Amazing Cocktail ｜ Juice Cheat Code
The ONLY Juice Cheat Code You Need
A juice cheat code??? Lemon juice, lime juice… any home bartenders will tell you this is where you run into huge cost increases. There’s also all that squeezing. On top of all that, no one ever appreciates all the work and effort that goes into these producing these key ingredients. After ice, which is the most underappreciated element in a quality cocktail, these mixers get no attention. While this hack won’t make people care about lemon or lime juice more, it will seriously cut down on your cost and the time spent.
Lemon/Lime Juice Cheat Code
Equipment
- Cutting Board
- Knife
- Scale
- Small Bowl
- Plastic Wrap
- Food Processor/Blender [optional, but highly recommended]
- Nut Milking Bag
- Large Bowl
- Funnel (optional, but recommended)
- Bottle
Ingredients
- Baking Soda
- 1 Lemon/Lime
- Malic Acid
- Citric Acid
- Water
- 1 oz Vodka [optional] (30ml)
Instructions
- Use a spoonful of baking soda a clean the outside of the lemon/lime under running warm water.
- Use a knife and remove the peel from your lemon or lime. Do NOT throw anything away.
- In a small bowl, weigh the peels.
- Input the weight of the peels into the correct calculator below. The weight of the peels will give you correct amount of the rest of the ingredients.
- Add the proper amount of malic and citric acid.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and give it a good shake to get the acids and peels mixed together.
- Let rest for 2 hours.
- Put the contents from the small bowl (peels/acid) into a food processor.
- Add the lemon/lime to the food processor.
- Add the correct amount of water from the calculator below.
- Blend well, until the peels have been reduced to small pieces. 2 or 3 minutes should be enough.
- Pour the mixture from the food processor into a nut milking bag and strain into a bowl. This will remove any seeds and bits of peel.
- Use a funnel and transfer the finished juice into a bottle.
- Add a little vodka to help preserve the juice longer.
- Store in a refrigerator. It should keep for 2 to 3 weeks.
Notes
Calculators (in grams)
Simply input the weight of the peels and you’re set.
Lemon Juice Calculator
*Note that you do NOT need malic acid for lemon juice.
Lime Juice Calculator
FAQs
Here are a few question you might be thinking. If I didn’t cover something, feel free to drop in the comments.
- Does this really make that much of a difference?
YES! Not even by a little. This cheat code will produce ten to fifteen times more juice for you. Anyone who’s made cocktails that require these juices will know; you only get a shot to a shot and half from a lime… maybe two shots if you’re lucky. Now a single lime will yield far more than 10 shots.
Plus this means you don’t have to squeeze lemons and limes in the moment of making cocktails.
- Do the juices taste different from straight up squeezed juice?
Slightly. If I use these juices with plain soda water, I can detect something different. However, in a cocktail it’s impossible to taste the difference. Once you have something like a Simple Syrup involved, it’s not possible to notice.
- I’m making a cocktail that needs a lemon/lime in the cocktail or as a garnish. Should I still put that in?
The short answer is YES. Also add fruit pieces if they are required by the recipe. A good an example of a cocktail like this is a Cuba Libre, which requires a lime with peel in the drink.
Same goes for any garnishes, as these add aromatic elements, as well as just making a cocktail look more pleasing.
- The juices look cloudy. Are they still ok to use?
Yes. They should be fine. I think what’s happening is the acids in the juice start to separate after they sit in the refrigerator for a while. A gentle shake will reduce the cloudiness.
If they smell normal and there’s no mold, they should be fine. Usually after 2 weeks I dump whatever’s left. Use your own personal discretion.
Adding some vodka will help preserve the juices longer.
- Are malic acid and citric acid safe?
Yes. Both substances are found in countless products throughout the world. As with anything type of product like this, make sure you guy ‘food grade’ versions.
- Seems like you need a lot of ingredients and other stuff to do this.
On paper, this looks like a lot. Most of the equipment is stuff most normal home kitchens have. Same with the ingredients. It’s mostly stuff you would have at home or need to buy if you were making juice the old way.
Keep in mind, if you buy 500g (1lb) of the acids, it’s enough to last years.
Case in point; after making these lemon/lime juices twice I had already broken even in my investment. Now after many years of making my juices this way I have saved a boatload of money.
Who else but Led Zeppelin could send us off? The way they squeeze my lemon…