A splash of lemon juice can be critical to balancing and brightening a dish, but if you’re out of fresh lemons—or don’t regularly keep them on hand—what’s the next best option to freshly squeezed?

We tested a variety of alternatives against fresh, focusing on products that are easily stored long term, including bottled lemon juice, powdered lemon juice and frozen (home-squeezed juice frozen in 1-tablespoon portions in ice cube trays).

As a finishing touch to roasted chicken or stirred into homemade hummus, frozen (thawed) lemon juice performed just as well as fresh. Bottled juice also did reasonably well, though its flavors were noticeably duller.

The surprise was in vinaigrettes, where bottled lemon juice actually beat fresh or frozen. Its mellower acidity let the flavors of the salad shine, whereas fresh and frozen were comparatively too assertive. That said, outside of a side-by-side test, we’d be perfectly happy with any of the three.

Across all tests, the worst performer was the lemon powder (diluted with water to simulate lemon juice). Tasters disliked its synthetic tang and off-putting sweetness.

In the end, we decided the most versatile option to keep on hand was home-squeezed frozen. Stored in a zip-close plastic bag, frozen cubes will keep for up to four months. Thaw them overnight in the refrigerator or microwave them for a few seconds on low power. For soups, stews and braises, the cubes can be added frozen.