Here’s how to squeeze more juice out of a lemon

A fresh squeeze of lemon adds a bright, citrusy flavour to sweet and savoury dishes alike. But squeezing out all the juice from a lemon — or any citrus fruit for that matter — is definitely not an easy task.

So if you want to easily squeeze the juice out of a lemon, here’s a simple trick to try first — pop it in the microwave! You’ll get even more juice for significantly less work. This nifty hack works for pretty much any kind of citrus fruit: think lemons, limes, and oranges.

To get the most of your squeeze, stick the lemon in the microwave for 10 to 30 seconds (larger fruits need more time). Nuking the lemon makes it softer and easier to squeeze, so you’ll get every last drop of the bitter juice. Remove the lemon and let it cool slightly before cutting it and squeezing. Voila!

Other ways to squeeze more juice out of lemon include warming the fruit in a bowl of water for about 30 minutes, rolling it on the counter first, cutting it from top to bottom, and using the tines of a fork to take out more juice.

And don’t toss those peels out after squeezing! As it turns out they can be just as useful as lemon juice. While this is a fairly obvious use for lemon rinds, this delicious ingredient is neglected surprisingly often! Whether grated into a cake, risotto or stew, it’s hard to go past a great zesty flavour. You can even simply add twists of leftover lemon peel to the baking tray when roasting vegetables, chicken or fish.

Lemon peels also have an array of clever household uses that don’t involve grating it through recipes — from getting rid of bacteria and mould, and keeping the ants away for good to cleaning your kettle or coffee pot and sanitising your cutting board.

And while heating up a lemon can help you get the most of your fruit, popping a few lemon rinds in the nuke can actually get your microwave squeaky-clean. Yes, you read that right, this zesty citrus fruit works a treat!

Simply squeeze the lemon juice into water and microwave the liquid on high until it’s boiling. As the liquid boils it condenses on the sides of the microwave, loosening gunk and dissolving food splatters. Remove the bowl and wipe away the mess.