Lemons Refresh Springtime Meals
Can you imagine life without lemons? From iced tea to icebox pie,
lemons add a spark of flavor that is simply irreplaceable.
For all the wonderful uses of lemons, baking has to be high on the list.
Making something sweet out of a naturally tart fruit is magic.
Lemon Cheesecake Bars are the perfect example and a refreshing finish to a
spring get-together.
Here are some tips for using lemons to enhance your spring cooking:
- Lemons warmed just to the touch, give up juice more easily. Warm in a
microwave for 30 to 40 seconds depending on microwave wattage and size of lemon.
Then press and roll around on tabletop a couple of times.
- For grated zest or peel, grate only the yellow peel – the white
part is unpleasantly bitter. A fairly new kitchen gadget, the microplane
grater which looks like a rasp, is very sharp and makes grating a snap.
- If your recipe calls for peel or zest and juice, don’t forget to
grate the peel first. It’s much easier.
- If you have too many lemons on hand, freeze measured amounts of the juice,
1 to 2 tablespoons, in an ice cube tray. Store cubes in a plastic bag.
- To prevent browning, rub lemon juice on the surface of bananas, apples,
pears and avocados, or add to the cooking water of vegetables like potatoes
or cauliflower
.
- One medium lemon will yield about 3 tablespoons of juice and about 1
tablespoon of grated peel.