Get More From Lemons: 12 Useful Ways To Stretch Every One

6. Keep Cut Produce From Browning

Lemon juice can slow browning on some cut fruits and vegetables.

A little juice can be useful on sliced apples, pears, avocados and similar foods when they’ll be sitting for a while before serving.

That’s particularly helpful if preventing discoloration makes leftovers more appealing enough to actually get eaten.

7. Add Flavor Without Buying Another Ingredient

Sometimes a squeeze of lemon is all a dish needs.

Use it to brighten:

• Fish
• Chicken
• Roasted vegetables
• Rice
• Soups
• Sauces
• Beans
• Pasta dishes

Before buying another sauce or seasoning blend to make a basic meal more interesting, see what you can do with ingredients already in your refrigerator.

8. Steam-Clean Food Spatters in the Microwave

Here’s one of the household uses worth keeping.

Place water and some lemon slices, peels or juice in a microwave-safe bowl. Heat it until the water produces plenty of steam, then leave the door closed briefly so the steam can soften dried food residue.

Carefully remove the hot bowl and wipe down the interior after it has cooled enough to do so safely.

The steam is doing much of the cleaning work, so this is a particularly good use for squeezed lemon halves or peels that would otherwise be discarded.

9. Use a Squeezed Lemon on Some Cutting Boards

A squeezed lemon half still contains a little juice and gives you a convenient scrubbing surface.

It can be useful for freshening and cleaning some cutting boards. Coarse salt is sometimes added for extra scrubbing power.

Wash and rinse the board appropriately afterward.

Don’t rely on lemon juice as a substitute for proper cleaning or sanitizing when food safety requires it.

10. Tackle Some Hard-Water Deposits

Citric acid can help loosen mineral buildup, which makes lemon useful for some hard-water deposits around faucets and other appropriate fixtures.

A leftover lemon half can sometimes be rubbed directly over deposits before the area is rinsed and wiped.

However, acid isn’t safe for every surface.

Don’t use lemon juice on natural stone such as marble, limestone or travertine. Acid can etch and damage these surfaces. When you’re unsure about a finish, check the manufacturer’s care instructions first.

11. Clean Some Copper Cookware

Lemon and salt are a traditional combination for removing tarnish from uncoated copper.

A squeezed lemon half can work especially well because you can sprinkle salt on the cut surface and use the lemon itself as the applicator.

But this is another situation where knowing your surface matters. Don’t assume a lemon-and-salt scrub is appropriate for every metal, finish or piece of cookware.

12. Turn the Peels Into Citrus-Infused Vinegar Cleaner

If you already make household cleaners with white vinegar, lemon peels can give you one more use before they’re discarded.

Some people steep citrus peels in vinegar, strain the mixture and use the resulting solution as a household cleaner on vinegar-safe surfaces.

It won’t turn vinegar into a disinfectant, and the same precautions that apply to cleaning with vinegar still apply. Keep acidic cleaners away from natural stone and other acid-sensitive surfaces.

And never mix a vinegar-based cleaner with chlorine bleach.

What About Putting Lemon Peels Down the Garbage Disposal?

You’ll frequently see advice recommending lemon peels as a way to freshen a garbage disposal.

I’d skip it.

A disposal isn’t a trash can, and putting fibrous peels into it unnecessarily can contribute to plumbing or disposal problems. There are safer ways to clean and deodorize a disposal according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

The lemon scent isn’t worth creating a plumbing bill.

What About Cleaning Coffee Makers With Lemon Juice?

I’d drop this tip from the old article, too.

Coffee-maker manufacturers have specific cleaning and descaling instructions. Some recommend vinegar or a commercial descaling product while others specify different procedures.

Follow the instructions for your machine rather than substituting lemon juice simply because it’s acidic.

Protecting an appliance that may cost $50, $100 or considerably more matters more than finding a use for 50 cents’ worth of leftover lemon.

And What About Using Lemons for Skin and Health Remedies?

Lemons are nutritious foods and an excellent source of vitamin C, but I wouldn’t turn an article about saving money with lemons into a list of home health remedies.

I’d also skip DIY lemon-juice facial treatments.

Lemon juice is highly acidic and can irritate skin. Citrus juice on skin combined with sunlight can also cause a significant skin reaction in some circumstances.

Eat the lemon. Cook with it. Put it in your tea if you enjoy it.

You don’t need to put it on your face to get your money’s worth.

TDS Takeaway: Get the Food Value First

If there’s one rule I’d use when trying to stretch a lemon, it’s this:

Prioritize food uses before cleaning uses.

If you can zest a lemon for tomorrow’s dinner and freeze its juice for next week’s recipe, that’s probably more valuable than scrubbing the sink with it.

Then, once you’ve gotten the food value out of the lemon, see whether that squeezed half has one final job it can do before it heads to the compost or trash.

That’s when reuse really saves money — when you’re getting additional value from something you already paid for rather than buying something just because you’ve discovered ten clever things you can do with it.