Interesting Facts About Lemons

WE CAN CELEBRATE LEMONS ALL YEAR-ROUND!

Lemons are available year-round on your lemon trees in and around Sacramento and the central valley. They are at their peak in May, with a whole new crop that can stay on your tree, just for the picking when you need them. So, don't strip your tree when the new crop comes on and you will never have to buy another lemon.

You can grow Eureka and Lisbon lemons and also the relatively sweet Meyer varietiy. It is really nice to have a Meyer and another variety as well.

Lemons are citrus fruits and a good source of vitamin C, which is a potent antioxidant that helps to keep the immune system strong.

You can use both the flesh and the peel (as a zest if the lemon is organic) in all types of dishes. The juice from a Meyer lemon is wonderful in a Caesar Salad dressing made from scratch. Or you may want to bake with them, as in a Lemon Olive Oil Cake or Lemon Cookies.

Lemons are also a wonderful resource as a natural cleaning product for your home. Try using lemon halves before bringing out possibly toxic chemical cleaners. You can use them as a bleaching agent on clothing.
 

Clean your tea kettle or coffee pot with lemons.
For mineral deposit build up in your tea kettle, fill the kettle with water, add a handful of thin slices of lemon peel and bring to a boil. Turn off heat and let sit for an hour, drain, and rinse well. For coffee pots, add ice, salt and lemon rinds to the empty pot. Swish and swirl for a minute or two, dump, and rinse.

Lemons are very effective in removing grease from your stove and countertops.

Sprinkle some salt (for abrasion) on a juiced lemon half and rub on the greasy areas and wipe up with a towel. Note: Be careful using lemon on marble counter tops, or any other surface which may be sensitive to acid.

Add 2 Tbsp lemon juice to 10 drops of (real) lemon oil and a few drops of jojoba oil to clean and polish wood furniture.

Do a little search and you can find many more uses for lemons!