You know, I got looking at that organic lemon juice powder you can buy. Sometimes it tastes kinda funny, not really like lemon, you know? And I happened to have a bunch of organic lemons sitting around from the farmer’s market trip last weekend. Seemed like way too many just for squeezing into water. So, I thought, okay, let’s try making my own powder. See what happens.
First thing, gotta wash those lemons. Since they were organic, I wasn’t too worried about nasty stuff, but still gave them a good scrub under running water. Dried them off with a towel. Got quite a pile of them ready on the cutting board.
Then came the squeezing part. Oh boy. I don’t have one of those electric juicers, just my old metal hand-press thing. Cut lemon after lemon in half, squeezed them one by one. My hands got sticky, the counter got messy, you know how it is. Took a while, probably went through about fifteen lemons, maybe more? Just kept going until I had a decent amount of juice collected in a bowl. My forearm was definitely feeling it afterwards.
Straining was next. Didn’t want any pulp or seeds in the final powder. Poured the juice through a fine mesh sieve. Did it twice, actually, just to make sure it was really clear. Got maybe two cups of pure, clean lemon juice out of all that effort.
Turning Juice into Powder
Okay, drying the juice. This was the tricky bit I figured. I don’t own a dehydrator. So, the oven seemed like the only option. I took a big baking sheet, lined it with parchment paper real careful so it wouldn’t leak. Then I poured the lemon juice onto the paper, spreading it out as thin as I possibly could. Like, super thin. You want maximum surface area for drying.
Set the oven to its lowest possible temperature. Mine goes down to about 170F, something like that. Popped the baking sheet in. And then, the waiting game began. Checked it every hour or so. Didn’t want it to cook or burn, just dry out slowly. It took ages. Seriously, it was in there for maybe 6, maybe 7 hours. Eventually, the liquid evaporated, leaving behind this thin, brittle, yellowish sheet. Kinda like lemon glass.
Once it was totally dry and cool, I carefully peeled the lemon sheet off the parchment paper. It snapped real easy. Broke it up into smaller pieces.
Grinding time! I have this little coffee grinder I keep just for spices and stuff. Tossed the broken lemon sheet pieces into the grinder. Had to do it in small batches, didn’t want to overload the little motor. Whizzed it up until it turned into a fine powder. Made quite a bit of lemon dust, had to be careful opening the lid. But the smell hitting me? Wow. Pure, intense lemon.
So, there it was. My own homemade organic lemon juice powder. Poured it into a small, clean glass jar. Made sure the lid was tight. Tossed in one of those little food-safe silica gel packets you get, hoping it helps keep it from clumping up. The color’s a nice pale yellow, much lighter than some store stuff. And the taste? Super strong. Really tart, pure lemon flavor. A tiny bit is all you need.
Was it worth all the squeezing and the long drying time in the oven? Honestly, it was a lot of work for a pretty small jar of powder. But hey, I did it. And I know it’s just pure lemon, nothing else added. No weird anti-caking agents or mystery flavors. It’s the real deal. Probably won’t make it my regular weekend project, my arm still remembers the juicing part. But it’s cool to know I can do it if I want that pure stuff.
