Lemon squeezers are a popular way to quickly juice lemons and other citrus fruits. Are you unsure about how to use a lemon squeezer or even which way to insert your lemon into the device?
Here’s all you need to learn about using a lever-based manual lemon juicer for mess-free lemon juicing.
How to Use a Lemon Squeezer
Complete the following steps to juice your citrus fruits quickly and easily. You will need a chopping board, a knife, a bowl, lemons and a citrus squeezer.
Step 1: Roll Lemons
Before you cut your citrus fruits, we recommend rolling them intact for a couple of seconds along your kitchen worktop and applying light pressure with the palm of your hand. Why? Doing so helps to loosen the pulp from the thick white pith beneath the zest. This makes juicing much easier and ensures you get more juice.
Step 2: Slice Lemons
Cut your lemon lengthways so you have two halves ready for squeezing. If necessary, remove the top or bottom section of the rind on any elongated lemon halves so that they will fit comfortably inside your squeezer.
Step 3: Place Lemon Half Inside Squeezer
Open your citrus squeezer and place your lemon half inside the squeezer with the cut-side facing down. If you squeeze your lemon the wrong way up, you won’t release all of the juice as effectively and are likely to be squirted with lemon juice spraying upwards. So remember, the correct way is to squeeze lemons and limes with the cut side down.
Step 4: Squeeze
Hold your loaded citrus squeezer over a bowl or glass while pressing the handles together. The dome side of your squeezer will invert your lemon rind, turning it almost inside out and releasing the maximum amount of juice for your food and beverage recipes.
Advantages of Using a Manual Lemon Squeezer
While manual lemon squeezers may look less appealing than other types of lemon squeezers, when used correctly, they can juice better than some of the most expensive electric lemon juicers. Here are some reasons we think a manual lime squeezer is the best way to squeeze a lemon.
Easy to Use
Manual citrus squeezers are easy to use, making squeezing limes nice and simple. Just place half a lime inside and squeeze the handles together.
No Breakable Parts
Metal manual lemon squeezers are highly durable. Unlike other juicers, they feature no breakable parts.
Easy to Clean
Lever-based citrus juicers are also very easy to clean; simply rinse them out under running water. Most models are also dishwasher-safe.
Extract More Juice
Thanks to their level-based action and dome-shaped upper, a manual lime squeezer will release a maximum amount of juice from your citrus fruits.
No Pips
As the holes on a citrus juicer are fairly small, the pips and pulp remain trapped inside your lime squeezer rather than going into your juice. This means you won’t need a separate strainer for juicing lemons, oranges or limes.
Inexpensive
With no complicated parts, lemon squeezers are simple in design and inexpensive to buy. You can pick up a good quality lime squeezer press for less than £10.
3 Tips for Using a Lemon Squeezer Press
Tip 1: Select the Best Citrus Fruits for Juicing
Whether you’re in the supermarket or picking out the perfect lemon for juicing from a selection at home, make sure that you choose one that is ripe and fresh. You’ll want to look for citrus fruits that feel slightly soft. Harder fruits are more difficult to squeeze all the juice from, with the best lemons for juicing being heavy and slightly squashable.
Tip 2: Use a Long-Handled Lemon Squeezer
If you have a choice of lemon squeezers or are looking to invest in a new one, make sure that you choose a model with long handles. A long-handled manual citrus squeezer will allow you to exert more pressure without any extra effort to make squeezing lemons easier.
Tip 3: Warm Refrigerated Fruits
Keeping lemons and limes in your refrigerator is a great way to ensure they last longer. However, you should make sure that your lemons are at room temperature before juicing.
If you forget to remove them from your refrigerator a couple of hours before juicing, you can simply place them in your microwave for up to 30 seconds. Then allow them to cool for two minutes. Warm fruit is much easier to juice, allowing you to extract the most juice from each lemon easily.
No More Squeezing Lemons by Hand!
There are numerous health benefits to enjoying fresh lemon juice, plus it’s a great way to add extra depth of flavour to various dishes, soft drinks and cocktails.
Now that you know how to use a lemon squeezer to easily juice lemons and other fruits, try adding some freshly squeezed lemon juice to your favourite recipes, or why not try making your own homemade lemonade, lemon tart or even lemon curd?
Share your favourite lemon-based recipes below!
