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Lemons add sour flavor to a dish, keep apples from turning brown and so much more. There are many answers to the question, what can I make with lemons? Lemonade is perhaps the first thing you think of, but they aren’t just used for summer beverages.
Here are five fun facts about lemons and some recipes too. My Mom’s favorite is slicing a lemon in half and inserting inside a whole chicken before roasting. She refers to this as “shoving a lemon up a chicken’s butt.”
A Pharaoh’s Drink
Lemonade originally was developed as a refreshing beverage for pharaohs. According to a lemon fun fact page, Egyptians developed a drink of lemon juice and sugar in the 500s AD called qatarmizat. Much later, in 1630, Paris debuted the first lemonade soft drink. We’ve been drinking a variation of lemon juice and sweetener ever since.
Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus, born in Genoa, Italy, didn’t just discover America, he brought lemons as well. Genoa was a prime producer of lemons in the 15th century, and he planted lemon seeds on his second voyage to Hispaniola, introducing the tree to the new world. Today the primary producers of lemons are California and Florida, but they didn’t start commercial producing lemons until the 1800s.
Medicine, eat your heart out!
If you have a sore throat, don’t reach for you medicine cabinet, reach for a squirt of lemon juice. This fruit helps a sore throat without that terrible taste of grape medicine. Just saying those words makes me shudder. Add the juice of ½ a lemon to hot water and gargle and then spit. If you want to help you digestion, many swear by the juice of half a lemon with warm water first thing in the morning. Lemons are high in potassium and vitamin C.
All you need is a trip to the grocery store.
We’ve already mentioned how lemons can cleanse the body but how about your face? A dollop of yogurt, an essential oil such as lavender and a few drops of lemon juice (best for oily skin) can improve your complexion.
Polishing has Never Been Easier!
Do you have a bunch of lackluster silverware? A concoction of lemon juice, instant dry milk and water can be used safely on silverware to make it shine.
After reading this, I would keep a few extra lemons around the house, and not in case a relative shows up with a chicken to cook for dinner. I don’t know if anyone else knew this, but I never knew the Egyptians created lemonade, or that Columbus brought lemons to the US. Who knows what other possibilities lie inside the rind?
Alex Wymer is about to enter 8th grade. This is his first blog post. His interests include eating his Mom’s chicken, her other foodie creations, playing video games and paddle boarding.
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