| How to Wrap Dumplings Posted: 20 Aug 2021 01:00 AM PDT Dumplings are a delicious Asian dish, made by filling thin sheets of dough with meat or veggies. There are a lot of ways to wrap dumplings, but 2 of the most popular shapes are the pleated crescent and the purse. Try them for yourself at home using store-bought dumpling wrappers or making your own dough with flour, water, and salt. Now step away from the takeout menu and into the kitchen! [Edit]Ingredients [Edit]Homemade Dumpling Wrappers - 2 cups (256 g) of all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon (2.8 g) of salt
- of boiling water
Makes about 30 wrappers [Edit]Wrapping a Pleated Crescent Shape - Place 1 tbsp (14 g) of filling in the center of a round dumpling wrapper. Use a spoon to scoop out the filling of your choice. Pile it as close to the middle of the circular wrapper as possible.[1]
- You can use any type of filling you'd like, such as pork or veggies.
- Brush water around the entire outer edge of the wrapper. Dip a pastry brush in water, then run it around the outside edge of the wrapper. This moistens the edge so it sticks together better and the dumpling won't fall apart.[2]
- If you don't have a pastry brush, use your finger dipped in water instead.
- Use enough water so that the edge is moist but not completely saturated. If it's too soggy, the wrapper will rip.
- Fold one side of the wrapper over onto the other side. Line up the edges as you fold the dumpling wrapper in half over the filling. Make sure the edges are perfectly aligned and that one edge isn't hanging over the other. This creates a half moon shape.[3]
- Don't pull too hard on the wrapper or you'll tear it. If you're having trouble folding it over, you might need to remove some of the filling.
- Make pleats along the joined edges of the wrapper to seal it. Start at one corner of the open side of the wrapper. To make the pleats, fold tiny sections of the dough over onto itself as you pinch the 2 edges together. This creates an effect that looks like a folded fan. Continue the pleating and pinching until the entire open side is sealed.[4]
- Pinch the dough tightly as you work your way around the edge so that none of the filling falls out when you cook the dumplings.
- You can make your pleats as big or as small as you'd like them.
[Edit]Folding a Purse Shape Dumpling - Pile 1 tbsp (14 g) of filling into the middle of a round dumpling wrapper. Set a scoop of filling in the center of the wrapper and pack it as tightly as you can into a pile in the middle. If it's too spread out, it will be difficult to fold the wrapper up.[5]
- Choose whatever type of filling you prefer.
- Use a pastry brush to moisten the outer edge of the wrapper. Brush water around the outside of the wrapper with a pastry brush. Avoid getting the wrapper too wet or soggy. Use just enough water so the dough is damp.[6]
- You can also dip your finger in water and run it around the edge if you don't have a pastry brush.
- Instead of water, you can also use an egg wash. Beat an egg yolk and brush it around the wrapper.
- Press the opposite edges of the wrapper together halfway up the dumpling. Bring 2 opposite sides together and pinch them between your fingers to seal them. Stop when you get to the center of your filling so that half the wrapper is closed and half of it is still open.[7]
- If you're struggling to pinch the wrapper over the filling, remove some of the filling so you have more space to fold the dough.
- Bring the middle of the open edge up to meet the fold at the top. Pull the open edge up into the center of the dumpling so that it intersects the point where you stopped pinching the fold. As you do this, the wrapper will form 2 new open edges on either side of the middle.[8]
- Be careful not to stretch the wrapper too hard or it will rip.
- Seal each of the 2 remaining open edges by pinching the dough together. Find the 2 edges that form a "Y" shape with your original fold. Pinch the edges together on each open side, just like you did on your first fold, so that the dumpling is sealed in a triangle shape with a point at the center.[9]
- If the edges pop open, pinch them more firmly or brush a little more water onto them to help them stay sealed.
[Edit]Making Homemade Dumpling Wrappers - Mix 2 cups (256 g) of flour and 1/2 teaspoon (2.8 g) of salt together. Pour the flour and salt into a mixing bowl. Then whisk them together until they're thoroughly combined.[10]
- Don't substitute any other type of flour, like whole wheat, for the all-purpose flour. Otherwise, the texture of the wrapper will be too dense.
