Lemon juice is an indispensable helper in many household chores. Besides cooking, there are a huge number of ways to use it. For example, cleaning a microwave or kettle from scale. But it is not uncommon for situations to arise when the idea arises to cook something tasty, but, as luck would have it, this citrus fruit was not at hand. In this case, a completely logical question arises: “Is it possible to replace lemon juice with other products without compromising the taste?” It turns out that you can correct the situation in several ways.
Lime juice
Lime juice is the best substitute for lemon juice as it can be used as a one-to-one substitute and has a very similar taste and acidity level.
In fact, when canning food, it is an ideal substitute for lemon juice because it has a similar pH level. Other substitutes, such as vinegar, are less acidic and may cause the product to last for a shorter period of time.
In desserts where lemon juice is a key ingredient, lime juice adds a slightly different flavor. However, you will still end up with a tart and citrusy flavor.
What can you replace lemon juice with?
Most often, in the absence of fresh lemons, concentrated lemon juice is used - it is sold in most supermarkets. You can get the necessary ingredient from lime, grapefruit, rhubarb, and sour apples. You can extinguish soda with cranberry or sea buckthorn juice.
How to replace lemon juice in baking? To do this, use table vinegar at a concentration of 6%, apple cider vinegar and wine vinegar. This composition can be left undiluted or a little olive oil can be added to it when making a dressing for salads and sauces. If you take regular 9% vinegar, you need to dilute it with water in equal proportions.
Syrup or citric acid is used as a replacement for natural juice.
How to replace lemon juice with citric acid? To do this, you need to dilute a pinch of acid in 50 ml of warm water and cool. If a brighter sourness is required, then add half a small spoon of apple cider vinegar to this composition.
The range of dishes where lemon juice is used is quite large, and for each you can choose an adequate analogue. It should be taken into account that some people are allergic to one or another type of citrus fruit. Then it is better not to use them, but to add diluted citric acid.
Lemon juice is a common ingredient in cooking and baking.
It adds a bright, citrusy flavor to savory and sweet dishes.
At a low pH, it is one of the most acidic natural ingredients available, providing structure to jams and jellies and helping baked goods rise properly.
However, if you don't have lemon juice on hand or are sensitive to it, other ingredients can substitute.
Here are 8 options to substitute lemon juice in a recipe.
Lemon acid
Citric acid is a naturally occurring acid found in lemon juice, making powdered citric acid an excellent substitute for lemon juice, especially in baking.
One teaspoon (5 grams) of citric acid is equal in acidity to about 1/2 cup (120 ml) of lemon juice. This way, only a very small amount is required and you will need to make changes to the recipe.
To maintain the correct ratio of dry to wet ingredients, you may also need to add additional liquid to the recipe.
Plus, using citric acid in baking can even prevent certain vitamins and antioxidants from being destroyed during cooking.
Marinades and pickles
Citric acid is used in cooking to create preservative solutions. Here it is important to understand what function the marinade performs. If we are talking about canning for the winter, lemon can be replaced with table vinegar. It will definitely prevent fermentation from developing in jars and will preserve cucumbers, tomatoes, zucchini and herbs well.
When you need to pickle onions for salad, herring, mushrooms, fruit vinegar or 3-6% food vinegar along with sugar, salt and boiling water are also added to the marinade. For 1-2 onions, 1 tbsp is enough. concentrate and ½ tsp. bulk components.
If you marinate red tough meat, for example, beef, lamb, pork, it is best to use sweet and sour mixtures. These include wine vinegar, wine, cranberry or pomegranate juice. Tomato paste with spices diluted with water is also suitable. In extreme cases, use white vinegar, but it can give the meat a strong smell. For marinating fish and poultry, you can also give preference to white wine, citrus juice, apple wine or puree.
4-5 teaspoons of 3% vinegar replace ½ spoon of acid crystals. 1 small lemon will give about the same amount.
Potassium hydrogen tartrate (tartar)
Potassium hydrogen tartrate is an acidic powder sold in the baking section of most grocery stores.
Although it has many culinary uses, it is commonly used to stabilize the foam of egg whites or whipped cream. It is also included in baking powder.
