by Allie Mattio

Created on: August 15, 2008

Juicing a lemon!

There are many tricks and gadgets that promise you that you will get more juice from your lemon if you do or use this product! Over the years I have tried many ways to juice my lemons and I found the best way is to roll the lemon on a hard surface, pressing down with the palm of your hand before juicing. But before using this old but wise technique you must follow these instructions first. When purchasing your lemon choose a lemon with a smooth, brightly colored skin with no tinge of green for this signals it is under ripe. Lemons should be firm, plump and heavy for their size. Depending on their condition when purchased, they can be refrigerated in a plastic bag for up to 3 weeks. Lemons should be refrigerated for if left at room temperature for a long period they will be susceptible to mold. Before juicing your lemon let them come to room temperature or if you have little time you can microwave for 25 seconds or let it bathe in a warm bath. By allowing the lemon to be at a warm state will allow the lemon to become juicy, thus you get more juice then if still cold when its juiced. Now its time to roll the lemon on a hard surface, pressing down with the palm. Now the last step, juice it in a juicer or slice in half and squeeze. Please note the average lemon contains approximately 3 tablespoons of juice, so if you get a little more that would be amazing. Great point's to add is if you only need a 1/2 a lemon you can save the other 1/2. To save pour some sugar on the flesh part of the lemon for this will help the lemon stay juicy and prevents it from drying out. As always place in a bag and store it in your refrigerator. If when purchasing at your local store or farmers market you notice that all of the lemons have a tinge of green on it's skin. Don't fret just put the lemons in a paper bag and store in a dark and dry area for a day or two and amazingly they are yellow, ripe and ready to juice.

Lemon Tips:
If you use lemon a lot in your recipes a great tip for your left over juice is to pour into an ice cube tray and freeze. When frozen pop the cubes into a freezer bag, label, place back into the freezer and save for future use.

Facts about lemons:
One lemon contains 15 - calories, 1 - gram of protein, 5 - grams of Carbohydrates, 0 - Cholesterol, 0 - Fat and 0 - Saturated Fat.

The main types of lemons produced in the United States are the Eureka, the Villafranca, the Sicily, the Genoa, the Belair, and the Lisbon.

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