The "freshness" you get from a real lemon is from the scent / smell only. Bottled lemon juice tastes exactly the same. Try plugging your nose and testing it.

Anonymous wrote: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.

Me too! I never use the fruits on time, so I buy the real juice bottles and they work out great.

Lemon concentrate is better than lemons from a tree. My FIL had a few lemon trees and would send us boxes full because I had stones and lemon juice helped break them down. Fresh did not work for me.

One 4 ounce shot a day of lemon concentrate kept my stones from forming but it is nasty to drink. And tedious to life. I found whole lemon pills that worked very well.

I still make lemonade with the concentrate. 1/2 cup of concentrate, 2 cups of sugar makes a gallon of lemonade.
Of course lemon water. Great if you are dieting. Keeps your kidneys clean too.

Lemon drizzle I make with concentrate for my gluten free lemon pound cake.

My husband uses lemon and lime concentrate for his shrimp and fish meals. So good.

Shelf life for concentrate is one year past the expiration date.

Anonymous wrote:I've bought it for years. Generally speaking, I will use fresh if it's going to be uncooked or not mixed with anything - for instance, lemon wedges to serve with fish - but the ReaLemon is fine in a pinch for that too - that was all I could get at times in the pandemic.

This. But know that it works in a pinch for things that you “need” fresh lemon or lime juice.

Good for baking and cleaning, always keep some on hand.

Anonymous wrote:I use it all the time. I think it's great. But... I like jarred garlic too so YMMV

I was telling a friend that if I ever become widowed or divorced, one of the first things I would do is buy bottled lemon juice and jarred garlic. I think they are fine and handy but my wife insists on the "real thing."

Ouse it all the time in hot tea with honey. I also use it for recipes where you need just a splash of lemon at the end.

I love it. I use it all the time. I have taste tested it against real lemon juice. What you are experiencing with real lemons is the scent. Remove that and the flavor of the juice is exactly the same.

I use a combination of bottled lemon juice (cheapest I can find) baking soda and white vinegar to clean the garbage disposal.

Anonymous wrote:Those things are awful. Doesn't taste anywhere close to fresh.

I don't consider myself a food snob, but I do draw the line at bottled lemon/lime juice and jarred garlic. Both are such simple, easy & inexpensive fresh ingredients, that make a world of difference.

Wow I have the opposite opinion. I can be picky about ingredients, but I think bottled lemon juice works great. I always have it on hand.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP, and I wonder why Moby Dick prefers bottled lemon juice. They must know something we don't!

I mainly use fresh but do keep a bottle in my fridge. I use it when actually cooking, and sometimes in my tea.

Because it's way cheaper than paying someone to squeeze a million lemons.

I used bottled lemon juice all the time. I have bottled lime juice, as well, but I do notice the difference in things like guacamole.

I always use bottled minced garlic. I can't stand the smell of garlic on my hands.

Came to post exactly this, but apparently I have a twin. Hello, twin!

I've bought it for years. Generally speaking, I will use fresh if it's going to be uncooked or not mixed with anything - for instance, lemon wedges to serve with fish - but the ReaLemon is fine in a pinch for that too - that was all I could get at times in the pandemic.

use real lemons instead. Read the ingredients on that stuff! It's filled with Benzos!

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks for your ideas and opinions!

I hadn't thought of using it for lemonade, so if it turns out to be a bust in terms of recipes, then my kiddos can use it for their lemonade stand this summer.

But I'm going to give it a full try. I have recently abandoned many of my previous food snobberies and now enjoy using garlic powder, frozen veggies, and other less gourmet choices.

A few years back the Wash Post published Moby Dick's hummus recipe. It calls for bottled lemon juice. Here is how it appeared in the paper:

1 clove garlic
Two 15-ounce cans chickpeas, rinsed and drained
2 tablespoons tahini (sesame paste)
1/2 cup lemon juice (bottled preferred)
1 cup olive oil (not extra-virgin)
1 teaspoon kosher salt

Thank you for this!