Because it is sour, it can be used as a decent substitute for lemon juice in baking. Some websites suggest using 1/2 teaspoon potassium hydrogen tartarate for every 1 teaspoon lemon juice as directed in the recipe.
Keep in mind that you may need to add additional liquid to account for the lack of liquid in the cream of tartar.
Delicious lemon sauce with sour cream and dill
Citric acid is not the only substitute for lemon. If you don’t have either one or the other at hand, you can successfully use:
- sour berries (red currants, lingonberries, cranberries);
- sorrel;
- oranges and tangerines;
- pomegranate, cherry, cranberry, apple, grape juice without sugar;
- table, apple or wine vinegar;
- lemon pepper (when cooking fish).
Natural substitutes are rich in bioactive substances and are beneficial for health. Most often, instead of lemon in cooking, 9% table vinegar is used: 4 teaspoons replace the juice of 1 lemon or 1 teaspoon of lemon juice.
So, can you replace lemon with citric acid? In cooking, definitely yes. Both components add sourness, make meat and fish juicy, and prevent sweet creams and jam from crystallizing. When replacing, be guided by the above proportions and taste the solution to get the desired percentage of acidity.
Often during cooking, lemon juice is replaced with diluted citric acid. Instead of one tablespoon of lemon juice, how much powdered citric acid should be taken?
How to dilute citric acid, in what ratio with water? How to make lemon juice from citric acid?
Fresh lemons are not always available, but citric acid is available in almost every kitchen.
When replacing liquid products with dry ones, you should always add liquid to the desired volume of liquid products.
In order to replace lemon juice with citric acid, you need to take citric acid and dilute it with water.
If you need a tablespoon of lemon juice, then you need to keep in mind that the volume of tablespoons can vary significantly. Typically, tablespoons range from 15 to 25 ml.
If you need to replace a 15 ml tablespoon, then pour 1.5 grams into the spoon. citric acid and add water.
If you need to replace a 25 ml tablespoon, then pour 2.5 grams into the spoon. citric acid and add water.
I have been replacing vinegar with citric acid for a long time, for example, when marinating cucumbers.
I also use it when canning pears, peaches, and apricots. Much healthier than vinegar and the marinade tastes better. And now I’ve also gotten the hang of sealing birch sap with lemon.
Natural lemon or juice is not always at hand, and you don’t have to run to the store for lemon every time, so you have to use citric acid. I bought the powder in advance, and it always helps out when necessary.
You just need to dilute it correctly so that it is in no way inferior in taste to natural juice.
Of course, citric acid replaces lemon juice, but it should not be overused, especially for those who have stomach problems. Therefore, the solution should not be too concentrated.
The amount of powder is diluted in accordance with 1:2.
I usually take a small pinch of acid (on the tip of a knife) and dilute it in fifty milliliters of warm water.
Many recipes use lemon juice. It goes into baked goods (in natural cream or dough to be covered with soda), and in salads. Lemon juice is added to soups to add aroma and taste (in fish soup, pickles or solyanka, in soup with smoked meat), preservation, replacing vinegar.
Lemon juice is often used instead of vinegar.
Lemon juice is not always available at home. But citric acid is another matter. The powder lasts a long time and is a complete replacement. Another thing is how to dilute the powder? How much should you dilute the citric acid powder to get a juice that is close in acidic properties to the natural product?
To answer the question about artificial lemon juice, you need to know how the dry weight of citric acid and natural lemon juice relate?
It is believed that the juice of one lemon is equivalent to five grams of citric acid - this is the amount of powder in one teaspoon. Based on these numbers, you can replace fresh lemon juice with powder.
Diluted approximately one to two: take two tablespoons of warm water for one teaspoon of powder. A small detail: the water temperature must be at least 18° C, otherwise the powder is difficult to dilute. If there are two tablespoons of water for one teaspoon of powder, then six for a tablespoon. We dilute it five to six times.
If we assume that a lemon contains one - 30 - 40 ml of lemon juice, then the dry mass must be diluted several times.
1 gram of citric acid is approximately the amount of powder on the tip of a knife.
If it is necessary to replace vinegar essence with lemon juice, then we also make a concentration of one to two: one gram of citric acid per two grams of essence.
- How to replace lemon with citric acid
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- How to make pickled lemons
- Several lemons, a knife and a juicer.
