Lemons aren’t just for cooking. In addition to recipes, you can also try using lemons in other spaces in your home including the kitchen to the bathroom.
When life gives you lemons, make lemonade, or so goes the saying. But think again!
Get out the citrus and see how you can put them to great use in something other than cooking, baking and making lemonade with these handy tips.
18 creative tips for using lemons
These 18 lemon uses are applicable in all areas of the home. And if you are looking mainly for recipes, be sure to click here to see lots of great recipes where lemons are the star.
Using lemons in the kitchen
Lemons are sort of a great little palm sized deodorizer! See all these ways to use them in your home:
To clean a microwave
Just fill a container half full with water and squeeze a lemon into it. Drop in the halves of the lemon and cook on high for 3 minutes and then let it stand for another 5 minutes. Wipe clean.
See this step by step tutorial with before and after photos on The Gardening Cook.
Cleaning butcher blocks
Do you have a butcher block counter top or wooden cutting board? Use a lemon to clean it.
Just pour some coarse kosher salt on the wood and cut a lemon in half and scrub the wood.
Let is sit for about 5 minutes and then scrape off the salt and rinse with a clean sponge. It gives them a deep clean and gets rid of odors too!
Polish copper with lemons
I love the look of copper utensils. But they easily can get tarnished.
Lemons and salt, once again, will do a good job at cleaning them up. Squeeze lemon juice into a bowl and add salt to make a paste.
Rub it over the copper, rinse and you will ge a nice, gleaming finish in seconds.
Deodorizing a garbage disposal with lemons
After you have used lemons in cooking, don’t throw the lemons away.
Drop in some ice cubes, coarse salt and the lemon skins and turn on the disposal. The ice knocks any remaining food off the blades and the salt and lemons do the job of deodorizing.
Deodorizing the fridge with a lemon
Ever needed just half a lemon for a recipe? Don’t throw the rest away.
Place it in the fridge to absorb odors.
Counter top stains get clean with lemons!
A granite or marble counter top may be beautiful and desirable but it is also porous and stains easily. Use half a lemon and coarse salt to clean any stains that develop.
Using lemons in the bathroom
Lemons can be used with many other products to make cleaning the bath and easier job. Try using them this way:
Faucet cleaning with a lemon
Use half a lemon on faucets, sinks and taps to reduce lime scale buildup.
Toilet cleaning with lemons
Mix ½ cup of borax powder with enough lemon to make a paste. This cleans the toilet as well as leaving it smelling clean and fresh.
Cleaning bathroom glass surfaces with lemons
4 tablespoons of lemon juice mixed with 2 liters of water to make a mixture to clean windows, mirrors and glass surfaces in your bathroom.
They also give the bathroom a nice fresh smell when done!
Using lemons as a tub cleaner
Mix together an equal amount of water and lemon juice. This makes an effective cleaner to protect against mildew and fungus accumulating on the sides of your tub and/or shower.
Using lemons around the house
Lemons can be used in many other ways around the house. Here are a few ways that they can be used which may surprise you.
Make a cut flowers food
Retail flower food can be expensive. Make your own version with bleach, lemons and granulated sugar. Get the recipe for DIY cut flowers food on the Gardening Cook.
Treat underarm stains with lemons
Stains from perspiration can discolor clothing. Try adding equal parts of lemon juice and water to help remove the stains and leave the clothing smelling great too.
Lemons will also brighten up your whites? Just add lemon juice to the wash to help brighten up white and light colored clothing.
Deodorize a kitty litter box with lemons
A kitty litter box is notorious for its smells. To neutralize this, cut a lemon in half and place it in the room near by to get rid of the awful smells.
Using lemons in recipes
Lemons have so many uses in recipes and in cooking in general. They add a burst of freshness to otherwise dull recipes. Try using them these ways:
How to make lemon zest
The skin of a lemon has so much flavor in it. Use a good zester or microplane, and add lemon zest to your recipes for a burst of summer time freshness.
Make fluffy rice with lemons
Sometimes cooked rice sticks together. But it does not need to do so. Add a spoonful of lemon juice to the cooking water and then stir with a fork later for really fluffy rice.
The lemon juice also adds a nice flavor to the rice.
Keep guacamole green with lemons
There is nothing quite like the taste of homemade guacamole. But having it turn brown is not appealing at all.
Be sure to add lemon juice to your recipe to make sure the guacamole stays green on the table.
This works with apples and pears too, to keep them from turning brown.
Flavor a whole chicken with a lemon
One of my favorite things to do is to stuff a whole chicken cavity with fresh herbs, garlic and lemon halves. You can also just pull up the skin over the chicken breast and add butter and lemon slices with herbs.
Both techniques add a fabulous flavor to a cooked bird.
Keep color in your steamed veggies with lemons
Fresh vegetables can lose their bright color easily when they are cooked. Add some lemon juice to the boiling water to keep this from happening.
Lemon recipes
Now that you know lots of different ways to use lemons in the house, let’s get back to the main way – in Recipes!
Here are some recipes that use lemons as a main ingredient that you may want to try.
Crunchy Baked Cod with Parmesan Ritz Crackers and Lemon
New England Lobster with Lemon Chive Mayonnaise
Summer Macaroni Salad with Lemon Thyme Dressing
Oven Baked Cod and Shrimp with Lemon Mustard
Steel Head Trout with Lemon Parmesan Sauce
Sauteed Swiss Chard with Lemon and Parmesan
Shrimp Pasta with Lemon and Mushrooms
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