Choosing the Best Citrus Juicer for Home Cooks
Every home cook needs a citrus juicer. This handy kitchen tool will help you add delicious lemon, lime, orange or grapefruit juice to your favourite recipes. With so many different citrus juicers available, which one should you choose? Whether you want a little juice for a salad dressing, more for baking, or juice for drinking, there’s a tool that’s just right for you.
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What to consider when choosing a citrus juicer
It’s important to consider how you are going to use a juicer. Do you just want to add small amounts of lemon, lime or orange juice to your cooking? Or do you want to be able to make larger quantities of juice for drinks? Will you need a citrus juicer that strains any seeds or pulp? How important is how your juicer looks? Is it going to be kept in a drawer or on display? Do you have a preference for natural wood. stainless steel or fun colours?
Let’s have a look at some of our favourite citrus juicers and their features to help you decide.
Handheld citrus reamer
The most simple type of citrus juicer is a handheld tool. also known as a “reamer”. It has ridged edges which you press into the halved fruit and twist against the edges to extract the juice. Wooden citrus reamers are popular, but they can also be made of stainless steel or plastic.
This simple juice extractor is easy to clean, easy to store and versatile. You can use it for juicing the smallest limes to the largest grapefruit.
Pros:
- Visual appeal: available in stylish wood perfect in a country style kitchen, or fun bright citrus colours
- Small and easy to store
- Easy to clean
- Can use with citrus of different sizes
Cons:
- Doesn’t strain seeds or pulp
- No juice catcher
- Not good for large quantities
Special mention – If you are after a stunning citrus reamer to display in a modern kitchen, you can’t go past the Alessi Juicy Salif Citrus Juicer. This mirror polished aluminium press makes a statement with it’s long spider like legs. It’s also beautifully designed so that the juice will drip from the pointed end into whatever container you choose. So stylish!
Manual citrus press
A handheld citrus press like this one from Kitchen Aid is a level up from the basic reamer. This style of citrus juicer will strain unwanted seeds and pulp and leave you with just the clear juice from your lemons and limes. The juice is cleverly retainer in the bottom and can be easily poured into your measuring jug or other container.
Manual citrus presses can be a little harder to clean as they have several moving parts. However, the Kitchen Aid citrus press, which made from BPA free stainless steel and nylon, can be cleaner in the dishwasher.
Pros:
- Built in strainer for seeds and pulp
- Juice catcher and spout to pour
- Stylish
Cons:
- Suitable for lemons and limes but can’t use with larger citrus
- Multiple parts to clean (but dishwasher safe juicers available)
Manual citrus juicers
For people who love to cook or bake with citrus often, a manual citrus juicer with a built in strainer and juice catcher is a must. These come in different styles, from practical stainless steel or plastic, to pretty glass or ceramic juicers.
This OXO Good Grips 2-in-1 citrus juicer may not be the prettiest option, but it is so incredibly practical. It comes with two different reamer attachments, one to use for smaller lemons and limes and one to use for larger citrus like oranges or grapefruit. The top catches all your unwanted seeds and pulp, and the bottom container holds all your neatly strained juice. Even better, the juice catcher doubles as a measuring jug! And this one id dishwasher safe too.
Pros:
- Built in strainer catches seeds and pulp
- Built in juice collector
- Easy to clean
Cons:
- Most are suitable for smaller citrus only (unless adaptable)
Special mention – If you prefer something a little more attractive, perhaps to display on your open shelves, this Godinger crystal citrus juicer is just gorgeous! And it’s still practical with the juice strainer and jug, and dishwasher safe.
Small electric citrus juicer
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If you regularly juice a lot of citrus at home – either for cooking or drinking – a small electric citrus juicer is a good investment. It takes the manual effort out of juicing a lot of citrus at once. Just press a button to spin the juicing cone instead. This is a great option for people with limited hand strength, for example due to arthritis.
I love the Breville Citrus Press motorised juicer, which has a one size fits all juicing cone for everything from limes to grapefruit. The cone attaches magnetically so is super easy to remove for cleaning. And you can pop the cone, the juice collector, filter and fruit dome in the dishwasher to clean.
Pros:
- Easy to use
- Efficient at extracting juice
- Versatile for different types of citrus
- Good for juicing large quantities of citrus with minimal effort
Cons:
- Bulkier than manual citrus juicers and harder to store
- More parts to clean
- Noisy
Professional style citrus press
If you find yourself doing a lot of juicing, then you might want to invest in a citrus press like you see at your favourite breakfast cafe. Perhaps you have trees that produce a lot of fruit and you want to freeze the juice? Whatever the reason, there is a lot to love about a citrus press if you have the space. This Tribest stainless steel cold press juicer gets great reviews from home and professional users alike. I actually prefer the manual press to electric juicers. They seem more authentic and also make less noise.
Pros:
- Quick and easy to use
- High juice yield, reduced waste
- Suitable for different sized citrus fruits including grapefruit
- Easy to clean
Cons:
- Large and difficult to store
- Can be messy to use
More than one?
If you do a lot of cooking, I would definitely recommend getting more than one citrus juicer. I have a small handheld reamer because it’s perfect for when you just need to add a squeeze of lemon or lime to your dish. But if you have recipes that call for larger amounts of juice, it’s definitely worth having one with a built in strainer and a way to collect (and possibly measure) the juice too. So if you have the space, it’s worth investing in at least these two types.
More cooking with citrus
Juicers are just one essential for cooking with citrus. Check out our post on the best citrus kitchen tools to find out which ones you need and which gadgets you can do without. And if you’re wondering what to do with your lemon skins after juicing, make sure to read our helpful tips for cooking with lemons for some great ideas.
All home cooks who love cooking with citrus should have a lemon tree! Make sure to read our post about the best type of lemon tree to grow for all your favourite lemon recipes.
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