Lemons and limes are just so wonderful to have in the kitchen. They smell wonderful and they always work their magic into each recipe, whether it’s for a refreshing drink, yummy dessert, or a delectable main course.
If you’ve noticed, it’s that tangy zing from these fruits that make cocktails, juice blends, and even dipping sauces taste incredible. Seemingly easy to add to any concoction, lemons and limes are often either zested or squeezed during the process.
Juicing a lemon or a lime can be a bit tricky. You may think you’ve squeezed out enough but apparently, even a shriveled up half can still contain so much juice. If you simply can’t be bothered with trying to draw out as much juice from these fruits, you can always opt for store-bought lemon or lime juice.
However, using fresh fruit does make all the difference in terms of taste.
So if you’ve always felt terrible for tossing out fruit halves and letting leftover juice go to waste, you might want to try these simple hacks that will help you get the maximum amount of juice.
Surprisingly, cutting your fruit right guarantees more juice as opposed to how you juice it!
Jill Nystul of One Good Thing shares how the simple trick works.
Heat your fruit in the microwave for twenty seconds.
Heat allows the juice from fruit to flow more freely. This is especially helpful if the fruit was stored in the refrigerator. After heating up the fruit, let it cool for a minute or so.
The next step is probably something you’ve already been doing.
Roll your fruit back and forth on a counter or chopping board.
If we’re all being honest, we’ve all picked up this hack from amazing chefs on television and YouTube. The experts always quickly roll their citrus fruit for a few seconds before slicing down the middle. Apparently, doing so helps burst the individual segments within the fruit. Basically, it’s a way to “pre-juice” the lemon or lime.
Cut your citrus fruit like an apple.
Instead of cutting the fruit in half like we normally do, the suggested way is to make the fruit stand on its end on the cutting board. Trying to let a citrus fruit “stand” like an apple can be difficult because they’re much rounder. To make this easier, cut off a bit of the fruit’s skin on one end to help stabilize it.
Then, with a sharp knife, remove the four sides of the fruit like how you would when cutting around an apple’s core.
Get squeezin’!
Since your citrus fruit has been cut into segments, squeezing should be easier. You’ll love how this method yields almost double the amount compared to the typical “slice in half and squeeze” approach.
Don’t forget to squeeze the core of your citrus fruit, too! Every drop of juice counts.
You can try these methods one by one, or you can use all four tips for maximum results.
Now you won’t have to worry about not getting enough juice when cooking with citrus fruit. Best of all, you won’t have to toss out fruit halves that still have a lot of juice.
Happy cooking!
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