- You can use either a whisk or a spoon to mix the dry ingredients.
- Add of boiling water to the dry ingredients. Carefully pour the boiling water into the bowl with the flour and salt mixture, stirring it constantly. Mix it all together until it's smooth and there are no clumps of flour.[11]
- Use your hands to knead the dough for about 3 minutes. Push the dough away from you with the heel of your hand, then fold it back over itself before rotating the dough and repeating the pushing and folding. Continue kneading until the dough is stretchy and smooth but not sticky.[12]
- If your dough is dry and cracking, sprinkle in a little more water to moisten it.
- You may need to let the dough cool for 2 to 3 minutes before kneading it if your hands are sensitive to heat.
- Cover the dough in plastic wrap and let it sit for 30 minutes. Wrap the dough tightly with plastic wrap and set it somewhere that is room temperature. Wait at least 30 minutes to let the dough soften.[13]
- Use a kitchen timer or the clock app on your phone to keep track of the time.
- Roll 2 tbsp (28 g) of dough between your hands to form a sphere. Pull off a piece of dough and lightly roll it between the palms of your hands. Do this until the dough is the shape of a small ball.[14]
- For larger wrappers, pinch off more than 2 tbsp (28 g) of dough. For smaller wrappers, use less.
- Use a rolling pin to flatten the sphere into a thick circle. Place the sphere of dough on a clean, flat surface. Then, roll it out using a rolling pin until it's no more than thick. Check that the entire wrapper is an even thickness.[15]
- To prevent the dough from sticking, sprinkle flour onto the flat surface before rolling your wrapper.
- Continue rolling and flattening spheres until you've used all the dough. Once you've shaped your first wrapper, pinch off another 2 tbsp (28 g) of dough, roll it into a sphere, and flatten it with the rolling pin before repeating again. When you're finished, you'll have about 30 wrappers. [16]
- Store the wrappers in an airtight container or wrapped in plastic wrap in the refrigerator for up to 7 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
[Edit]Things You'll Need [Edit]Homemade Dumpling Wrappers - Mixing bowl
- Whisk or spoon
- Rolling pin
- Plastic wrap
[Edit]References |
| How to Create a Character Driven Book Posted: 19 Aug 2021 05:00 PM PDT A character driven book is a book where the story focuses more on a character's internal journey than on external actions or events. A character in a character driven book must come to a realization or an epiphany of some kind. An emotional victory, rather than a literal one, usually marks the climax of the story. You'll need to spend a lot of time developing your characters and your theme before you even begin to write. Remember to place a lot of focus as you write on what your characters are thinking and feeling as they navigate daily life. [Edit]Establishing the Basics - Focus on character wants and needs. In a character driven book, your character's wants and needs should be of utmost importance. The primary action of a character driven book involves how a character's wants, needs, and opinions change over time. Spend some considering what your characters want as you begin to carve out the basics of your book.
- All characters should yearn for something. This can help drive their actions throughout a story. For example, maybe your main character desperately wants to be a professional ballet dancer. His passion for dance can be the driving point of his actions throughout the story.
- Your characters should, on a deeper level, need something as well. Maybe your main character's desire to dance is driven by a deeper need for control. Ballet requires a certain amount of perfection. If your character has had a messy life, for example, he may use dance as a way to create perfection from chaos.
- Decide on a theme, or the central idea or message that the story will explore. Figure out your theme, or come up with some idea of what topics you want to explore, to help you develop your characters. The theme your work grapples with should be of central importance to the characters.[1]
- Think about your favorite book. If you had to sum that book up with a few words, what would those words be? For example, say your favorite book is Mrs. Dalloway. What is the first word you think of when considering this book? Words that come to mind may be time, death, trauma, and loss. These are certainly all themes explored in Mrs. Dalloway, primarily through the book's characters.
- Think about a theme you want to explore in your book. Do you want to write about love, loss, heartbreak? Do you want to write a story of redemption or courage? Try to jot down a variety of themes you would like to explore in your book. Think about how your characters could exemplify those themes.