To prepare sauces, lemon zest and juice are usually used; pulp is rarely added. Seeds should always be removed from the fruit. The juice is usually squeezed by hand, since according to the recipe, 1-2 citrus fruits are enough. If it is important that nothing unnecessary gets into the sauce, strain the squeezed mass through a strainer.
Peel the lemon zest in a thin layer, without the white part, using a sharp knife or fine grater. First, the citrus needs to be washed well with a brush and the peel is doused with boiling water. In order for the lemon to release its juice well, it should be kept in hot water for several minutes, then rolled well on the table, after which you can cut it in half and squeeze it out.
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The color of lemon sauce is easy to change. To color the dressing, use carrot or beet juice, turmeric, chopped fresh herbs, and soy sauce. The resulting product should be stored in a tightly sealed glass container for no more than 3 days in the refrigerator.
This recipe is perfect for fatty beef, pork, lamb, rabbit and any poultry.
- 3 parts lemon juice;
- 1 part liquid honey;
- 6 parts olive oil;
- salt, spices and herbs to taste.
Place honey in a cup, add lemon juice and mash everything well. Pour the spices into the mixture; in the simplest case, you can just take salt and pepper or add any spices you wish.
Rub everything well to dissolve, as it will be more difficult to do with oil. Add the oil and mix again, if possible, beat everything together with a blender. Add chopped herbs to the sauce to taste.
Typically, this lemon sauce is used to dress the popular Caesar salad, but it is perfect for salads with any vegetables: tomatoes, cucumbers, cabbage, cabbage, and bell peppers.
- 1/2 lemon;
- 2 eggs;
- 1 tsp mustard;
- 1 tsp honey;
- 1 clove of garlic;
- salt;
- 40 ml olive oil.
Boil for 40-50 seconds, remove from boiling water and place in cold water. Peel the cooled eggs and carefully place them in a blender bowl. Add salt, garlic, spices, mustard and honey to them.
Beat all the ingredients until smooth. It is important that the garlic clove is crushed, so you can first grate the clove or chop it into small pieces.
Squeeze the juice from half a lemon, add to the sauce and stir again. At the final stage, add olive oil and whisk the sauce for another 1 minute.
Lemon and garlic sauce goes well with baked, fried fish, and also adds a piquant taste to regular boiled or steamed fish.
- 1/2 lemon;
- 5 cloves of garlic;
- 1 small bunch of parsley;
- 2 tbsp. spoons of olive oil;
- salt and ground black pepper to taste.
Grind the garlic cloves in any convenient way: in a press, using a knife or grater. Add ground pepper and salt to taste, stir. Remove the zest from half the lemon, chop finely and add to the garlic, grind everything well.
Squeeze the citrus juice into the mixture and add olive oil. Chop the parsley and rub it with your hands until it releases juice. Combine with the total mass, mix. The sauce is ready, you can serve it with the fish. The same sauce is suitable for seasoning boiled rice as a side dish.
Lemon sauces perfectly complement desserts. And thanks to the starch included in the composition, the dressing is quite thick and does not accumulate at the bottom of the salad bowl.
- 1 lemon;
- 100 grams of sugar;
- 300 ml water;
- 1 pinch of cinnamon;
- 1 tablespoon starch.
Remove the zest from the lemon, cut it into slices and remove all the seeds. Place everything in a saucepan, add 300 ml of water. Let the mixture boil and cook for 2-3 minutes after boiling. Then strain, pour out 50 ml of the resulting mass and cool, put the rest on the fire again. Pour sugar and cinnamon into a saucepan and bring to a boil again.
Dissolve the starch in the cooled poured portion of the lemon decoction and add to the boiling syrup. Bring the sauce to a boil and turn it off immediately without boiling. Refrigerate and use the dressing in fruit salads and any other desserts.
In Greece, olive-lemon sauce with oregano is used for salads, main courses and cold appetizers; it goes well with seafood. In the classic recipe, a special type of oregano is used for cooking - rigani. But if you can't find it, you can make a dressing with regular oregano or even dried spice. To thicken the sauce, you can add any other herbs to taste.
- 100 ml cold pressed olive oil;
- 2 small lemons or 1 large;
- 1 tsp. oregano;
- a pinch of salt and black pepper.
