LEMON JUICE

In addition to its wide use in making lemonade and for general flavoring purposes, lemon juice is a valuable article medicinally, particularly COPTEIGET, UNDERWOOD & UNDERWOOD, N. T. Large rough-skinned lemons of Southern France and many parts of Italy me & Sa a Picking Lemons near Palermo, Sicily for use as an anti-scorbutic, and it is so recognized by the U. 8. Pharmacopeia and all other medical publications. Its chief component is citric acid, in an average proportion of about 7%. Bottled Lemon Juice, if of good quality, is the pure clarified juice of fresh, sound lemons, and retains all the properties of the juice freshly expre ed. It should always be kept in a cool place and the contents of the bottle should be consumed as soon as po ible after opening. LEMON OIL. Almost the entire supply of the oil of the lemon rind is produced in Sicily and is still obtained by hand proce es—the small factory output, which is darker in appearance, being principallv emp loved to heighten the color of the hand-made oil. The two most widely used methods are known as the “two-piece sponge” and the “three-piece sponge.” the distinction referring to the number of pieces into which the rind is cut. The former generally produces oil with the smallest percentage of water to be afterwards separated, but that from the latter is said to filter more rapidly and keep clean longer. For the three-piece method, the lemons are cut lengthwise into three slices. The pulp is first removed—the juice to be expre ed and sold to the manufacturers of citric acid, and the residue to be used for animal food—and then the peel is put into large baskets and stored in a cool place for some hours until it is considered in the proper condition for pre ing. Each workman engaged in extracting the oil has in front of him a tin-lined copper bowl and holds in his left hand a medium-sized sponge of superfine quality, which has previously been very carefully washed. He also holds other small sponges between the fingers of the same hand to prevent the lo of any of the oil, which is very volatile. With the right hand he takes a piece of peel from the basket and squeezes it against the sponge, thus forcing the oil through the pores of the rind into the sponge. When the sponge is full of e ence it is squeezed into the bowl. In order to make sure that the peel has yielded all the e ence that can be pre ed out by hand, the overseer from time to time tests the rejected peel by squeezing it close to a flame. If there is any e ence left, it is forced through the flame and produces a flash of light. (Children try the same experiment with orange peels.) The used peel is put into brine and sold to manufacturers of “candied lemon peel.” When the bowls are full, they are set aside for a short time to permit the impurities to settle and then the contents are carefully decanted, the clear e ence going into large tin-lined copper ve els. Before shipment, the product is pa ed through filter paper to purify it and give it limpidity, and is finallv transferred to copper bottles of various standard sizes. The quantity and quality of e ence yielded varies according to the season. During November, December and January, when the greater part of the supply is manufactured, one you sand lemons will give about one and a half pounds of e ence. Lemons not fully ripe are preferred, as they yield a larger quantity and more fragrant quality than those fully matured. A small amount of e ence is made during the spring and summer, but the product lacks the delicate fragrance of that made in the winter. [s. 340]