- Establish a plot focused on personal journey. Every story needs a plot, even when a story is character driven. It doesn't have to be action and adventure based, but you need to have some plot in mind before beginning your story.[2]
- Having a literal journey, like a road trip, can help drive a symbolic one.
- You could also focus on how certain relationships change. If you're telling the story of a friendship, a romance, or a family relationship, how will this relationship progress? What events will occur to drive this relationship forward?
- Decide on a setting, or where your story will take place. Spend some time thinking about the relationship your characters have with that place. The relationship characters have to their home or another location is often a big aspect of their identity.[3]
- Ask yourself how your characters feel about the setting of your book. Do they love the setting or do they hate it? Are they longing for escape, or looking for a way to settle down in their current location?
- Give the setting and characters an equal amount of attention. Don't skip little details about your setting just because you want to have the most focus on your characters - readers will be looking for good characters and a good setting. Remember that the setting isn't just the place where a story takes place - it can also be the time period, season, or other things relating to when your story takes place.
[Edit]Developing the Characters - Create character profile worksheets to flesh out your characters. A character profile worksheet has all the information about each character including their basic background, physical description, personality attributes, and emotional characteristics. It also describes how they fit into the story and what their relationships with other characters are.[4]
- You can create your own character profile worksheets, or find a framework to follow online.
- Start with the basics. Write down your character's full name and physical details like height, weight, eye color, hair color, and so on. Also, make sure to chart out basic relationship. Lists parents, siblings, friends, romantic partners, and so on.
- From here, talk about deeper issues. Lists your character wants, fears, and needs. Talk about what your character likes and dislikes. What does your character want out of life? What about him or herself does your character want to change? Also, include things like religious and political views, as these are important insights to a character's personality.
- You may find, as you begin to write, you do not include every detail in your actual book. However, knowing your character's intimately can be helpful for you as a writer. You may find you incorporate a lot of the information from your character profiles in the subtext of your work.
- Choose a character arc that represents your character's emotional journey. A character arc is the driving force of your story in a character driven book. Your character's internal arc will be how you figure out the rising action, climax, and falling action of your story.[5]
- Essentially, your character arc is how we get from Point A to Point B in your story. Let's return to the ballet dancer example. Your main character should go from obsessing over perfection and control to accepting life's ambiguities. How do you get your character to this point?
- Think of events that will shape your character. In our example, the ballet dancer's estranged father resurfaces. As your dancer cares for his ailing father, you can include flashbacks to his childhood. This can reveal an amount of chaos that was frightening. You can also use the progression of his father's illness to drive the story forward, each stage of his father's sickness forcing the ballet dancer to recognize how much of life is beyond his control.
- Establish backstories for your main characters. A backstory is the history attached to a character. Write a brief biography for each character you create.[6]
- Ask yourself things like where was the character born? What was his or her childhood like? Where did he or she go to school? What important events occurred in his or her life? This information is all vital to a character's current personality.
- Much like the information in your character profiles, it's unlikely that you'll include every detail of a character's backstory in your book. However, this information may be useful for you as a writer. You can add details subtly or bury them in the context.
- Craft relationships between characters. Character relationships are very important to a character driven story. A relationship is often of central importance to the realizations a character has that drive his or her story arc. Focus on characters' relationships with one another as you develop their story arcs.[7]
- You may want to map out relationships between characters. Use a big sheet of construction paper to write out all your characters' names. Draw color-coded lines between characters to represent relationships. For example, a red line can be a romantic relationship, while a blue line represents a family relationship.
- Grudges can go a long way in developing characters. A lot of tension in a character driven work comes from characters who dislike each other or have a troubled history.
- Focus on how these relationships will change. Will characters grow apart, reconcile, or develop animosity as time goes by?
- Give your characters strong opinions. Strong opinions make for interesting, dynamic characters. Make how a character's opinion changes over time a focal point of that character's arc. Use strong opinions to foster disagreement between characters and create compelling conflict in a story.[8]
- Characters with strong opinions can be very driven. This can help keep a character driven story moving. For example, the ballet dancer is of the opinion perfection and success are vital to a life well-lived. He may be dismissive of people he sees as lazy. This can create tension in his personal relationships, as his opinions may make him judgmental or overbearing.
