Hand-held citrus juicers

[Mjx]

I still don't understand the problems you folks are having with the lemon squeezer.

So, I'm sacrificing my hands and enduring a little pain for this set of instructional photos.

Here's the way I do it and the juice does not come out of the sides - in the next to last picture you can see that the rim is dry.

All the juice went into the bowl (except for the tiny puddle from when I cut the lemon)

. . . .

Andie, thanks: I would never have guessed that these juicers were intended to be used this way (this is not an intuitive design).

[weinoo]

Of course that's the juicer that Sam refers to in his post above.

I find that they do a pretty good job, but if the lemon is a large one it won't fit in, and then it is perfectly useless. Of course, OXO makes one, and I wonder if the OXO design is better or easier on the hands?

[Kent Wang]

I have that OXO and it works decently, except the paint has chipped off in the juicing area. Not sure where it went, into my juice or just rubbed off in the dishwasher. I'd get the enameled ones like the Amco next time.

[JAZ]

If you're investing in that style of juicer, get one made from stainless -- like this one from RSVP Endurance. The enameled ones chip and break easily. I've had my stainless one for years, after having been through 4 or 5 of the cheaper aluminum/enamel ones.

Andie, I agree that they're easy to use and get a lot of juice out, but they're not always perfect. If your lemon is not round on the ends, it can easily be pushed off center, which can cause juice to fly everywhere. And as Mitch said, if your fruit is too large, you'll have problems as well.

[jsmeeker]

If you're investing in that style of juicer, get one made from stainless -- like this one from RSVP Endurance. The enameled ones chip and break easily. I've had my stainless one for years, after having been through 4 or 5 of the cheaper aluminum/enamel ones.

Andie, I agree that they're easy to use and get a lot of juice out, but they're not always perfect. If your lemon is not round on the ends, it can easily be pushed off center, which can cause juice to fly everywhere. And as Mitch said, if your fruit is too large, you'll have problems as well.

$35 bucks? Seems high.. But if it lasts a long time, then I guess it's worth it.

I have one just like andiesenji. It's a bartenders best friend. Right up there with the shaker and strainer. Before, I had a smalle green one (for limes). After time, the paint (poweder coating?) started to chip and flake offf. Then the whole thing broke. So, I got a yellow one. It's bigger to handle lemons. But limes work just great in it.

if the ends of the lemon are "pointy", I just flatten it out by trimming of the point with my pairing knife.

[andiesenji]

If you're investing in that style of juicer, get one made from stainless -- like this one from RSVP Endurance. The enameled ones chip and break easily. I've had my stainless one for years, after having been through 4 or 5 of the cheaper aluminum/enamel ones.

Andie, I agree that they're easy to use and get a lot of juice out, but they're not always perfect. If your lemon is not round on the ends, it can easily be pushed off center, which can cause juice to fly everywhere. And as Mitch said, if your fruit is too large, you'll have problems as well.

If they are too pointy at the ends I just trim the points off - the pith is extra thick there so the juice does not escape.

I had breakfast with a neighbor down the road this morning. Her husband moonlights as a bartender (regular job CHP officer) and she showed me the ones he uses on a regular basis.

This one can squeeze slices, quarters or half a lime, most lemons are too large to squeeze a half: But you need strong hands because the handles are short.

He uses one similar to the one I pictured but it is stainless steel.

It is like this one but he bought it at a restaurant supply. She says he bought two because he wasn't sure if the welds would hold but so far it has been in use for a couple of years with no problems.

He has a collection of vintage squeezers, several wooden ones from England, France, Germany, one from Hawaii carved from Koa wood and several from the Carribean Islands - one from Cuba someone got in the early '50s, that is shaped like an alligator. I had no idea they were so varied in design.

Edited April 20, 2011 by andiesenji (log)

[natasha1270]

If your lemons are too big, Amco makes a larger size for oranges.

[David A. Goldfarb]

I don't know who made this, but it's one of my favorite things in the kitchen. I bought it at a pottery studio down the block from the apartment where I lived in the early 90s on 105th and Amsterdam. It was called something like "The Mud Shop." The ridges on the juicer are fairly sharp, so it is particularly effective for this style.

[Trev]

I've got several different sizes of the kind that andiesenji demonstrated. They work great.

[janeer]

I have an aluminum hand juicer that fits over a measuring cup that I just love--I hardly ever take out my electric juicer unless I am doing a ton of lemons. I can't find a picture online, I will take one this weekend and post. It is primitive but unbelievably effective.

