lemons

Sunkist Growers has released the findings of its 'S'alternative' research conducted by masterchef Karl Guggenmos and chef Michael Makuch from Johnson & Wales University, revealing that the use of Sunkist lemons may allow for significant salt reduction in recipes while boosting flavour.

The research concluded that lemons can be used to reduce salt by as much as 75 per cent.

Taste tests examined the use of Sunkist lemon juice and lemon zest in various dishes, including meat, grains, soups and salads. After creating control dishes, recipes were re-created using salt in decreasing amounts along with lemon juice and zest to find the ideal combination. Test dishes were made adding lemon juice only, lemon zest only, and a combination of lemon juice and lemon zest to the reduced-salt dishes.

'While Sunkist has put a lot of energy behind informing consumers about our sodium reduction strategies using lemons, this research gives us exciting results that show just how effective Sunkist lemons can be in reducing people's salt intake without compromising flavour,' said Sunkist advertisingand PR manager Joan Wickham.

With the average American consuming twice the recommended amount of sodium, and high sodium intake linked to high blood pressure, cancer and osteoporosis, increased use of lemons could play a major role in reducing Americans' dependence on the salt shaker, according to Sunkist.

For many years, Sunkist has been encouraging consumers to choose all-natural lemons over salt to flavour their food as part of the Sunkist S'alternative programme, which provides low-sodium tips and 'S'alternative' recipes using Sunkist lemons.

While each taste test participant quickly identified the no-salt added recipes, the use of Sunkist lemons with reduced sodium produced a more flavourful dish. Most participants actually preferred recipes made with reduced salt and added lemon juice and zest to the original full-salt recipes.

'The results of this research show that flavour and health considerations do not have to be mutually exclusive,' said global masterchef Karl Guggenmos. 'Since the use of lemon juice and zest is such a simple tip for chefs of all skill levels, this information could go a long way in combating our excess sodium intake.'

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