Lakewood Organic Pure Lemon Juice, 12.5 fl oz

Lakewood presses its organic lemons whole and bottles the juice at full strength, not from concentrate. It takes roughly a dozen organic lemons to fill each 12.5 fl oz bottle, and the glass matters: lemon juice is sharply acidic, and glass holds the flavor cleanly where lighter packaging can dull it.

Think of this as a cooking and mixing juice rather than a bottled drink. It stands in for fresh-squeezed lemon when you would rather not work through a bag of fruit: dressings, marinades, pan sauces, a squeeze over fish or roasted vegetables, lemon curd and cakes, and the citrus side of lemonade, iced tea and cocktails. The juice settles naturally in the bottle, so give it a shake before pouring.

The 12.5 fl oz size suits a household that reaches for lemon often but in tablespoons rather than cupfuls, and it is an easy bottle to keep in the door of the refrigerator once opened.