Capable of offering so much more than just the citrus tint to our Friday G&T, the humble lemon holds much potential. The key ingredient in many handy life hacks, from now on when life gives us lemons, there’s no way we’ll be wasting them on lemonade.
Don’t Ditch the Peel
With many recipes calling for just the juice of our cherished citrus we all too often find ourselves tossing the peel without thinking. But as it turns out, the leathery skins can really hold their own. You can pop a couple of slivers into olive oil to add flavour, candy some for a sweet snack, dry the zest in a low-temperature oven to flavour your baking, grilling or afternoon Earl Grey, or place a scattering of raw peel along your windowsills to keep the ants at bay.
Nice up the Nails
If your nails are looking a little yellow after too much time hidden under polish, lemons can offer some salvation. Mix the juice of a whole one with a tablespoon of olive oil and clean then soak your nails in the liquid for a minute or so. Rinse and admire.
The Ultimate Cleaner
It’s no secret that our favourite football-shaped fruit is a great aid when it comes to keeping the home spick and span. For the windows, dilute lemon juice with water in a spray bottle and wipe away with newspaper, for stainless steel, dip half a lemon in salt and use to scrub the metal surfaces (works great to remove coffee stains from mugs too), or throw half in your dishwasher to add a zesty freshness to your load.
Revive Your Veggies
Just like adding a squeeze of lemon juice to keep your guacamole from greying, the little yellow lovelies can do wonders for your drooping lettuce. Just add a splash of juice to a bowl of cold water, dunk the limp leaves in, pop in the fridge for an hour or so before patting dry et voilá! Your romaine will be resurrected.
Deodorant for the Desperate
We really hope it doesn’t come to this… but if you ever find yourself caught short with no deodorant on hand, rumour has it that if you rub half a lemon under the arms, the citrus is enough to kill the odour-causing bacteria. While we haven’t given this one a go ourselves, maybe (just maybe) if we ever find ourselves out of options, the natural alternative might be the one to tide us over until we restock.
Invisible Ink
One to keep the kids entertained, mix the juice of a lemon with a couple drops of water then using a cotton bud write your message on a white piece of paper, waiting for it to dry and disappear. To unveil the secret scribble, just tell the recipient to iron over the page. Sherlock who?
