What are citrus juicers used for?

Citrus juicers are used to extract juice from citrus fruit, lemons, limes, oranges and grapefruit, quickly and cleanly, separating the juice from the peel, pith, pulp and seeds. The term covers a whole family of tools, from simple handheld reamers and lever presses to electric reamer juicers, all designed to get the most juice from citrus with the least effort and mess. They are used for making fresh orange juice and lemonade, for cocktails and drinks, and throughout cooking for dressings, marinades, sauces and baking, wherever a recipe needs fresh citrus juice. Our Best Citrus Juicers compares five of them.

The core job

At heart, a citrus juicer does one thing: it breaks open the juice-filled segments of a citrus fruit and separates the liquid from everything you do not want in it. Citrus holds its juice in membranes surrounded by pith and dotted with seeds, so getting clean juice means rupturing those membranes and straining out the pith, pulp and pips. A juicer is simply a tool that does this efficiently.

Because citrus is used so widely in cooking and drinks, and because squeezing by hand is messy, wasteful and lets pips through, a dedicated juicer is a common kitchen tool. Whatever its form, its purpose is the same, to turn a halved fruit into a measure of clean, pip-free juice faster and more completely than hands alone, which is why it is used so often in everyday cooking.

The different types and what each suits

Citrus juicers come in several forms, and knowing them clarifies their uses. A reamer, a ridged cone you twist into a fruit half, is the simplest and cheapest, good for a quick squeeze and small amounts. A handheld lever press, which you squeeze a fruit half in, gives more juice with less effort and strains the pips, and suits lemons and limes especially. A juicing bowl or glass reamer with a strainer catches juice and pulp as you ream.

At the powered end, electric citrus juicers spin a reamer for you while you press the fruit onto it, which is ideal for juicing many oranges or grapefruit at once, as for a jug of fresh juice. So the category is used across a spectrum: reamers and small presses for the odd squeeze in cooking, and electric juicers for making quantities of juice to drink. Choosing the type depends on how much citrus you juice and how often.

Cooking, drinks and everyday uses

In cooking, citrus juicers are used constantly. Fresh lemon or lime juice goes into salad dressings and vinaigrettes, marinades for meat and fish, sauces, curries and stir-fries, and a squeeze brightens finished dishes, while citrus juice is a key ingredient in baking, from lemon drizzle cakes to meringue pies and curds. A juicer makes getting that fresh juice quick and keeps pips out of the food.

For drinks, juicers are what turn fresh fruit into juice and cocktails. Freshly squeezed orange juice, homemade lemonade and limeade, and the lemon and lime juice central to so many cocktails all come from a juicer, and fresh juice tastes markedly better than bottled. Whether it is a morning glass of orange juice or a round of drinks, the juicer is the tool that extracts the fresh juice that makes them, which is a large part of why so many kitchens have one.

Why use a juicer rather than hands

You could squeeze citrus by hand, so it helps to be clear why a juicer is used instead. It extracts more juice from each fruit, so you waste less and get more flavor, and it does so with far less effort and grip strength. It also strains out the seeds and much of the pulp automatically, so you get clean juice straight into your dish or glass without fishing out pips, which hand-squeezing cannot do.

It is faster and less messy too, keeping juice from running down your arm and letting you juice several fruit quickly, which matters for batches. So a citrus juicer is used because it does the job better in every practical way, more juice, less effort, no pips, less mess, than squeezing by hand, which is exactly why the humble reamer, press and electric juicer are such common and useful kitchen tools. The right one for you depends simply on how much citrus you juice and how you use it.

The short answer

Citrus juicers are used to extract clean juice from lemons, limes, oranges and grapefruit, separating the liquid from the peel, pith, pulp and seeds quickly and with little effort. The category spans simple reamers and handheld lever presses, which suit the odd squeeze for cooking, up to electric citrus juicers, which suit juicing many fruit at once for a jug of fresh juice. They are used throughout cooking, for dressings, marinades, sauces and baking, and for drinks, from fresh orange juice and lemonade to cocktails. The reason to use one rather than squeezing by hand is that it gets more juice with less effort, strains out the pips automatically, and is faster and less messy, so the right type depends on how much citrus you juice and how often.