The use of analogues of lemon juice in cooking and cosmetology - what can replace citrus with?
Lemon juice is widely used in cooking and in home cosmetology. It is most in demand than nectars of other fruits. With it, they lose weight and lighten hair, wash glasses and even write letters.
What to do if such a popular ingredient was suddenly not at hand? What to do if you are allergic to it?
What and in what proportions to replace lemon juice? All your questions will be answered by this article.
Cooking Lemon Replacement
- In salad dressings. Forget about mayonnaise as a salad dressing. There are lighter, healthier, and tastier alternatives. For example, lemon juice. If it is not nearby, use any vinegar - wine, apple, raspberry or balsamic.
- For marinade. Barbecue lovers know: for a successful marinado you need three ingredients - acid, vegetable oil and aromatic substances. Acid softens the fibers of the fabric, makes the meat softer so that oil, spices and herbs can be absorbed. As you can see, no acid anywhere.
What to do if there is no fresh lemon at hand? Use citric acid. It is sold in any store. In addition, it is convenient to take small bags with you on trips to the countryside - they take up very little space.
- In conservation. What can’t be canned for the winter: vegetables, fruits, mushrooms, berries, meat, fish. And in almost every recipe there is a place for lemon juice, which is a preservative and softens the taste. There is no big difference in using juice or acid. These products are interchangeable.
Want something new? Add sour berries instead: lingonberries, cranberries, red currants, mountain ash.
- For the sauce. There are many different sauces: from well-known to us mayonnaise and ketchup to the most exotic. Lemon juice in them gives spicy sourness. But do not be afraid to experiment and replace it with acid and vinegar. In addition, there is an acidic oriental sumy spice - it is traditionally added to sauces intended for meat.
- For drinks. A well-known rule for maintaining health is to drink a glass of water in the morning on an empty stomach. Lemon juice is often added there, because it contains many vitamins, acids and minerals. Such a drink improves digestion, tone the body and stimulates brain activity. However, the same properties will be possessed by water with the juice of any citrus: orange, mandarin, grapefruit, lime. They are also high in vitamin C.
In addition to health drinks, there are drinks for the soul. Of course we are talking about soft drinks. Despite the fact that the name contains the main ingredient - lemon, its juice can always be replaced with the juice of another citrus.
The taste will change a little, but what if this option becomes your favorite?
- For baking. Do you want to give baking a pleasant taste with a slight acidity? Add lemon juice to the dough. If there is no juice at hand, use acid.
- For desserts. Lemon juice is used in the preparation of mousses, jams, meringues, creams, glazes. Replace it with citric acid or other citrus juice. In the latter case, the dessert will acquire a new unusual taste.
- For mayonnaise. Now you can buy mayonnaise at any supermarket, but some housewives make it on their own. It should include acid, which is often used lemon juice. But nothing bad will happen if you replace it with citric acid or vinegar.
Proportions
Be careful with proportions: different options have different levels of acidity. Juice of 1 lemon = 5 grams of citric acid = 1 tablespoon of vinegar = equal volume juice of another citrus.
Advantages and disadvantages
Sometimes lemon juice is replaced due to allergies, sometimes for the sake of variety, sometimes because it is simply not at hand. How will this affect the result?
pros:
- Saving. For recipes, most often the whole lemon is not required, but, unfortunately, it is impossible to buy a slice. So the lemon lies in the refrigerator, and then, completely dry, goes to the trash. This will not happen if you use citric acid or vinegar, which are sold in bags and bottles, respectively. You definitely use them completely, because they are stored longer.
- Variety of taste. The dish will sparkle with new colors if you add juices of other citrus fruits, sour berries or even sumy (sour oriental spice). Modern nutritionists argue that a variety of diets saves you from overeating.
- Allergy Recovery. Replacing lemon juice with other ingredients can allow allergy sufferers to enjoy gastronomic delights without harming their health.
Minuses:
- Possible errors in the proportions.
- The use of vinegar can be fraught for people suffering from diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, gastritis, ulcers.
As you can see, there are not so many minuses, but they should be borne in mind.
Is it possible to make a replacement in cosmetology?
- When making creams. In face cream, lemon juice is not only responsible for the bactericidal properties, but also acts as a regulator of acidity and preservative. Citric acid will cope with the same set of functions. It is it that is used in the preparation of creams in a factory environment, so why not take a note of it at home cosmetology?
- For the preparation of masks. It is useful for girls with problem skin to periodically make a disinfecting mask from water, honey, salt, yeast and lemon juice. In this recipe, it can be replaced with citric acid.
- Hair Rinsers. Owners of oily scalp are advised to rinse their hair with water and lemon juice after washing. Due to its bactericidal properties, it will help in eliminating dandruff and regulating the activity of the sebaceous glands. However, you can use not only it, but also vinegar.
- For shugaring. Shugaring paste consists of three components: sugar, water and acid. Lemon juice is most often used as an acid, but nothing prevents you from taking citric acid or vinegar. Vinegar is used if allergies occur to lemon.
- Lotions and tonics. Lotions and tonics are used to restore the water-fat balance of the skin after washing. In addition, if you choose the right ingredients, you can prepare a tonic for your skin type.Lemon juice is good for oily and aging skin due to vitamin C in the composition. You can replace it with any other citrus: mandarin, orange, grapefruit, lime.
- Lemon ice face. This is the same as a tonic, but due to the contrasting effect on the skin, it has an additional anti-aging effect. Do not be afraid to experiment and freeze the juices of other citrus fruits.
Should I use analogues?
Despite the fact that if you want to replace lemon juice in cosmetics, you can do it carefully. You can’t say in advance if you will have an allergy.
What is replaced?
Lemon as an independent dish in cooking can hardly be replaced with something. As for the other options for using lemon, lemon juice is most often used, as mentioned above.
An ordinary housewife knows the recipes well. An excellent hostess knows how to apply them in real life. She will not be confused by the lack of lemon juice or an allergy to it, because she knows how to replace it. Also want to become a great hostess? Read the article again.