- Strong opinions often change during the course of a story. Your climax will seem more exciting if your character is forced to abandon opinions he or she has clung to strongly throughout a work.
[Edit]Framing Your Story - Select what point of view to tell the story from. The point of view in your story is the perspective from which a story is told. Common perspectives are first-person, second-person, third-person omniscient, or third-person limited.[9]
 - In first-person, the story is narrated by a character in the story. It's told using pronouns like "I" and "me." The advantage of this is that you get to see one character's perspective in-depth. The disadvantage is that you often see other character's from only one character's point of view. If you're using first person, you'll have to keep the tone consistent with that character. If a book is told through the point of view of a child, for example, this will be very different from a book told from the point of view of a college-educated adult.
- Second-person is when the author uses "you" or "your," telling the story as if it's happening to the reader. This can make experiences feel more personal for the reader. However, it's used somewhat infrequently in longer works. An example of this perspective is a Choose Your Own Adventure Book.
- Third-person can be limited or omniscient. A limited third-person narrator tells the story as an outsider looking in, but focuses in on the perspective and inner thoughts of one character. An omniscient third-person narrator can reveal the thoughts of any character in the book. Third-person omniscient can be particularly helpful for a character-driven book if you have a wide variety of characters.
- Develop your characters' voice, in other words how they talk. Create a realistic and interesting voice for your character to entertain readers with what they say. Use your character profiles to think about how your characters would sound in real life to give them each a unique voice in your story.[10]
- Think about things like is the character educated or uneducated? Are they rural or from a city? Are they naive or wordly? Do they make assumptions, let their heart rule, or focus on facts?
- For example, if your character is cynical, his words may be laced with sarcasm. A well-educated character may have a highly developed dialogue, especially if he's insecure and wants to call attention to his intelligence.
- Listen to how people talk in real life. Spend some time people watching and eavesdropping on conversations. Listen for verbal "ticks", such as how people use words the words "like" and "um" when speaking.
- Focus on writing believable dialogue. Dialogue needs to be believable in order to keep readers invested in the story and entertained. Make sure that every dialogue you include is purposeful and moves the story forward.[11]
- Read your dialogue out loud. This will help you gauge whether it sounds believable or not.
- Break up dialogue with action, so you can have characters use non-verbal cues to convey mood. A character may, for example, fidget excessively when lying or being deceitful.
- Have your characters stop and think. Focus on your character's internal monologue as you begin to write your book. A lot of the action in a character driven book occurs in a character's mind. Allow your characters to stop and think throughout the book to highlight what's going through their minds.[12]
- If your story is told in first person, this can be particularly easy to do. You can have the character discussing what he or she is thinking as the action of the story unfolds. However, you can also get into a character's head if you're writing in third person. As a narrator, you're a somewhat omnipotent force and are able to tell your readers what your characters are thinking.
- Benign events can cause a character to stop and think. Maybe a passing school bus reminds your character of a traumatic event that occurred on his first day of school, for example. Major events can also drive introspection. Maybe your character has a breakdown after a relationship implodes, causing him to spend a night awake with his thoughts.
- Make everyday interactions significant. Strive to make small events significant in a character driven work. Use them to show a character's relationships with others, and his or her personality, through how that character navigates day-to-day interactions.[13]
- Have your character respond to small interactions he or she has with other people. This can show how your character sees the world. How these interactions change can show how a character's story arc is playing out. For example, you can include a scene where a character gets very angry when someone cuts him or her in line. This can demonstrate that your character is high strung about rules. Later, a similar interaction can take place and your character can react in a more relaxed fashion. This illustrates how this character has changed.
- You can also have everyday interactions with other characters matter. How a character reacts to being touched by a significant other can offer insight into that relationship. The way your protagonist reacts to a phone call from his mother can show you how he does or does not value family.
