You probably already know how much I love Meyer lemons, but if not, let me be very clear: I LOVE THEM. I would bathe in lemon juice if it were socially acceptable and didn’t dry my skin out. So, whenever I make anything that calls for lemon juice and I have fresh lemons on hand, I microwave my lemons first.
Heating the lemon releases almost twice the juice {you can put it in a pot of boiling water for 30 seconds if you prefer that to the microwave}, which means you need less lemons for each recipe. Less lemons means less money. {I am really good at math.}
So next time life hands you lemons, heat them, and make even more lemonade.
Wahoooo!
~Mavis
Want to learn more about lemons? Check out The Lemon Book.
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Brandy says
Meyer lemons also have WAY more juice than Eureka lemons (the stadnard store-bought lemon)–about 3 times as much! I grow Meyer lemons and I’m going to add 3 more in the front yard so that we can have lemonade.
Lisa says
Excellent idea…I always heat the used lemons in some water in the microwave and then clean out the microwave after the lemon water steam and gotten all over, but never thought to heat the lemon BEFORE I use it. Definately going to do that. You’re smart Mavis! 🙂
Cynda says
Good day, I also have given up the reamer for a large soup spoon and and able to get out much more juice with all citrus that way. It make such a huge difference when I’m make salsa (and I make a LOT of salsa).
Kathy says
Great tip! Can you do the same with oranges? I make orange cookies with fancy orange icing that uses a ton of juice and a little bit of fresh zest.
Heather says
If you roll them with firm pressure on the counter (before cutting) you can get a lot more juice, too.
Lisa says
That is what I typically do too!
MaMaLaLa says
I have a citrus reamer that you can really torque to get the most juice out of your citrus. It is a necessary tool in my kitchen. 🙂 The reamer is small too and fits in my kitchen tool drawer.
Berdine says
Before juicing the lemon or orange I slice off the peel to add to white vinegar to make a homemade cleaner. I also save some of the lemon peels to make limoncello, a lovely Italian liquer.
Judy says
Berdine, I do the same thing with citrus peel, but freeze my zest for when I need it.