The earth’s bounty is endless, even though our species is so intent on altering and destroying it. These organic lemons, limes and oranges provide much needed vitamin C.
Most people consider citrus fruit, such as lemon, a delicious seasoning when it comes to flavouring a salad (like tomato coriander salad), however these fruit are a great deal more versatile than that. The health benefit of lemons and oranges are well known, making them both great additions to a cup of tea.
But have you ever considered using a lemon for something other than culinary purposes?
The power of citrus scent
1. Very often, cooking smells can take over a whole house. While the smells themselves do not offend, a family does not necessarily want to live with a smell as strong as fish for more than a few hours. To create a fresh smell try boiling a pot of water with lemon or orange rind, leaving the lid of the pot off so the fresh smell of citrus can spread.
2. Cooking can also leave you with your hands smelling of the last item you handled. When it comes to onion or garlic, this smell is unwelcome as well as difficult to remove. If you cut a slice of lemon and rub it over your hands, the citrus will overcome the garlic leaving your hands smelling fresh.
3. This same trick works for any plate, cutting board or utensil which was used to prepare garlic, onion and other strong smelling foods such as fish.
Stain removal with lemons
4. Lemons can also be used as a stain remover to get rid of various stains on clothing instead of using detergents, which are laden with chemicals. For rust stains, put a mixture of equal parts lemon juice and water on the area, and let it stand for half an hour prior to washing.
5. If you have a mildew issue, you need to first squeeze lemon juice on the afflicted area, and then sprinkle salt. Let the clothing dry in the sun, but be prepared, you might have to repeat this process, especially with old stains.
6. Lemon juice can act as a mild form of bleach, which will also leave your clothes smelling fresh. Soak white clothing in lemon juice mixed with baking soda for approximately half and hour before you wash regularly.
7. In summer clothing often gets stained with marks of perspiration, which can stubbornly resist ordinary wash cycles. Try scrubbing these stains with a mixture of lemon juice and water before drying the clothes in the sun.
Lemons, oranges and other citrus fruit have a wide variety of uses, therefore it is a shame to limit these fruit to the realm of cooking. While their taste definitely adds flavour, try using them in other areas of the house and see how their freshness can compliment your home.
More multi-purpose ingredients:
Cloves In and Out of the Kitchen
RECIPE: Soothing, Sensual Rosewater
Lycored’s Tomato-Based Ingestible Sunscreen
Author: Naomi Ben-David
Naomi interned at Green Prophet during the summer of 2010. She grew up in Australia with a chiropractor mom who introduced her to various forms of alternative medicine. Her mother was forever pointing out the healthy food choices in the supermarket, or attempted to make it from scratch at home in order to avoid the preservatives and additives in the food. Naomi’s mother’s influence has stayed with her, impacting the food and medical choices she makes to this day. She is currently pursuing a career in writing.
Lemons are also used as you said in cooking – but not only salads.
Omani sun-dried lemons are a staple spice for a range of foods, especially rice and meat. In fact such was the demand for these walnut looking dried lemons that they were the 2nd most valuable export (after dates of course) before the flow of oil from Oman.