3 Easy Ways to Juice a Lemon

When the recipe calls for fresh lemon juice, it means having to juice a lemon. Juicing a lemon takes a little finesse, and some cooks find it frustrating to extricate the juice apart from the seeds. Here are 3 simple ways you can juice a lemon and keep lemon seeds out of your cuisine.

Roll, Cut, and Squeeze Method of Juicing a Lemon

As lemon juicing methods go, this one is the most straightforward. First, roll the lemon under your palm against the counter to release the lemon's juices. Then simply cut the lemon in half and squeeze the lemon juice into a waiting container. Using a separate bowl allows you to pick out the seeds before pouring the lemon juice into whatever you're cooking.

A variation on this method is to hold lemon halves cut-side up while squeezing out the lemon juice. Doing so allows the seeds to remain within the lemon half. Yes, the lemon juice drizzles through your fingers into the bowl. It's not the neatest method, but then, the nice lemony fragrance of lemon lingers with you, long after you rinse your hands off and dry them.

Reamer Method of Juicing a Lemon

One of the easiest ways to juice a lemon is using a reamer. Reamers are a quick and effect way to juice most citrus fruits. I juice either a lemon or lime most days, and I keep this glass reamer (as seen in photo) handy in my kitchen. Once all the lemon juice collects in the bottom of the reamer, I can pick out the seeds and easily pour the juice into the food I'm preparing.

Although my glass reamer happens to be an antique, there are many reamers on the market that effectively do the same thing. I came by my Depression Glass reamer at a yard sale for five bucks, and I've also seen antique reamers for sale at antique shops, as well as on eBay.

Modern glass or plastic citrus reamers are available in kitchen stores. Handheld cone-like wood reamers are also available. Plastic reamers (as seen in photo) allow you to squeeze out the lemon juice manually. The reamer's mid-section catches seeds and strains lemon juice into the container below. Grippers on the reamer cap cup around the citrus peel and help you rotate cut citrus halves against the grate. This keeps your hands out of the juice. An easy pour-spout helps you measure out an exact amount.

Commercial Juicer Method of Juicing a Lemon

Although you could use a commercial juicer to juice a lemon, it seems a bit over-the-top. The time it takes to clean the machine after juicing seems hardly worth it. But if you have lots of citrus to juice, using the machine makes a lot of sense. You can find a variety of commercial juicers from very expensive models to inexpensive models.

Juicing a lemon is an every-day event for many cooks. If you're tired of squeezing citrus and pressing peels between your palms to extract every bit of juice and pulp possible, why not give one of these other methods a try? Why not find a citrus reamer at your local second-hand shop or antique shop and purchase it? You can "go green" and add a low-tech gadget to your kitchen that works as well as it did decades ago.