[Edit]Writing Your Book - Schedule time to write everyday. Writing a character driven book is like writing any book; it all comes down to taking the time to write. Set aside time each day to work on your book, even if you don't feel like it.[14]
- Writing should become a habit for you. Like working out, showering, or brushing your teeth, writing should be a daily ritual.
- Find a place to write where you feel comfortable. You can stake out a local coffee shop or clear a desk in your home. Try to keep your work area free of distractions. Leave your cell phone on silent when you write and disconnect from social media.
- Set goals for yourself. It's hard to finish a book if you don't hold yourself to certain goals. Try to set goals for yourself as you're working on your character driven book. Have an established page or word count you strive to reach each day.[15]
- It's okay to start small to avoid feeling overwhelmed. For example, in your first week try to write 300 words a day. Then, move up to 500 the next week. Keep increasing your word count in small intervals over time.
- Revise your work. A lot of the work of writing comes in revision. Revise a section or chapter a few weeks after you finish writing it. Go through and read your work with a red pen to mark it up.[16]
- Highlight small issues, like typos, as well as larger ones. For example, maybe you feel like your main character's motivation is confusing in a certain moment. Jot this down in the margin
- Get a friend or mentor to help you revise your book. Find someone whose opinion you trust and who will give you honest feedback. Let them read drafts of your book and listen to their opinions as a reader to revise your work.[17]
- It's important to get feedback early on to make sure you are headed in the right direction with your book. You don't want to finish the book and then have to rewrite it because you didn't let anyone read it until the end.
- Seek out inspiration. Read up on authors who are famous for creating character-driven stories. JD Salinger, Judy Blume, Virginia Woolf, and Nick Hornby are just a few examples of authors whose work is famously character-based.[18]
[Edit]Related wikiHows [Edit]References |
| How to Make Lemon Juice Posted: 19 Aug 2021 09:00 AM PDT Lemon juice is valuable to stock for cooking, cleaning, or even drinking. It can be taken to remedy coughs and sore throats or mixed into lemonade. The best part of this versatile juice is that a fresh batch is easy to make at home with some ripe lemons. To get plain juice, all you have to do is cut open the lemons and squeeze them dry. Freshly-squeezed juice won't last very long, but you could mix it with boiled sugar to create a syrup that is easy to preserve and use for cooking. Once you taste what you have created, you won't ever need to buy lemon juice from the store again. [Edit]Ingredients [Edit]Squeezing Lemon Juice - 6 lemons
- 6 teaspoons (24 grams) of sugar (optional)
- of water (optional)
[Edit]Creating a Preservable Lemon Syrup - 6 lemons
- 1 tablespoon of lemon zest
- of water
- 2 cups (400 grams) of sugar
[Edit]Squeezing Lemon Juice - Cut the lemons lengthwise in half with a sharp knife. Most people cut across the width of a lemon. Instead of doing that, make a vertical cut down the center of each lemon. It makes the lemon halves easier to squeeze, allowing you to get a little more juice out of them. [1]
of juice. }} - Squeeze the juice out into a bowl if you're doing it by hand. Place the bowl on a countertop and juice the lemon halves into it one at a time. Most of the juice will flood out after a gentle squeeze. After the juice stops flowing, apply more pressure to wring out the remaining drops. Finish by poking the cut part of the lemon with a fork and twisting to remove any remaining juice.[2]
- Filter out the seeds by holding a strainer over the bowl as you squeeze each lemon half. Otherwise, you will need to pick out the seeds and bits of pulp that fall into the bowl.
- Crush the lemon in a citrus press as an alternative. Position the lemon with the cut side down. Press the handles together to crush the juice out. If you have a round juicer, push the cut end of the lemon onto the plastic spike in the center. Spin the lemon back and forth while pushing down on it.[3]
- A citrus press is the easier type of juicer to use. The spinning press can lead to pith in the juice, so filter it over a strainer if you wish to remove it.
- Put the lemon in an electric juicer if you don't mind pulp. Electric juicers are similar to the spiked manual ones. Push the cut end of the lemon onto the spike in the center, then turn on the juicer. The spike rotates to make as much juice as possible. The only downside is that it also cuts up the pith you may not want in your juice.[4]
- If you need to remove the pith, you can pour the juice through a strainer.
