(From Cooks Illustrated)
- To replace up to half cup wine in soups and pan sauces, add half cup chicken broth plus one teaspoon of fresh lemon juice.
- Faith’s favorite way to have lemon is to roast or grill it it in slices, halves, or quarters. Toss it in the roasting pan with chicken, Cornish hens, or fish. Toss the lemon halves or slices on the grill. The heat makes the sugar in them caramelize, says C.I. No wonder the taste is so good when they’ve cooled and you squeeze the juice onto your protein or vegetables.
- Rest makes lemonade better? Apparently, it does. According to C.I., letting lemon juice rest for up to six hours allows the aromatic compounds to make the lemon flavor more mellow and complex. But don’t let it sit too long—it will eventually lose its potency and develop off-flavors.
- Avoid cold lemons when juicing. You’ll get more juice from one that’s room temperature. You can quickly warm up a lemon by putting it in the microwave until it’s warm to the touch.
- Roll your lemon on a hard surface because it tears the lemon’s juice sacs.
- Store whole lemons in a zip-close bag in the refrigerator, where they will stay fresh for up to four weeks.
- While you lose some flavor, you can freeze lemon juice and use it for recipes that call for a small amount, such as for a pan sauce. Freeze leftover lemon zest in a zip-close bag. The color might fade but the flavor will be there.
