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Lemons have been the perennial ingredient of Indian homes for
ages. Lemon holds within the first ten places in cultivation in India. It has
been used greatly for both commercial as well as domestic purposes. It has been
widely used because of its high content of Vit C. It can grow well in different
types of soils as well as in sub-tropical climate. It is grown using the
seedlings, "T" budding planting material and people who do not have
enough open space around the house can choose the Bonsai citrus variety that
can be grown indoors. Growing indoor Bonsai varieties is entirely a different
art. The season recommended to plant lemon is between June and August.
Culinary Purpose
Next to salt, chilli and pepper, lemon is the widely used
culinary ingredient in Indian cooking. Lemon when added to the dishes brings
about a tangy flavor and greatly intermingles with the taste buds. It is not
necessary that you need to refrigerate the lemons which generally thickens the
skin. Lemons stay fresh and juicy when they are stored at room temperature. To
extract a good amount of juice from a single lemon you can roll it over the
kitchen counter which releases juices interlocked in the flesh of the lemon. A
medium sized lemon typically gives you 3 tbspns of lemon juice.
Non-vegetarians widely use lemon to marinate the meat as the
juice helps in softening connecting fleshy tissues in meat. This enables the
easy cutting of meat but it is suggested that you do not indulge in too much marinating
which might make the meat hard to cut. The citrus acid in the fruit helps to
maintain the white color of potatoes and other root vegetables.
Health benefits of
lemon
There are plenty of benefits to mention. One average lemon
can yield a whole lot of health benefits.
- Helps in weight loss when the juice is taken in a glass of warm water in empty stomach in the mornings
- Acts as detoxifying agent
- Removes bad odour from mouth and aids toothache
- Purifies blood and cures constipation
- Fights throat infection and when gargled with water in equal ratio helps in eliminating throat infections
- Helps in curing acidity instead of just alleviating the symptoms
- Contains calcium which strengthens the bone, teeth and the nerves
- Contains phosphorous which helps in assimilating protein consumed in forms of tough meats.
- Can be used as a beauty agent for skin revitalizing due to its dermatological properties
- Regulates blood pressure with the help of its potassium content
- Cleanses cholesterol
- Alleviates back pain
- Assists liver function
And the list goes on.
Healthy Lemon Recipes
Though there are a number of healthy recipes that you can
make using lemons, I chose to highlight two here which are easy to prepare and
offer major health benefits.
Recipe 1: Morning
Cleanser
- Add half a lemon juice in one cup of hot water
- Relax and drink
Recipe 2: Lemon
Detoxifier
- Boil a glass of water
- Add 2 teaspoons of honey of good quality to the boiling water till it dissolves
- Remove from the flame and add half a lemon juice and allow it to brew for five minutes
- Relax and drink
