If you’re in Cyprus and you like the native diet, it’s a good idea to have a lemon tree.  There’s nothing like freshly squeezed lemon to add a salsa to a variety of dishes like salad, chips, meat and fish.  Then there’s sumptuous lemon cake and lemon curd.

There are, however, only so many lemons one household can use for food purposes.  Should your tree be bountiful or, for whatever reason, you end up with a big amount of lemons all at once, then why not use them in some more creative ways.  Below I outline how we do it.

Vinegar transfused with lemon. 

What you’ll need:

• Lots of lemons and white vinegar
• Large Jar with tight lid (or any container for storage)
• Optionally cloves, rosemary sprigs, cinnamon sticks, orange peels or lavender sprigs/flowers
• Cloth for straining – muslin is wonderful if you have it, but an old t-shirt will do the job
• Juicer and ice cube trays

What to do:

• Peel your lemons, you should keep some of the pith (white part) in tact, so don’t peel it down to the pulp.
• Submerge your peels in white vinegar (grape vinegar works fine).
• Optionally you can add one or a mix of: cloves, rosemary sprigs, cinnamon sticks, orange peels, lavender sprigs/flowers
• Cover with a tight fitting lid and keep in a place out of sunlight but where you can see it.
• Leave it for 4 weeks but shake it once every day or so.
• Squeeze the lemons and freeze the juice in ice cube trays.  These are great to drop in your water throughout the Summer months as a refreshing pick-me-up.
• When the vinegar mixture has sat 4 weeks, strain it through a cloth.
• Dilute it with water 1:1
• Pour the diluted mixture into spray bottles or other container(s) for use on the bathroom and kitchen surfaces and on tiled floors.

A quick way to achieve the same effect would be to add essential oils directly to vinegar.

Let us know in the comments how you use your extra lemons.