Took me a while but here it is. I made lemon meringue pie today and had 2/3 c of juice in the wink of an eye.

And fitted over a small bowl (it has a little lip, the perfect size for a measuring cup)

[Richard Archer]

I like the one which is made of stainless steel and easy to handle. Useable for indoor and outdoor as well.

[lindag]

I bought this one a few months ago.  I also own the Eco Jeannie that I bought several years ago.

I got the new one because it's bowl is a bit larger and I often have lemons and limes that are big.

Both work very well the Chef n Fresh is easier on the hands.

This Braun is my favorite for squeezing more than one or two.  (I paid only $24.99, not the prices listed now).

Since I'm squeezing citrus usually once or more times a day mine get a lot of use.

Edited May 16, 2018 by lindag (log)

[Craig E]

^ Only problem with that is that the lime is upside down!

[Anna N]

6 hours ago, Craig E said:

^ Only problem with that is that the lime is upside down!

Indeed it is. I use mine (not stainless steel) to squeeze the water from spinach and it doesn’t seem to matter which end I put in first. 

Edited May 16, 2018 by Anna N (log)

[MelissaH]

16 hours ago, Anna N said:

Indeed it is. I use mine (not stainless steel) to squeeze the water from spinach and it doesn’t seem to matter which end I put in first. 

 

How does it work for that purpose? I've always used my potato ricer for that.

 

We've run through two versions of painted squeezer. The yellow one was for lemons, and the smaller green one for limes. We quit using both of them when the paint started disappearing, to who knows where, and got a single lemon-size stainless one instead. Limes fit in a lemon squeezer, but vice versa is not true.

[lindag]

1 minute ago, MelissaH said:

How does it work for that purpose? I've always used my potato ricer for that.

 

We've run through two versions of painted squeezer. The yellow one was for lemons, and the smaller green one for limes. We quit using both of them when the paint started disappearing...

 

Same thing happened here, the enamel kept chipping and falling off.

The newer models (stainless or plastic) are much better.

[Katie Meadow]

22 hours ago, Anna N said:

Indeed it is. I use mine (not stainless steel) to squeeze the water from spinach and it doesn’t seem to matter which end I put in first. 

 

Pathetic way to market a squeezer with the citrus upside down. If you didn't know better you might be pretty disgusted by the product. I have two beautiful squeezers that I bought a zillion years ago in a market in Mexico---I'd never seen that type before. They are really hard durable plastic and the colors are snappy yellow and snappy green, and best sized for smaller limes.

 

Honestly I have never found a more effective tool for juicing a couple of lemons or oranges than an old fashioned wooden reamer.. Yeah, you do have to strain out the seeds, but the quantity of juice you get is astounding.

 

Anna, you are brilliant. I'm going to use my Mexican squeezer for spinach, although I suspect that I will then want a bigger size. Personally I like my spinach right side up.

Edited May 17, 2018 by Katie Meadow (log)

[Dave the Cook]

1 hour ago, Katie Meadow said:

Anna, you are brilliant. I'm going to use my Mexican squeezer for spinach, although I suspect that I will then want a bigger size. Personally I like my spinach right side up.

 

Citrus juicers are pretty small. I think what you want for spinach is a potato ricer.

[Katie Meadow]

3 hours ago, Dave the Cook said:

 

Citrus juicers are pretty small. I think what you want for spinach is a potato ricer.

Actually I have a potato ricer. Right you are, I'll try that first! It so happens that I had a spinach gratin planned for tomorrow.

 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

23 minutes ago, Katie Meadow said:

Actually I have a potato ricer. Right you are, I'll try that first! It so happens that I had a spinach gratin planned for tomorrow.

 

 

I use my hands.  For squeezing spinach that is, not for juicing limes.  For citrus I recommend a counter top rack and pinion unit.  Granted some here may possess more strength.

 

[Anna N]

15 hours ago, Katie Meadow said:

Actually I have a potato ricer. Right you are, I'll try that first! It so happens that I had a spinach gratin planned for tomorrow.

 

 There is only me and the amount of spinach I am likely to consume can be handled quite readily by an “orange size” press. I, too, have a ricer it but I find it much fiddlier and a huge space hog. 

[Katie Meadow]

I'm going to try my garlic press first and work my way up. 

[Anna N]

1 hour ago, Katie Meadow said:

I'm going to try my garlic press first and work my way up. 

Good thinking. Baby steps.