What can replace lemon juice? Helpful Hints

2024 Author: Isabella Gilson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:14

Lemon juice is an indispensable assistant in many household chores. In addition to cooking, there are a huge number of options for its use. For example, cleaning a microwave or kettle from scale. But situations are not uncommon when an idea arose to cook something tasty, but this citrus fruit, as luck would have it, was not at hand. In this case, a completely logical question arises: "Is it possible to replace lemon juice with other products without compromising the taste?". It turns out that there are several ways to fix the situation.

What recipes use lemon juice?

It is generally accepted that the most valuable substance that lemon has is ascorbic acid. It is able to tone the body, improves memory and concentration, and is also the number one remedy for the development of an inflammatory process in the body or an infectious disease.diseases. Low calorie.

As for the use in cooking, in this area, lemon juice is also in demand and love of hostesses. It is good in the following cases:

1. As a salad dressing, often an ingredient in sauces.
2. In pickled cucumbers or tomatoes.
3. Suitable for making thirst-quenching drinks.
4. Frequent ingredient in cream recipes.

To enhance the taste of the selected spices for meat or fish, before sending the product to the oven, it must be watered with a small amount of juice. It is worth noting that lemon juice makes the meat texture softer.

To replace fresh citrus, you can purchase a concentrate. It is sold in many grocery hypermarkets. Unlike the lemon itself, such a solution will always be at hand, it is stored for a long time, and it does not differ in taste.

Replacing lemon juice in drinks

Fresh sour citrus contains almost half of the recommended daily intake of vitamin C. Therefore, it is often used to make "vitamin" cocktails. In the absence of fresh lemon, it is quite possible to replace it with an orange, tangerine or grapefruit. They also contain ascorbic acid.

Using fruit juices

In the preparation of some dishes, as well as drinks, lemon juice is used because of the content of ascorbic acid in it. It can also be obtained from other analogue fruits: grapefruit or sour apples.

For extinguishing sodacranberry, lingonberry or sea buckthorn juice without sugar is suitable, you can also use berry concentrates.

What else can I substitute for lemon juice? A great alternative is berries. It has long been known that they are able not only to replace this citrus fruit in taste, but also to enrich the dish with vitamins. Berry juice contains many useful substances. They have a beneficial effect on digestion and skin condition. Thus, berries are a good answer to the question of how to replace lemon juice in a recipe for jelly, jam, fruit sauce, jelly or meat sauce. It is important to note that if you plan to use it to marinate a meat or fish dish, then it is not recommended to use the option with a sugar content. For such purposes, it is best to choose pomegranate or grape juices.

When making jam, unsweetened fruit juices help preserve all the useful components of berries and make the product not only tasty, but also he althy. Even after long-term storage, such jam will retain its original consistency and will not sugar.

Vinegar replacement

As a rule, the lack of lemon is a serious problem in the preparation of dessert dishes: pastries, cakes and various creams. However, skilled housewives have long found a way out of the situation and do not worry when citrus is not at home, and do not run to the store to bring their own idea to the end.

You can easily replace lemon juice with vinegar. Almost every house has a wine or apple. In this case, 1 tbsp will be enough. l. natural vinegar.

In extreme cases, a 6% concentration ordinary table is also suitable. It can be used both for making sweet creams and for dressing cold dishes. Table vinegar is mixed with olive oil. A particularly tasty dressing is obtained when preparing light salads in the summer. If a 9% solution is used, it is recommended that it be diluted with water in equal proportions.

Five tablespoons of ordinary table vinegar can replace half a cup of citric acid. That is, this method is more economical.

Using citric acid

Another easy way to replace fresh citrus. Before replacing lemon juice with citric acid and proceeding to the procedure itself, you need to decide what taste you want to end up with: pronounced, with a hint of sourness or less saturated. This will depend on the concentration of the solution. For the standard version 1 tbsp. l. powder is diluted in warm water (50 ml). To enhance the taste and give the dish sourness, it is recommended to add half a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar. When using the product for making desserts, you can dilute citric acid with honey.

It is especially convenient to use lemon powder if the task is to prepare homemade sugaring paste. Sometimes just pouring it is enough, even without adding water.

Substitute for lemon juice when making pickles

As a rule, sour citrus is indispensable in folk recipes for preservation. But what if there was no lemon at hand, and it’s too late to run to the store? How to replace lemon juice when preparing marinade for vegetables? A great alternative is the same vinegar. The best substitutes will be wine, table or apple. A good option would be to use fruit vinegar. Such a solution not only retains a pleasant, mild odor, but can also promote he alth.

In addition, some fruit pies and other delicious desserts are also formulated to use vinegar instead of citric acid. All it takes is to add a couple of teaspoons before the dough is finished.

Conclusion

It turns out that there are a huge number of ways to remedy the situation if there is no lemon in the house. Knowing what you can replace lemon juice with, you can almost always get out. In some cases, analog products can not only add an unforgettable aroma or taste to a dish, but also preserve the original qualities of the ingredients, which is important for those who are used to cooking with soul.

Thus, instead of the most common compensation function, you can get new flavor combinations. However, sometimes there are not so many answers to the question of how to replace lemon juice without losing taste. In addition, sometimes it will be necessary to specifically measureconcentrations and proportions so as not to spoil the taste of the dish and not make it sour. But it all comes with experience.