Can You Juice Lemon Peel

Lemons are one of the best things you can juice, but can you juice lemon peel? It’s a great question to ask because most people who juice lemons are used to just juicing them with a citrus juicer.

Juicing a lemon and the lemon peel is a wholly different affair. We will discuss if you can in fact juice lemon peel, why you would want to juice it, and if you need a special juicer to do so.

Can You Juice A Lemon Peel or Not?

First question is the obvious one: can you juice a lemon peel?

Yes. You can certainly juice a lemon peel. Not only can you juice the lemon rind, you should juice it!

As long as you clean the lemon thoroughly, there is no reason to not juice it. The only problem with juicing a lemon skin is that it might be dirty. So, it’s important to make sure you wash the lemon with a clean vegetable and fruit safe soap and then rinse with water.

Juicers will extract the essential lemon oil from the lemon peel, which is not only an excellent way to flavor your juices, but it makes them taste great.

Will Your Juicer Jam If You Juice A Lemon Peel?

No, both masticating juicers and auger juicers can handle lemon peel. You can juice a lemon in either juicer without peeling it.

I always advocate that you choose an auger juicer just because they are better at squeezing all of the juice and essential oil from a lemon.

The issue with using a cutting disc style blender is that it isn’t the best to extract the essential lemon oil. You’ll be leaving a lot of that in the pulp. Later on, I discuss why the auger juicer is a superior juicer for juicing lemon peel.

Do You Need A Special Juicer To Lemon Peel?

Yes. You can’t use a regular lemon citrus juicer. These are basically juice presses that only squeeze the liquid out of citrus fruits including lemons. Some are hand presses, and some are mechanical, but none of them are suited to juicing a lemon peel.

So, yes, you do need a special juicer to juice lemon peel.

If you take a lemon, cut it in half, and then put it in a regular lemon squeezer, you are only going to get the juice pressed from the inside of the lemon.

An auger juicer is going to take the lemon, the whole lemon, and press out the juice and also the essential oil from the fruit.

Your typical citrus juicer will work great if you’re making lemonade, but not if you are planning on making lemon juice with the peel.

Are There Health Benefits To Juicing Lemon Peels?

So, aside from the great flavor that you get from juicing lemon peel, are there any other health benefits?

Yes. Lemon peel has been studied extensively by scientists for all sorts of health benefits.

It’s been shown to be beneficial for everything from stomach aches and headaches, to more serious issues such as cancer.

I like to juice lemon peel because it adds so much flavor.

Besides all of the numerous health benefits that are associated with lemon oil (including skin), lemon oil just tastes really great.

If you’re looking for a incredibly strong lemon flavor, you’re just not going to get it with plain lemon juice. You need to juice the lemon peel.

Lemon juice is also amazing because it will help to prevent and aid in kidney stone formation.

 

 

What Should You Juice Along with Lemon Peels?

So, now that you know that you can juice lemon peel, what should you juice it with?

You can certainly juice juice straight lemon. It’s a bit strong, but some people like the concentrated flavor of pure lemon oil and lemon juice.

I prefer to mix lemons with vegetables. The intense flavor of the lemon juice helps to cut the flavor of the leafy greens and other vegetables.

So you can make a spinach or kale juice taste pretty nice and have it taste lemony.

Of course, you can also juice lemon peel with fruit. The lemon peel is going to have a sour, strong lemon flavor, so it’s a great way to cut the sweetness of certain fruit juices.

My favorite mixture would be green apples and a whole lemon including the peel.

If you’re looking to juice a whole lemon and are not sure what to do with it, I have an article that covers weather or not you can freeze lemon juice that you might like to read.

You Can Juice A Lemon Peel Without Removing It From The Lemon

You also don’t have to peel the lemon before juicing the peel. Some people might think that they need to peel the peel off of the lemon and juice this by itself.

That’s unnecessary. There is no reason to do this. The only reason to do this is if you were only looking to get lemon essential oil and not lemon juice. Some bartenders do this when they are making a sweet syrup from lemon peel.

But if you are planning on making a lemon juice there is no reason to peel the lemon. Just cut it into slices that will fit into your juicer.\

The only time that I will remove the lemon skin on a lemon is when I’m making a dessert or flavoring a soup. Also, sometimes when I am making pasta I will zest lemon.

Which brings us full circle. Have you ever tasted or smelled fresh lemon zest? It’s such a popular ingrednient in cooking because of how strong the aroma is. That aroma is due to the lemon oil.

So, when I want a really strong lemon flavor, I take a whole lemon and don’t peel it. I simple wash it well and then slice it up and juice it along with something such as kale, spinach, or green apples.