How much juice is in a lemon?

A standard lemon contains about 2-3 tablespoons of juice. Since lemons vary in size, we usually assume that one lemon has 2 tablespoons of juice. This means that if your recipe calls for 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, you will need about half a lemon.

Before you start juicing a lemon, it helps to roll it on a cutting board or countertop for a few seconds with gentle pressure. This softens the fruit and makes the juicing process easier.

With a manual juicer

One of the easiest ways to juice a lemon is with a manual juicer, which you can purchase for about 5-10 leva.

1. Cut the lemon in half.
2. Place one half of the lemon in the juicer (cut side up) and squeeze over a bowl until the lemon is fully juiced.
3. Repeat with the other half.

With a juicer

A regular juicer does the same job:

1. Cut the lemon in half.
2. Press the open side of the half and twist until the juice is fully extracted.

With your hands

Juicing by hand requires more effort:

1. Cut the lemon in half.
2. Squeeze each half over a strainer to catch the seeds.

Lemon peel is the outer part of the lemon skin. It is often used in cooking because the natural flavors are concentrated in its oils, making it more intense and aromatic than the juice. A standard lemon has about one tablespoon of peel.

How to zest lemon peel?

With a grater

The easiest method is with a grater:

1. Slide the lemon down the grater over a cutting board.
2. Repeat the motion in the same spot until the white part of the peel (albedo) appears.
3. Continue this process all over the lemon.

With a knife

If you don’t have a grater, you can use a knife:

1. Hold the lemon firmly in your dominant hand.
2. Use a sharp knife to cut the yellow peel into strips. Start from the bottom of the fruit and work your way up.
3. Once the lemon is fully peeled, finely chop the peel.