The Knife Hack That Prevents Citrus From Spritzing All Over The Place

A squeeze of fresh citrus often adds just the right amount of brightness and zest to a dish to transform it from great to absolutely perfect. However, the problem with squeezing that delicious spritz of lemon or lime onto your seafood dinner or into your ice water is that sometimes the citrus wedge fights back and sprays everywhere, making a splashy mess or even catching someone in the eye. Nothing is worse than having burning eyeballs or sticky hands just because you wanted a little extra zing. Luckily, there is an easy hack that can help prevent this — and all you need is a knife.

The best thing about this trick is that you can use it anywhere from your own kitchen table to inside a fancy restaurant, because it is simple, quick, and only requires one tool to pull off. The idea behind it is that by taking a knife and cutting a slit in the lemon or lime wedge, you can direct most of the liquid through that hole instead of allowing it to burst out from any which place and get everywhere. So, how do you do it exactly?

Start by placing your lemon or lime wedge rind side down on your cutting board or dinner plate. Then, hold it firmly in place with your non-dominant hand and take the knife in your other hand. Next, make a cut across the middle of the wedge where the fruit meat is the thickest. You should cut about halfway down into the fruit without piercing the rind or cutting the wedge in half completely. The goal of this cut is to make a deep enough slice so as to cut the outer skin and some of the fruit fibers, creating an easy path for all the juices to escape from.

Once this step is done, you are ready to squeeze your lemon or lime wedges over your plate. Grab a wedge in one hand and gently press the ends of the rind closer to each other to release the juices. As you do this, you should see that most of the juice is dripping out of the center where you made the cut with the knife instead of bursting from the sides. This trick can be used for all types of citrus, from lemons and limes to oranges and grapefruits. 

Let's say you have a recipe that calls for the juice of a whole lemon, or, you simply want to whip up a batch of sweet lemonade on a hot summer day. Is there a way to prevent citrus juice from squirting everywhere if you are using bigger pieces?

According to TikTok, the answer is yes! But for this method, you will need to use a meat skewer (or possibly a metal straw) instead of a knife. First, roll the lemon on its side back and forth under the pressure of your hand to help loosen up the juices inside. Then, hold onto the lemon and carefully take the meat skewer in your dominant hand. Poke the skewer down through the top of the lemon (the brown spot where it would have been attached to the tree). The skewer should pierce about halfway into the lemon. Finally, remove the skewer and point the newly made hole toward a bowl or glass. When you squeeze the lemon, all the juices should pour out of the center hole you just created, making for a mess-free and seedless juicing experience.