose in surprise at the lack of sugar.

I use bottled lemon and lime juice (mainly for my water), but will use it in recipes if I don't have fresh. It's 100% organic lemon (or lime) juice, nothing added. Not from concentrate.

You can get it at most grocery stores, including Target & Walmart

https://santacruzorganic.com/products/p/concentrates/100-percent-pure-lemon-juice

It’s great for marinades.

It’s disgusting.

Anonymous wrote:I make marinade and bake with the bottled lemon juice. Works perfectly. I keep fresh lemon to use for fish and salad dressings.

+1 Bottled versus fresh doesn’t make much of a difference if you’re going to be heating the juice with cooking or baking. I also use bottled citrus juice for margaritas because I’m not juicing that many limes.

I use it for hummus or anything else calling for real lemon juice. It’s not the same as fresh but it’s very lemony and tasty.

I use a splash in tuna salad and on salmon. If I don't have real lemons handy or am really rushed it's great, even in a glass of ice water.

Anonymous wrote:I would only use it for things where lemon isn't the main flavor, so marinades and stuff like that. I wouldn't use it for hummus or for other fresh things like vinaigrettes.

As PP said, bottled lemon juice doesn't taste anywhere near as good as fresh.

My main use for is to toss with apples so the apples don't turn brown.

And, Whole Foods, Roots Market, and maybe Harris Teeter have the bottles without the preservatives.

I used the bottled kind OP. Overall fresh squeezed tastes better, but I just don't feel like going that extra step

I love, love, love fresh lemons and limes and I thought I was a snob about always wanting them fresh ... but this post has good timing because I just bought one of those plastic lemons in the produce aisle with lemon juice concentrate in it (it also has some preservatives - I checked and could not find one bottled lemon juice at Giant that was literally just lemon juice) because I was sick of needing a pinch of lemon juice and not having any be ause I go through lemons so fast. Anyway, I then used the bottled kind in a salad dressing, not marinade, to see how "bad" it would be and you know what, it was fine! A slightly different taste than fresh lemon juice but it did the trick and now I realize how false my snobbery was!

We bought this one from Costco and it is tasty enough to make lemonade.
http://www.amazon.com/Italian-Volcano-Lemon-1-liter-Bottles/dp/B001KUQJ0Y

Don't care for the taste of real lemon.

I regard bottled lemon and lime juice as a staple pantry (well, fridge) ingredient.

I always have them on hand. Fresh lemons or limes go bad.