Lemons yield: how much is usable after prep (AP to EP %)
Lemons: about 43% usable going whole to juice, with a published range of 29–55%. That is a cost factor of 2.33: for every kilo you need ready to use, buy 2.33 kg as purchased.
Yield by preparation stage
| Stage | Average | Range | What is lost | USDA item |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whole → juice | 43% | 29–55% | Peel, seeds and membranes | 1413 |
| Whole → juice, strained | 36% | 18–46% | Peel, pulp and seeds | 1414 |
| Whole → cartwheel slices with peel | 80% | 64–93% | Waste ends and handling loss | 1415 |
| Whole → wedges with peel | 98% | 98–100% | Seeds | 1416 |
Less than half a lemon's weight is juice, and straining takes it down to about a third. For garnish the picture flips: wedges waste almost nothing, slices lose the two ends. Limes give a similar 47% juice (range 38–56%, USDA item 1428).
Prep notes
Roll each lemon firmly under your palm before cutting, and juice it at room temperature: a cold lemon gives less. Zest before you juice if you need both, because you cannot zest a squeezed half.
What the yield does to the cost
Fresh lemons, box of 15 at £5.49 (JJ Foodservice, 10 Oct 2026), assuming about 120 g a lemon, is £3.05 a kilo as purchased. At 43% usable that is £7.09 per usable kilo.
Juice is the real comparison. A 120 g lemon at 43% gives about 52 ml, so fresh juice costs about £7.09 a litre, against £2.58 a litre for bottled lemon juice, 6 × 1 litre (JJ Foodservice, 10 Oct 2026). Fresh wins on flavour where the lemon is the point (dressings, fish, drinks); bottled is the cheaper choice for marinades and baking.
| Usable lemons needed | Buy (as purchased) at 43% |
|---|---|
| 1 kg | 2.33 kg |
| 5 kg | 11.63 kg |
| 10 kg | 23.26 kg |
Use 43% in the yield calculator →
Typical uses
Juice for dressings, sauces and fish; wedges for fish and chips and drinks; slices for garnish; zest for baking.
Storage and the trim
Keep in the fridge, where they last two to three weeks rather than one in a fruit bowl. Cut wedges keep a day, covered. Squeezed halves still carry zest and oil: use them in a cleaning spray, or infuse them into a syrup.
Yield source: USDA Agriculture Handbook No. 102, Food Yields Summarized by Different Stages of Preparation (Matthews and Garrison, USDA Agricultural Research Service, 1975), Table 1, items 1413, 1414, 1415, 1416 (US samples of whole lemons). Prices as stated, read on 10 Oct 2026. Your own case is the real number: weigh it in the yield calculator.
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