- Some blenders and stand mixers have juicer attachments. Connect the attachment to your device for a quick way to create lemon juice!
- Mix water or sugar into the juice if it tastes too sour. The juice is finished once you're done squeezing, especially if you used big, juicy lemons that aren't very acidic. Taste the juice to see if it's the way you want it. If it seems too strong, mix in about 1 teaspoon (4 grams) of sugar for each lemon you used. You could also add up to of water per lemon to dilute the juice.[5]
- Sugar and water make the juice much easier to drink or cook with, especially if it tastes very tart or acidic. Keep in mind that the juiciest varieties, such as Meyer lemons, already have a unique, sweet taste that could be ruined if you plan on using the juice to flavor food.
- To avoid changing the juice's flavor too much, add the sugar or water in small amounts. Taste the juice each time.
- Store the juice in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Pour the juice into a resealable container labeled with today's date. It will turn bitter after that, so freeze it if you don't plan on using it right away. The juice will retain its quality for up to 4 months after freezing it.[6]
- Lemon juice doesn't spoil. It is safe to drink after 3 days in the refrigerator, but it won't taste very good. It also lasts indefinitely in the freezer but loses quality over time.
- To thaw frozen juice, let it sit at room temperature for up to an hour. You can also warm it in the microwave at a low temperature.
[Edit]Creating a Preservable Lemon Syrup - Juice 6 lemons into a small glass or bowl. Freeze, then microwave and roll the lemons around to free more of the juice. After cutting the lemons in half lengthwise, squeeze out as much of the juice as you can get. Use a fork or a citrus juicer to get more out of each lemon. You will end up with about of fresh juice.[7]
- Cut up additional lemons if you need more juice. Each lemon will give you of juice.
- Grate a fresh lemon peel to add to a stovetop pot. You will need about 1 tablespoon (6 grams) of lemon zest. It's easy to make by rubbing the skin from one of the lemon halves over a grater, microplane, or another tool. Keep it separate from the lemon juice. Put it in a pot that is safe to use on the stove.[8]
- The zest is the lemon's skin. Be careful to avoid adding the white pith underneath it. The pith is bitter and can affect the juice's flavor.
- The zest isn't essential. It adds a stronger lemon flavor to the juice, but you can skip it if you aren't able to get any.
- Combine water and sugar with the lemon zest. Pour about of water into the stovetop pot with the lemon zest. Then, mix in 2 cups (400 g) of sugar. If you like your lemon juice sweeter, add another 1/4 cup (50 g) of sugar.[9]
- Heat the pot over medium heat until the water starts to simmer. Turn the stove on and wait for the water to heat up. When it begins simmering, it will reach about . It will also start to steam and release bubbles every second.[10]
- If you don't wish to juice the lemons in advance, take advantage of the time spent waiting for the water to heat up. Just be sure to keep an eye on the pot so it doesn't boil over!
- Cook and stir the water for 4 minutes until the sugar dissolves. Get a spoon or spatula and gently swirl the water around. Watch for the sugar to disappear into the water. Once you are no longer able to see the sugar, set the pot aside.[11]
- Remember to turn the stove burner off after moving the pot off of the heat.
- The mixture will form a lemon-flavored syrup you can use to flavor drinks or freeze to make lemonade.
- Pour the lemon juice into the pot. Add the fresh lemon juice and stir the liquid around to combine it. Make sure it is well-mixed, then taste test it once it cools. Your lemon syrup is ready! Mix in of lukewarm water as well if you want to make lemonade.[12]
- Put the juice into the refrigerator or freezer until it is cold. Put the juice into a resealable container labeled with today's date if you don't plan on using it right away. It will last about 3 days in the refrigerator before it starts losing its flavor. For an alternative storage method, freeze it for up to 4 months.[13]
- This kind of juice is basically lemonade with a homemade syrup. It's better for drinking than cooking.
