How to: Use Lemon in the Kitchen

The flavor-enhancing properties of lemons are well known. Yet the lemon's versatility in the kitchen is often overlooked. A natural-born deodorizer, lemon can also freshen hands, the counter, cutting boards, and the sink after a bout of onion or garlic dicing. But the lemon's best-kept secret is its ability to remove tarnish from copper. Teamed with coarse kosher salt, which makes a sturdy abrasive, lemon cleans and polishes copper. To keep the seeds out of food, use the popular restaurant trick of wrapping lemon halves in cheesecloth before squeezing.