Why Do Lemons Get Hard?

When you consume lemons regularly you will know its usual appearance and hardness. It’s quite soft and can be squeeze without problems. But what if the lemons get hard what are the causes why it happen?

Why Do Lemons Get Hard?

The reason why lemons get hard is that they dry out. When you harvest or buy lemons at the market and you place them on the counter and leave them for a couple of days, they might get dry.

The warm temperature on the counter dries them. The fruits have pores and they lose the juice and evaporate into the air on those holes. When they are getting dry, they start to become hard. That is why you need to store them properly to maintain their softness and juice quality.

It is great to consume or use them immediately when they are still soft and high quality. If you let the days pass by, they will start to harden. You better consume them or store them properly before they get hard.

One great place to put them is inside the refrigerator. It can last for a few weeks because of the cold temperatures which maintain the good quality of the fruit. You can also place them inside the ziplock bag and place them in the fridge to make them even last longer.

Fresh harvest ripe lemons taste great. You can notice the difference between fresh lemons and not.

When the lemon gets hard, there are possible ways to make them softer. You can still find a way to consume them or get the juice.

How Do You Soften Hard Lemons?

Hard lemons can be softened by placing them inside the microwave for around 20 seconds. The hot temperature inside the microwave softens the fruits which makes them easy to squeeze.

You can get more juice when heating them. You can place more lemons inside the microwave so that you can still consume them even if they are hard. Some people think they cannot use hard lemons anymore and they just throw them in the bin but you can still use them by heating them in the microwave.

Another way is to roll them on the counter. Get those hard lemons and start rolling them using your hand. Slightly press them a little bit to get them softer. Do it for a couple of seconds up to a minute.

Once you feel that they get softer, you can now use them. Try squeezing the fruit to let the juice out of the fruit and now you have the fruit juice. The juice from hard lemon might taste a little bit different compared to fresh and soft lemon but it might still be good.

Another way is to slice them lengthwise. Slicing hard lemons lengthwise makes it easier to extract the juice than crosswise. Make them into small slices to get a lot of juice.

You can use a sharp knife in slicing the fruits and once they are already cut, get a glass then start squeezing the sliced lemons. You can get a few tablespoons of juice per fruit. And it depends on your purpose how much fruit you will need.

How Do You Keep Lemons From Getting Hard?

To keep lemons from getting hard you better store them in the ref. Inside the ref, the temperature is cold which is great for the fruits.

Just open the ref and put the lemons inside which can make them last for around two or more weeks before they start dehydrating.

The second way is to place the lemons inside a ziplock, plastic bag, or container and before placing them in the fridge. The fridge has a cold temperature and it can make lemons last longer for around 3 to 4 months.