Citrus Juicers Compared

Fresh citrus is the backbone of sours, highballs, lemonade and most mocktails, and the tool you squeeze it with decides how fast you work, how much juice each fruit gives up, and how much bitter peel oil ends up in the glass. A tool that suits one lime for a weekend Daiquiri can be miserable when a party needs a liter of lemon juice.

Below, the four common styles of citrus juicer are compared on yield, speed, cleanup and flavor, with notes on which fruit each handles well. There is also practical advice on rolling, cutting and straining fruit, and on how long fresh juice stays worth using.

Hinged hand presses

The enameled or stainless hand press, sometimes called a Mexican elbow, is a hinged pair of cups. Put a halved lime or lemon in the bowl cut side down, close the handles and squeeze. The fruit turns inside out and the juice runs through holes in the bottom cup.

Because the peel faces down and is pressed rather than ground, some oil sprays out but very little pith flavor reaches the juice. Expect roughly 25 to 30 ml (about 1 oz) from a juicy lime and 30 to 45 ml (1 to 1½ oz) from a medium lemon. Buy a size that matches your fruit: a lime press is too small for big lemons, and a lemon press squeezes limes unevenly.

• Look for a solid hinge and heavy-gauge metal; cheap aluminum ones bend
• Enamel coatings chip over time; bare stainless lasts longer
• An orange-size press exists but needs strong hands

Wooden and glass reamers

A handheld wooden reamer or a ridged glass reamer with a collecting dish is the simplest tool there is. You twist the cut fruit against the cone and the ridges tear open the juice sacs.

Reamers extract well from soft, juicy fruit and handle grapefruit and oranges that will not fit a press. The tradeoff is pulp and seeds in the juice, sticky hands and slower work. If you also twist hard against the white pith, the juice can pick up a bitter edge.

Lever presses and electric reamers

A countertop lever press uses a long arm to push a cone down onto halved fruit. It squeezes very efficiently with little effort and suits juicing a whole bag of limes for a batch of margaritas. These units are heavy, take up counter space and cost several times more than a hand press.

An electric reamer spins a cone while you hold the fruit against it. It is quick for oranges and grapefruit and easy to clean, but pushing too long scrapes pith and adds bitterness. For lemon or lime volumes above about half a liter, either option saves real time and forearm fatigue.

Why whole-fruit juicers are a poor match

Centrifugal and slow masticating juicers are designed for vegetables and whole fruit. If you feed them unpeeled citrus, they shred the peel and pith along with the flesh, which gives a cloudy, bitter juice. Peeling the fruit first fixes the bitterness but takes longer than squeezing it.

Save these machines for green juices and carrot blends, and keep a simple press for anything going into a shaker.

Getting more juice from each fruit

Room-temperature fruit gives up more juice than cold fruit. Roll each lime firmly on the counter under your palm before cutting to loosen the interior. Cut through the middle across the segments rather than from end to end.

Always strain through a fine tea strainer before measuring. Pulp clumps in the shaker, clogs the strainer and makes a drink look muddy. Measure juice after straining; recipes are written for clear juice, not juice plus pulp.

• Wash and dry fruit before cutting, since the knife carries surface dirt into the flesh
• Smooth, heavy fruit with thin skin usually holds more juice
• Save a few spent halves for garnishes or to wipe glass rims

Storing fresh juice

Lime and lemon juice change quickly once pressed. Many bartenders find lime juice tastes best within the first several hours, and few keep it past a day. Lemon juice holds slightly better. Keep juice covered in the refrigerator and give it a sniff before use; dull, flat or fermented aromas mean it is past its prime.

Fresh-squeezed juice is unpasteurized, and the FDA notes that unpasteurized juice can carry harmful bacteria. For anyone pregnant, very young, older or with a weakened immune system, pasteurized bottled juice is the safer choice even if it tastes less bright.

Common questions

Is bottled lime juice good enough for cocktails?

It is safe and convenient, but bottled lime juice usually tastes flatter and sometimes carries a cooked or preservative note. In a Margarita or Daiquiri, where lime is a lead flavor, fresh juice makes a clear difference. In a heavily flavored punch the gap is smaller.

Which way does the lime go in a hand press?

Cut side down, facing the holes, with the dome of the peel pointing up toward the top handle. Putting it in the other way round squirts juice out the sides and gives much less yield.

How many limes do I need for a batch of drinks?

Plan on roughly one juicy lime per 25 to 30 ml (about 1 oz) of juice, and buy a few extra because size and juiciness vary a lot. For eight Margaritas with 30 ml of lime each, about ten limes is a safe count.