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Lemon juice in quantity


Fernwood

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I need large quantities of lemon juice, probably several quarts, and quail at the thought of juicing scores of lemons by hand. [The juice is for lemonade--I know, that's a beverage, but since this is an ingredient question, I thought it appropriate for the general cooking forum; someone with better judgment can move the post, if necessary.] Is there decent frozen juice available to a home cook in such quantities? Or...? I have only a basic glass citrus reamer. (Is that even the right term? It sits on the counter and has no moving parts.) I will not buy a power machine for this task, but would consider another utensil if it was easy to store.

I'd be most grateful for any suggestions.

Fern

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I have one of these

i10009.jpg

It is large enough to handle grapefruit and makes quick work of juicing a lot of citrus - I also use it for pomegranates.

I bought it in a middle eastern market for $49.00. It has a spring that lifts the handle back to upright.

There are similar ones that are a lot more expensive but this one works beautifully. Check at a local store that caters to middle eastern customers.

That is a one-quart measure with the juicer.

Edited by andiesenji (log)

"There are, it has been said, two types of people in the world. There are those who say: this glass is half full. And then there are those who say: this glass is half empty. The world belongs, however, to those who can look at the glass and say: What's up with this glass? Excuse me? Excuse me? This is my glass? I don't think so. My glass was full! And it was a bigger glass!" Terry Pratchett

 

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If you've already got a hand blender, you have all the power tools you need. Halve a lemon with a diameter about the same as your hand blender's business end. Drop a lemon half into the bottom of a pint glass. Insert hand blender and pulverize the fruit while leaving the pith behind. Pour off juice and repeat.

Some hand blenders work better than others for this purpose.

Christopher D. Holst aka "cdh"

Learn to brew beer with my eGCI course

Chris Holst, Attorney-at-Lunch

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An electric juicer can work surprisingly quickly and efficiently. I've juiced enough lemons and limes to make a quart in just a few minutes using a cheap Waring model at a job I once had. It strained out seeds and pulp, too. I don't think the device cost more than $35.

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After living with a prolific Meyer lemon tree for over eight years, I finally got smart and plunked down $30 for an electric juicer at Bed Bath & Beyond. O frabjous day, calloo, callay.

Stainless Steel Electric Juicer: "The auto-reversing universal juicer cone of this juicer provides efficient juicing, while final spin feature extracts more juice." (That means it twirls one way, then the other. Smart juicer.)

Also, you can choose to close the spout or open it, letting the juice run into a container. It's usually messier that way.

I love this little appliance.

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Note that so far, not one person has suggested bottled lemon juice. That's a hint.

I use my trusty Wear-ever vintage lemon squeezer. It's perfectly designed for the job and mine has squeezed lemons for lemonade and lemon meringue pies through 2 generations now. You can't have mine, but you can generally pick one up on EBay for somewhere between $5 and $15. Imagine an oversized garlic press, with a base so it rests on the counter. Now imagine that you lift the press handle and put in half of a lemon (or lime), and press down. The juice runs into the holder, the seeds and most of the pulp are strained out by the screen, and all's right with the world.

A fork? That's a new one on me! How do you do that, WHT?

Edited for spelling, and to add: yes, it would work for quarts' worth if you don't want a power tool. Further elucidation already added via another post.

Edited by Smithy (log)

Nancy Smith, aka "Smithy"
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Take whole lemon, stick fork in, move tines around a bunch, take tines out, squeeze juice out through holes.

Andrew Baber

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I referenced this sight for the photo only. These things are available in any market in MX for under 5 bucks and are the superior citrus squeezers of all times. They come in a couple of sizes and work great and are really efficient.

As far as the lemon juice goes, I have frozen it in the past and it seemed to work great.

Brooks Hamaker, aka "Mayhaw Man"

There's a train everyday, leaving either way...

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...I use my trusty Wear-ever vintage lemon squeezer.  It's perfectly designed for the job and mine has squeezed lemons for lemonade and lemon meringue pies through 2 generations now...

http://ww1.williams-sonoma.com/cat/pip.cfm...hop%2Fhme%2Fhme

Given your specific request, I second the idea of the hand held citrus press (a.ka., Mexican lime squeezers). Above is a link (that may or may not work) to Williams Sonoma’s, which was the only place I could find a picture. You can pick these up at any Mexican market for about half the price. They come in various sizes from small ones for limes, to large ones for oranges. I have a mid-sized model that will squeeze even large lemons. I like the enameled finish on the WS models. Many of these are made of cast aluminum and I would think they might react with the acidity.

These are lean, mean, citrus squeezing machines and they are very easy to store. However, if you are going to make a habit of squeezing large amounts of lemons I recommend you get a large press like aniesenji recommends or an electric model. It will save some wear on your carpal tunnels.

Edited by fiftydollars (log)
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These things are available in any market in MX for under 5 bucks and are the superior citrus squeezers of all times. They come in a couple of sizes and work great and are really efficient.