Squeeze the juice from the lemons, add spices and oregano. Pour in the oil and stir. To taste, you can add any finely chopped herbs to the mixture: parsley, cilantro, dill, basil.
Lemon sauce with cream perfectly complements casseroles, muffins, fruit pies, biscuits, pancakes and other sweet pastries with its sourness. The amount of sugar is indicated approximately, try and vary according to your taste, getting interesting combinations.
- 1/2 lemon;
- 1 raw and 1 boiled yolk;
- 70 grams of powdered sugar or regular granulated sugar;
- 100 ml cream with a fat content of at least 33%.
Combine the boiled and raw yolks and mash until smooth. Add the juice squeezed from half a citrus fruit and mix everything. If you wish, you can grate the lemon zest, the aroma of the sauce will be brighter.
Beat the cream with a mixer into a stable foam, gradually add powdered sugar. If you use regular granulated sugar, the process will take a little longer, since grains of sugar take a long time to dissolve in heavy cream. Gently fold the lemon mixture into the whipped cream, mix everything together and beat for a few seconds. The sauce is ready.
- 1 lemon;
- 2 cloves of garlic;
- 1 chili pepper;
- 1 tablespoon sugar;
- 1 pinch of coriander;
- 60 ml olive oil;
- a piece of ginger.
- In salad dressings. Forget about mayonnaise as a salad dressing. There are easier, healthier and tastier alternatives. For example, lemon juice. If it is not nearby, use any vinegar - wine, apple, raspberry or balsamic.
- For the marinade. Kebab lovers know: for a successful marinade you need three ingredients - acid, vegetable oil and aromatics. The acid softens the fibers of the fabric, making the meat softer so that the oils, spices and herbs can be absorbed. As you can see, there’s nowhere without acid.
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Summarize
- There are several ways to substitute lemon juice in cooking and baking.
- However, lime juice is the most ideal substitute as it is very similar to lemon juice.
- Keep in mind that when using a powdered or highly concentrated lemon juice substitute such as citric acid or lemon extract, you may need to add additional liquid to maintain the correct wet-to-dry ratio.
- The above lemon juice substitutes will ensure that you can continue cooking despite the lack of lemon juice.
Vinegar
This is a good alternative to lemon in homemade mayonnaise. Vinegar, unlike lemon, is present in every housewife's kitchen. It can be added to salad, to dough.
It is better to use apple or wine vinegar. Table salt is also suitable, it will help to extinguish soda, it will be appropriate in dressings for cold dishes, unsweetened cream.
Vinegar is an excellent substitute for lemon juice when cooking or baking when only a small amount is needed.
Like lemon juice, it is tart and sour. It can be used as a one-for-one substitute in these recipes.
However, vinegar has a very strong, pungent flavor and aroma and should not be used as a substitute for lemon juice in dishes in which lemon is one of the key flavors.
Mistake #1: Wrong fish
Before you go to the market or store for fish, you need to understand what you want to cook. Because fish under marinade is not at all the same as fish fried in breading or baked in the oven. And lightly salted, for sushi or ceviche - this is a completely different world.
You can buy very good fish and cook it according to all the rules. But if you choose excellent cod at the market, and then decide to make it lightly salted, then no matter what rules you follow, no matter how proven recipes you use, the end result will be something strange and tough. Because the ideal cooking method for cod is baking. For quality cod. And here we move on to the second point.
Sauces and dressings
Citric acid, as an excellent preservative, is often added to factory-made ketchups, tartar and other sauces. By cooking at home and not needing long-term storage, you can abandon the artificial product in favor of natural juices. An ideal substitute is lemon squeeze or apple cider vinegar, which has some sweetness. Also, depending on the composition of the sauce, other ingredients are used, for example, whey.
- To make the gravy more sour, add tomato paste, sumac seasoning, and sorrel.
- Lime and grapefruit juices will refresh the taste of salad or baked meat.
- If you need to add a piquant sweet and sour note, fruit and berry juices are suitable: red currant and cherry plum in the summer, apple, pomegranate, cranberry and viburnum in the fall.
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In sauces based on cream or soy concentrate, you can safely add rice wine or the same vinegar.
