I'm with you, the lemon-thing is getting overdone.... perhaps a fad. Someone got the idea that there is never enough lemon flavor... just like: there is never enough garlic. Anything can be "too much".

Actually, how big was the lemon you used? If the writer's lemons are the size of a golf ball and your's are the size of a baseball the measure would be a lot different. I don't like it when a recipe says, "the juice of one ... " something. The fruit in CA tends to be larger than most places. So... give me a measure of juice, PLEASE!

Yep - things need to be measured!

My Aunt (who is not much of a cook/baker) decided to try making a lemon meringue pie from scratch. She had everything set to go, except the juice from 2 lemons. Her neighbor has a Meyer Lemon tree and handed her 2 that were softball sized! She squeezed them both, got a HUGE amount of juice, then could not figure out why it would not all fit in one pie crust LOLOLOL!

Alexa

I agree that measuring can make more sense than nebulous instructions like "juice of two lemons."

But the basic problem exists even with measured amounts. The other day I made something that called for 2 tbls lemon juice. That sounded like too much for that dish, so I cut it in half. It was still too lemony.

I'd mentioned on another thread that I've been clipping recipes from a 25-year accumulation of cooking magazines. When you do that, certain things pop out that you don't notice when reading them month-to-month; one of which is that many (perhaps most) published recipes are not kitchen tested, and are certainly not proofread.

Perhaps this too-much-juice thing is just part of that syndrome?

I have noticed since getting a lemon squeezer that turns the skin inside out, I get WAY more juice from a lemon or lime half than I used to. I am talking double the amount, from crappy supermarket lemons in Canada LOL. I wonder if maybe your method is just too efficient so you are getting more juice out of that one lemon, than somebody say with a fork and their fist?

There is a fish dish I like to make, that calls for pouring an obscene amount of lemon juice over fish (I use cod usually), sprinking with garlic, salt and pepper, and dried thyme. Then drizzling with olive oil. Bake that until the fish is opaque and flakes easily with a fork.

The fish itself does NOT taste lemony after cooking, unless you reserve the milky juices (and there are a lot of them) from the pan to make a sauce, or spoon it over the fish. But when I have tried to reduce the lemon juice, it doesn't taste as good. So when the market has lemons on sale 6 for a dollar (one or twice a year LOL) I make it.

Now my beef, is with salad dressing recipes that list a fistfull of lemon juice and a drizzle of olive oil. Can you say TART?

Whose standard dressing recipe is one part acid to three parts oil, a LOT of salt and pepper.

According to the Big Book (lots of miscellaneous info collected over 50 years):

1 large lemon = 1 cup juice & 3T. grated peel

On another page: 1 med. lemon = 2 1/2 Tblsp juice & 1 Tblsp. zest

Hmmmmmm? I'd like to see a lemon that gives up a cup of juice. That must be a typo. The second figure sounds more reasonable.

>I wonder if maybe your method is just too efficient so you are getting more juice out of that one lemon, than somebody say with a fork and their fist? Interesting thought, Dances. But I certainly haven't changed my methods; I use either a metal juicer that I got from my mom, or a wooden reamer. Both work pretty much the same way, and produce the same quantities, all else being equal.

I don't think I'm getting particularly more juice out of the fruit. What I think is that the recipes are calling for too much. Take that recipe I started this thread with. And let's accept Westell's second figure as accurate. 2 1/2 tbls in a dish that only needs a squirt to perk it up slightly.

What I'm saying is that over-use of lemon juice is getting to be far too typical.

I have to disagree here, but then again I'm someone who basically can't get enough lemon... I don't think I have ever run across a recipe that has too much lemon for me! As compared to Dances, my basic salad dressing is one part lemon juice to one part oil!

Dances -- I am curious about your lemon squeezer -- what brand is it? Have never heard of a squeezer that turns the skin inside out?

Emily

In defense of CA lemon trees. Everyone around here has the ubiquitous lemon tree that gets huge, and the older it gets, the bigger the lemons seem to get.... and, of course, more of them. People can't give them away. Trust me! my neighbor's lemons give a cup of juice per softball-sized lemon. (I will have lemon juice until Dooms Day!)

Oh I am so jealous westelle... To have fresh squeezed lemonade at the drop of a hat... As big as a softball! Insert longing sigh here...

Emily

I don't know the brand name (the tag was thrown out and I can't find a name on it anywhere) but it looks just like the one at the link. They also have one sized for limes (green) and oranges (well, um...orange LOL!).

Dances.

Here is a link that might be useful: Like this one