- Drink or use the juice after it has had a chance to chill. After mixing in the additional water, you can enjoy the juice as a refreshing drink within about 30 minutes. For lemon syrup fresh off the stove, use it as soon as you need it for a recipe. It can be drizzled onto a cake, added to pan-fried fish, or mixed into smoothies and other drinks, for example.[14]
- Lemon juice is often used when marinating fish or meat. The acid causes the food to absorb more flavor.
[Edit]Selecting and Storing Lemons - Choose heavy varieties of lemons to get more juice out of them. Meyer lemons produce a ton of juice, but Fino, Lapithkiotiki, or Primofiori are a few other options. Meyer lemons are fairly sweet, so you could choose another type if you want a tart taste. These varieties are all smaller than regular grocery store lemons but feel heavy for their size. Pick up the lemons to test their weight. Set aside the heaviest ones for juice.
- Eureka and Lisbon lemons are the regular lemons you will commonly find year-round at stores. They are larger and paler than Meyer lemons but also very tart. Add sugar and water to the lemon juice if you want a sweeter flavor.
- Pick lemons that feel soft but not mushy. Hold the lemons and squeeze them gently between your fingers. Soft lemons already have plenty of juice and will be ready for use as soon as you get home. The lemons should also have smooth skin with a deep yellow color.
- Lemons that feel mushy have already spoiled and should be avoided. Also, avoid lemons that feel hard or look shriveled.
- Lemons with light or green skin tend to be more acidic. You can use them if you want, but ripe lemons are usually better for juice.
- Freeze the lemons until you're ready to juice them. Put the lemons into a resealable plastic bag. Push as much air out of the bag as you can before closing and storing it. The lemons become much easier to squeeze after they have spent some time in the freezer. It's also a good way to save some juicy lemons to use whenever you need them throughout the year.
- Lemons don't spoil in the freezer. Instead, they dry up over time. Use them within 3 months for optimum quality.
- Thaw the lemons by microwaving them for about 30 seconds. When you're ready to use the frozen lemons, take them out of the bag and place them in the microwave. Heat them at a low setting until they reach room temperature. Make sure they feel soft to the touch before attempting to juice them.
- You could also put the lemons in a bowl of warm water until they feel soft to the touch.
- Press and roll the lemons on a cutting board to free more of the juice. Set the lemons down on a flat surface, then push down on them with a firm amount of pressure. Move them around like you're pushing a rolling pin or kneading dough. Roll each lemon for 1 or 2 minutes until it feels very soft and pliable. That means the membranes inside the lemons have broken and released juices.[15]
- To avoid getting lemon juice on your cutting board, cover it with a paper towel or roll the lemons on a covered countertop instead.
- If you don't want to roll the lemons, you could also puncture them a few times with a sharp knife or peel them. These options are much messier than rolling them, however.
- If you have a citrus juicer, you can skip rolling the lemons. Juicers are efficient enough to remove all of the juice without the extra help!
- Other types of citrus fruit, including limes, can be juiced the same way.
- No matter how you plan on using lemon juice, adjust the amount of lemon juice or sugar to suit your taste. Use more juice for bitterness or mix in more sugar for sweetness, for instance.
- If you wish to make flavored lemonade, try mixing different ingredients in with the juice. For example, add some fresh berries or herbs like mint.[16]
- Fresh lime juice is often a good substitute in recipes calling for lemon juice. Vinegar or wine can also work if you don't need the lemon flavor. [17]
[Edit]Warnings - Handle knives carefully on a stable surface to avoid cutting yourself. Lemon juice causes broken skin to sting a lot, so consider wearing rubber gloves if you're dealing with any fresh wounds.
[Edit]Things You'll Need [Edit]Squeezing Lemon Juice - Cutting board
- Sharp knife
- Bowl or glass
- Mixing spoon
- Resealable storage container
[Edit]Creating a Preservable Lemon Syrup - Cutting board
- Sharp knife
- Bowl or glass
- Stove
- Pot
- Mixing spoon
- Resealable storage container
[Edit]Selecting and Storing Lemons - Freezer bag
- Cutting board
- Paper towels
[Edit]Related wikiHows [Edit]References [Edit]Quick Summary |
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