THE USEFUL LEMON

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXXIX, Issue 20065, 23 March 1935, Page 14

THE USEFUL LEMON

PRESERVING THE JUICE This is an excellent idea, when lemons are cheap and plentiful, to preserve the juice. Then cool lemon drinks can be served on hot days when fresh lemons are too dear to buy. Extract the juice from the lemons, care being taken not to bruise the peel, which would allow the oil to mix with the juice, making it slightly bitter. Sweeten or not, as desired. If sweetened, a portion of sugar generally preferred is slightly below the equal weight of that of juice. The best way to add the sugar is to put in a saucepan or a preserving pan with as little water as possible to preserve it, and boil to a thick, clear syrup (this would be about 230 deg. Fah.), then mix with the cold lemon juice. If preferred clear, filtration is necessary, either through a flannel or soft bag, and then through filter paper. Pour juice into clean bottle, filling to within half an inch of the top, as the juice expands when hot. Then cork very firmly, and put the bottles on a stand inside a boiler with water barley reaching the bottom of the bottle (the stand is really to lift the bottles out of the water). Bring the water to a temperature of 160 to 180 deg. (little below simmering heat), and retain the heat for 35 minutes. If allowed to boil, the flavour of the lemon juice is not so good. Remove the bottles and stand then on a folded wet cloth till cold.