Lemon – May Featured Ingredient

Welcome back! How often do you use lemon? If you’re like me, pretty often. The tart, citrus freshness lends itself to so many recipes. Lemon – May Featured Ingredient is a citrus fruit, oval in shape similar to limes however, some can be quite large depending on season. January through March are prime months for this popular citrus but are available year round. Bright yellow in color, lemons can be used for their zest in cookies, sauces, and marinades, lemon juice and slices garnish for drinks. Rather sour to eat by itself, the fruits versatility is tremendous. Lemons also contain high levels of Vitamin C. I personally consider lemons to be a kitchen essential.

Lemon – May Featured Ingredient

When purchasing lemons choose ones unblemished and feel heavy in your hand. No green should be present indicating the lemons are not ripe. If the lemons you choose are pale yellow in color, do not purchase as this indicates older fruit and they will contain less juice.

Look for lemons with smooth, thin skin as these are best for juicing. The knobby skinned variety are best for zesting. If you intend to zest your lemons, buy unwaxed if possible, otherwise wash your lemons thoroughly. To extract the most juice, keep lemons at room temperature; roll firmly under your palm, back and forth several times. This breaks down the fibers. You will be able to feel the difference after rolling. You may microwave your fruit for 30 seconds for a greater amount of juice.

Lemon – May Featured Ingredient will keep for several weeks in a perforated bag in the refrigerator, at room temperature for up to 1 week. Once lemons have been cut, they will only last 3-4 days.

Fresh lemon wedges are a great addition to fish and roasted meats like stuffing a chicken and vegetables before and after roasting. Use lemon juice in salad dressings, fresh lemonade or flavoring your water. Marmalade and preserves are great uses for sliced lemons.

Lemons are indeed one of my favorite kitchen essentials. Try some recipes from my website where lemon is an ingredient like Creamy Caesar Salad Dressing, Classic Basil Pesto, Honey Lemon Chicken Wings and my Lemon Coconut Rum Runner cocktail.

For information on health benefits of Lemon – May Featured Ingredient click here.

Happy Cooking!