I sometimes (often?) buy to many lemons and then forget about them, and so I end up with lemons that are essentially rock hard on the outside.
Are there any use for them? I've tried zesting/peeling them in the past, but that doesn't really work.
Can I rehydrate them somehow in a bowl of water and use them in cooking somehow, or should I just throw them in the bin?
Posted Dec 2, 2022, 8:01 PM UTC
In south India we use them to clean discoloured pots, pans and pressure cookers. Just boil water with the cut lemons. It also works with the leftovers from squeezed out husks of lime/lemon too.
Actually that's a excellent idea. My copper cookware can always use a shining up.
Throw them in the garbage disposal and chop them into tiny pieces with the running water. At least your drain will smell fresher.
This tip was a favorite of my mom's and I did it for years. Until our garbage disposal broke because of it 😬 proceed with caution on those beautiful, sour jewels
3/4 HP electric motor > old lemons
Sadly we weren’t always as great at building electric motors as we are today.
That’s for example why kitchenaid mixers were so durable, while many other brands broke down after some years of use.
I hope you snake your drains. This can backfire on you If you have an old house with pipes that have never been cleaned.
Never but I do run it in the disposal for minutes not seconds.
Always run your water for minutes after you use the disposal. Get the grinding to the big pipes at the end of your yard and dilute them.
Do you have a garbage disposal? If yes and it smells, grind that bad boy up with a couple of handfuls of ice and a squirt of dish soap.
If yes and it doesn't smell...Freeze the lemon until it does.
If no disposal, simmer it up for air freshener while you do dishes to get rid of lingering and particularly pungent kitchen smells (e.g. fried foods and etc)
If no disposal, simmer it up for air freshener while you do dishes
Great idea, thank you
That’s what I use old lemons and limes for
If you have the fridge space, I swear to god, give this tip a try. I saw a tiktok hack about storing your lemons in water. Scrub them clean of any dirt, put them in a large tupperware or jar, cover them in water, put them in your fridge. They will last for like a month or two! I usually change the water once a week but I left for a 3 week trip once and guess who came home to perfectly fine limes and lemons? Me!
We always have fresh cold citrus now! And the water that you discard has a bit of citrus oil in it so I use that to wipe down my plant leaves and my counters.
Wow! That’s so cool, I would’ve assume they would break down and get soggy in the water but I’m definitely gonna give this a shot.
I was super skeptical too but I currently have some fingerlimes and keylimes in my fridge that I bought on November 13th. Here are my citrus in water! They're still fragrant and have a good bounce to them and they're not mushy at all.
Thank you for sharing your proof :) I don’t trust people who post stuff for views/likes but I will trust an internet stranger in the comment section of this sub
You're gonna save so much money by not having to throw away your dried out and sad citrus, I promise! Fresh citrus for all!! ❤️
If they haven't been treated with pesticides, there are a number of soup recipes that use whole lemons (Greek and Indian as far as I've seen); some use them whole, for some you might need to slice the lemons (a serrated knife might help if they're too hard).
Another idea that I typically use is to juice the lemons up before they go hard and store the juice in a bottle. It lasts for up to two weeks in the fridge, but if it goes bad you can use it for cleaning hard to clean stuff (where you would typically use vinegar).
I didn't name any soups, hopefully you can find something that appeals to your taste buds on google :)
Self defense.
What about a recipe for baked chicken here you put a cut in half lemon in the cavity? Couldn't hurt trying once.
You can make your own cleaning spray
I’ve played backyard cricket 🏏 with a dried up lemon. They work well if they are hard enough not to break up too quickly. Sort of intermediate between a tennis ball and a proper cricket ball.
Before they dry up, slice up your extra lemons and freeze. Add to drinks as needed
Look up Iranian recipes.
Door stop?
I’ve used them for air fresheners, you can simmer water and various aromatics to create a warm natural scent in your home, I wouldn’t use for anything you’d consume.
Another user also mentioned using it as a air freshener type thing, I like that idea, thanks!