I second this! My Mexican lime squeezer is probably my very favorite kitchen gadget. All you have to do is wait for someone you love to move to Mexico, then ask them to buy one for you. That's what I did, anyway. :biggrin:

However, if you're doing a million lemons, find an electric juicer. We have one that I think my wife bought at a flea market or something. It's beat up and ugly, but Marissa used it just this weekend to make a big batch of lemonade and it's definitely a lot quicker than anything manual.

Using a fork or a manual squeezer, your hand is gonna get real tired after the first few dozen lemons, I'd bet.

Edited by bleachboy (log)

Don Moore

Nashville, TN

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Keep in mind that there are different levels of quality in those mexican lime squeezers. The first one I got, one of the cast aluminum looking ones, couldn't stand up to one particularly intransigent lime and one of the handles snapped in two. So in looking for a replacement I aimed for a larger one, and one made my a different factory.

Christopher D. Holst aka "cdh"

Learn to brew beer with my eGCI course

Chris Holst, Attorney-at-Lunch

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I've never tried those handheld juicers! They must be better than I'd expected.

Just to be clear about it, though, I'm posting a picture of what I'm talking about. (It's about time I tried posting a photo!) My "garlic press" analogy must not be as good as I thought.

i10083.jpg

My Wearever juicer is like this. The top handle is attached to a flat plate that presses the lemon half against the flat edge of the bowl. There's a strainer inside. There are other juicers that sit higher and must have a bowl or glass beneath them to catch the juice, but they're larger and not as convenient.

Now that I've set the record straight, I'll agree that an electric juicer might be easier in the long run - but no, these won't give you carpal tunnel, and they'll tire your arms sooner than your hands!

Edited in a perhaps-vain attempt to spleak more painly.

Edited by Smithy (log)

Nancy Smith, aka "Smithy"
HosteG Forumsnsmith@egstaff.org

Follow us on social media! Facebook; instagram.com/egulletx; twitter.com/egullet

"Every day should be filled with something delicious, because life is too short not to spoil yourself. " -- Ling (with permission)
"There comes a time in every project when you have to shoot the engineer and start production." -- author unknown

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I need large quantities of lemon juice, probably several quarts, and quail at the thought of juicing scores of lemons by hand.  [The juice is for lemonade--I know, that's a beverage, but since this is an ingredient question, I thought it appropriate for the general cooking forum; someone with better judgment can move the post, if necessary.]  Is there decent frozen juice available to a home cook in such quantities?  Or...?  I have only a basic glass citrus reamer.  (Is that even the right term?  It sits on the counter and has no moving parts.)  I will not buy a power machine for this task, but would consider another utensil if it was easy to store. 

I'd be most grateful for any suggestions.

Fern

Minute Maid sells "fresh" frozen lemon juice in your grocer's freezer. It has pulp and everything. I would imagine they might sell larger quantities for food service. Contact Minute Maid (owned by Coca-Cola) Here's a link to customer service at Minute Maid.

http://www.minutemaid.com/mm_contact/index.html

Edited by azlee (log)
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Not even flash-pasteurized Lemon Juice NFC (not from concentrate) will be as good in quality as fresh and the problem with tyring to source it through an industrial supplier is that you aren't likely using enough to make it worth their while.

If you absolutely want to purchase it (at a price more reasonable than retail), I'd contact a restaurant supply house, which is more likely geared toward filling orders of the size you would make. Otherwise, find the best juice extraction tool you can, and start juicing. :smile:

=R=

"Hey, hey, careful man! There's a beverage here!" --The Dude, The Big Lebowski

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The original questioner never mentioned where this lemonade stand was located... If it's in Texas, then find a Central Market, where they run lemons and limes through their industrial orange juicer and sell the fresh squeezed juice by the pint.

Christopher D. Holst aka "cdh"

Learn to brew beer with my eGCI course

Chris Holst, Attorney-at-Lunch

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I buy lemon juice at our public market here in Ohio. The industrial juicers are great because you get more of the pulp and oil from the zest - these juicers thoroughly crush the whole fruit. I use it to make lemon ice creams and nothing compares. With the pulp, it has more flavor than if I used the juice only. The wholeale price is $45 per gallon, but worth the cost.

Jeni Britton

Jeni's Fresh Ice Creams

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Wow! Thanks for all the great feedback. It's been a busy couple of days, so I'm just catching up on most of the replies. Unfortunately, no Central Market in Connecticut, though maybe, like Jenifresh, I could find a local source. Otherwise, I will contemplate the various gadgets and machines suggested above. It certainly seems like most of them would be better than what I have.

I've been using a good bit of lime juice (but not quarts) for various summer recipes and beverages and sometimes the limes are so dense that they are very difficult to juice on my blunt, slippery reamer causing frustration, profanity and sticky, acidic splashes everywhere. I really need something more effective in general, and especially for the upcoming lemonade project. :smile:

Does anyone else fantasize about being paid to compare juicers, graters, can openers, etc., for the food section of the newspaper, or Cooks Illustrated, or whatever?

Fern

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In terms of manual models of the small variety, I much prefer the Mexican press to the basic reamer on which you screw the citrus half round and round to produce juice - the press lever action is easier on my wrists and arms. Found mine for $3 at a garage sale.

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