By Copper Williams
Pucker up, San Joaquin! Because it’s time to hear the facts about the tart, refreshing citrus fruit we all know and love! The lemon has been around since Colonial days in the United States, but its origins can be traced all the way back to ancient Asia. A fruit offered up year-round, the lemon has made its way into households across the world for multiple uses, aromatic properties, and lovely coloration!
The lemon’s health benefits are colossal, providing essential nutrients such as vitamin C and B-Complex vitamins. It provides much needed minerals like calcium and potassium and that’s only grazing the tangy surface of this helpful fruit! In olden times, lemons were the leading cure for scurvy among sailors. These days, lemons are used to ease stomach troubles and to aid in digestion.
Lemons are perfect for bringing out the flavor in all sorts of foods like meat and fish, but their usefulness doesn’t end there! Lemon oil, procured from the peel itself, is a common ingredient you’ll find in many household furniture polishes, detergents and even perfume! Due to its high levels of acidity, lemons make the perfect cleaning agent for kitchenware. Just add a little salt or baking powder to a halved lemon and get to work on stainless steel and copper! You’ll be loving that shine in no time.
From the leaves, to the pulp, and everything in between, the lemon is as versatile a fruit as they come. Keep a bundle in your home this season and reap all the benefits that this refreshing little orb of sunshine can bring!
Lemon Drop
Ingredients:
2 Cups Vodka
1 Lemon, thin sliced
½ Cup lemon juice, fresh
½ Cup sugar, fine
Ice
Combine all ingredients except lemon slices into cocktail shaker. Shake and pour contents into martini glasses. Garnish with lemon slices. Sugar the rim if you’re into something just a little sweeter!
Lemon Pie S’mores
2 Large lemons or ½ cup lemon juice
2 Tsp lemon zest
2 Large eggs
2 Egg yolks
¼ Tsp salt
½ Cup sugar
4 Tbsp unsalted butter, cubed and softened
1 Box graham crackers
1 Bag large marshmallows
Juice and zest lemons, set aside
In a small bowl add eggs and salt. Whisk until eggs are thinned.
Transfer eggs to a medium sauce pan. Add sugar, lemon juice, and zest. Turn heat on to medium and stir with plastic whisk or spoon. (Do not use metal)
Add softened butter to pan. Stir constantly for 4-6 minutes or until curd has thickened.
Remove from heat and transfer to glass jar or container with lid. Chill for 1 hour.
Break graham crackers into neat squares, add a spoonful of lemon curd to each graham cracker and add a marshmallow on top.
Place each onto cookie sheet, set into oven broiler and turn on low until marshmallows have lightly browned on the top.
Remove from the oven and serve! *Recipe courtesy of PickFreshFoods.com
Frozen Meyer Lemon Mousse
1 Cup freshly squeezed Meyer lemon juice
Grazed zest of 2 Meyer lemons
¾ Cup sugar
4 Large egg yolks
2 Cups heavy cream
Combine the lemon juice and lemon zest in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes, or until fragrant. Strain through a fine mesh sieve. Return the lemon juice to the pan and add the sugar. Bring to a boil and simmer until an instant-read thermometer registers 230˚F. When the sugar syrup is nearly ready, start whipping the egg yolks in a mixer fitted with a whip attachment.
With the motor running on high, add the hot sugar syrup in a thin stream. Continue to whip on high until light and fluffy and cooled to room temperature. Whip the cream to soft peaks. Stir 1/3 of the cream into the yolk mixture, then fold in the remaining cream. Divide the mixture among 8 acetate-lined individual cake rings on a parchment-lined baking tray. Freeze for 4 to 6 hours, or until solid. To unmold, transfer the frozen mousses to dessert plates. Slide off the cake rings and peel away the acetate. *Recipe courtesy of HungryCravings.com