Lemons have to be one of Mother Nature’s most useful fruits for all sorts of reasons. Their acidic content makes them a veritable power house in the cleaning stakes, and their sparky taste adds a new dimension to so many wonderful dishes.
Here are my Top Ten Tips For Using Lemons.
1. Hot Stuff. Cleaning the microwave. 3 tablespoons of lemon juice to 300ml of water in the microwave on high for 5 minutes, then just wipe round the insides with a cloth. This will remove all those nasty greasy and sticky bits.
2. The White Stuff.Keep your veggies white when cooking. Potatoes and cauliflower can often look a bit greyed after boiling. Add a tablespoon of lemon juice to the water at the start of cooking to keep them bright and white.
3. Good Wood. Wipe down your wooden chopping board and wooden kitchen table and counters with a used lemon. It will freshen and disinfect the wood.
4. Skin fresh. When open pores and brackheads threaten deal with them by dabbing them with a little lemon juice on a cotton wool ball. It will draw out impurities and tighten those pores.
5. Buzz Off. Cut two lemons in half and stud them with cloves and leave in a bowl on the kitchen table to help keep flies out of the room.
6. Green Clean. Squeeze every last drop of juice out of your lemons and use with some bicarbonate of soda to make the most amazingly powerful scouring powder that is tough on dirt and bacteria but gentle on your surfaces. Use in the kitchen and loo.
7. Hands On. Keep your nails in tip top condition by mixing the juice of half a lemon with200ml of warm water and soaking your nails for 5 minutes. This will keep your nails white and clean. Rub the peel on the nails and cuticle area too as the essential oils are really beneficial.
8. No sweat. Got those tell tale yellowing marks on the underarms of a white short or T shirt? Make a 50/50 mix of lemon juice and water and scrub the area prior to normal washing. Works a treat.
9. Skin So Soft. Rub elbows and knees and heels with a used lemon, the juice will help soften the tough skin there.
10. Weight Loss. Lemons have been proven to help in the battle of the bulge. You should drink the juice of half a lemon in a glass of water every morning 15 minutes before breakfast. It helps curb the appitite and clears the system.
The best use for lemon of course is it’s power to enliven that perfect partnership of Gin and Tonic – Cheers!
Karon x
Great hints there, Karon.
My favourite use for lemons is removing rust from vintage linen :-
* Squeeze lemon juice directly onto the rust spots, enough to wet the fabric well.
* Cover with salt, place item in the sun until completely dry. The hotter the sun the more efficiently this seems to work.
* Rinse out in warm water.
* If the rust remains, you can give this multiple treatments, but do wait for it to dry between treatments to get the full strength of the lemon juice each time.
* Once you are satisfied, rinse article again then gently wash in a mild detergent, such as Lux flakes, and allow to dry in the sun.
Susan
That’s great Susan, I’ll certainly add that one to my list.
Thanks
Kx