You Only Need This Piece Of Cutlery To Juice Lemons With Ease

Whether adding a dash of liveliness to grilled chicken or finishing off a salad, lemons are a fantastic ingredient to integrate into cooking. In addition to imbuing their own tangy, fruity flavor, the citrus functions in a manner akin to salt, suppressing bitterness and letting a more complex palate shine. Yet, unlike a simple pinch of the mineral, cutting and juicing a lemon feels like more of a commitment. Perhaps you're in the zone finalizing dishes, and have no time nor counter space to break out the juicer, press, or reamer. Maybe you don't even own one of these tools, which is barring you from juicing lemons in the first place. Well, rest assured, there's no need for specialized tech to extract lemon juice: A fork is all that's necessary.

The technique is straightforward: Cut the lemon in half, then repeatedly stab the fruit's surface with the sharp tines to break apart the structure. After tenderizing, stick the fork into the lemon a bit more deeply, and rotate the utensil while squeezing the fruit into the opposite direction. Repeat this twisting maneuver a couple of times and all the juice should be extracted, especially when used alongside other tips and tricks for juicing lemons.

Undoubtedly, there is still an involved physical effort when using a fork since the move can turn laborious if the lemon's stiff. Since this hack is best for spontaneous moments, it's helpful to pair with another simple prep step to really get every last drop.

Start by selecting the best lemons for juicing at the store; thin, smooth skin is ideal. Follow up by microwaving your citrus fruit for 20 seconds to loosen the membrane structure. Once your lemon is on the cutting board, give it a nice firm roll; this further breaks apart the interior, enabling juices to flow. With such steps, not much effort is necessary to squeeze out juice by the time you use the fork technique. In fact, the fork works better than a reamer or press since it accesses all the parts of lemon flesh; despite not even investing in equipment, you can juice abundantly.