Cast iron citrus squeezer -do they work?

[bearzie]

Has anyone tried the cast iron citrus squeezer that turn the citrus halves inside out and squeeze the juice out of them? I've seen them in different colors. Orange for oranges, yellow for lemons and green for limes.

Do they work well? And would the yellow one for lemons work well for limes?

Here's what they look like.

Link: http://www.surlatable.com/common/prod...

Thanks!

[Mother of four]

Honestly, mine sits in the drawer. I use my old wooden reamer, which I love. My daughter in law has both the lemon and lime squeezer and loves them.

[Rubee]

I bought the two-in-one juicer from Williams-Sonoma that is two sizes in one juicer. It squeezes both limes and lemons. It's great, I love it.

http://www.williams-sonoma.com/produc...

[citrus user]

The very best citrus squeezer is the Amco Vintage Citrus Squeezer (squeezes oranges, lemons, and limes pretty effortlessly). It is, by far, the easiest to use of any squeezer I have ever used. It is aluminum covered in bright orange enamel (to protect from acidic juice). It is $25 plus shipping and worth every penny. It is exactly like one my mother had 50 years ago. I always loved it and was thrilled to see this re-introduced. IT IS THE BEST! It also makes a great gift. Sold by cooking. com. Do a Google search for other venders.

[RGC1982]

Try this link. It seems to be about $10 more than I paid three years ago and has a chrome finish now. I couldn't find yours on the Sur La Table site except for one that was either the Metrokane ($75) , which looks like works the same way for much more money, or their version of what is on the following link for $49.

http://www.crateandbarrel.com/search....

[Sam Fujisaka]

I guess you know that cast aluminum versions of the colored $14-17 squeezers are ubiquitious in Latin America where they cost about $2 at most (for the lime sized ones).

[Scrapironchef]

You can buy an assortment of sizes for what Sur La Table gets for one at most of the Latin or Asian markets.

[RGC1982]

I never thought of that -- but would I really need an assortment of sizes? Mine seems to do everything well except for large grapefruitl I have to go looking for other ones the next time I get to a market. As it is, I have so many pots and gadgets that my kitchen looks like a restaurant supply house.

[Scrapironchef]

A good medium-large will do most things, but if you do a lot of small key limes, a small one does a better job.

[RGC1982]

I purchased one at Crate and Barrel a couple of years ago on a whim for about $30. It came in bright orange and some other interesting colors like lime, but I took the orange one. It doesn't turn the fruit inside out, but pushes the interior of a half piece of the fruit against the skin so that it gets really compressed. I think it works great, especially when you need a lot of fresh squeezed juice for marinades, sauces etc. Well worth it, no hand reamer can do the same thing. but only necessary if you need quantities and, like me, just can't seem to squeeze well enough to do a thorough job without a tool.

[HaagenDazs]

More praise for juicer... now if they'll only make one for pomegranates!

[camarosa]

There is this great lime squeezer called an Easy Squeezer. You can buy them online at www.camarosacoffee.com or at www.easysqueezer.com

They come in a variety of colors.

[Carb Lover]

I echo all other posters...this gadget is totally great!! I just bought the yellow one a few wks. ago at an outlet mall, and I get so happy every time I use it. Makes life easier. Works fine w/ key limes, but if the limes have tiny seeds, then they can fall through the holes, but that hasn't been a big deal.

I'm going to make a key lime pie for the 4th, and I'm so happy to have this helper on hand!

[Dommy]

I love mine!! I got a smaller one for Limes! I got it SUPER cheap at the Mexican Market too and actually perfer the look of naked metal to the enamel...

http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/qa/pDetail.asp?p=650

For Lemons and oranges however, we adore our vintage squeezer... the mechinism is very similar but of course, works even faster and great for squeezing out a pile of lemons and oranges... (Using a hand squeezer for anything larger than a lime I think tires out the hand too fast)

http://www.ritasretros.com/juicer.jpg

--Dommy!

[Becca Porter]

Dommy I love the look of your lime squeezer but is it dishwasher safe?

[Dommy]

Hi Becca! :)

First off, I have no dishwasher... or actually I do and his name is P. LOL!! :)

Actually, since the lime juice is horribly acid I don't really 'wash' it more instead just rinse it after every use. I do wash the big hand one when using it with oranges because of the sugar and I HATE ants...

--Dommy!

[Becca Porter]

My dishwasher is one thing I would take to a deserted island :).
-Becca

[slacker]

I've been looking at the Metrokane juicer. Also looking at electric juicers. I'd use it mostly for squeezing oranges. Do you find that you get most of the juice from oranges, and do you get tired out after squeezing a few glasses of OJ?

[Dommy]

You really do get ALL the juice from the orange. Because of it's age, we do have to press twice, but the mechanism is still nice and tight and fluid that it's never a real strain on the hand. I can say we can get a good size pitcher of juice with no hand strain....

Growing up my mother had an electric juicer like this:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000...

I hated that darn thing because I did feel like I had to press down HARD and a while for the juice! She now has one of those juiceman uber juicers and those things are pricy and scare me. LOL!!

So when SO told me about this juicer his mother had, I instantally associated it with the Mexican Juice Stands. The lever type was exactly what they would use (and they churn out a TON of juice a day!) Bless her, she shipped the juicer to us and we've been happy in Fresh lemonade since! :)

--Dommy!

[mhwong]

I got one at a local Mexican supermarket for under $5. Works great. I put it in the dishwasher - I don't think it was ruined. This device separates out most of the seeds, and what is left can be filtered out by pouring the juice slowly to another cup.

[mhwong]

New link http://store.gourmetsleuth.com/pDetai...

[JoanN]

16/$1!!!! Here in NYC, at Fairway, they were 5/$1 this morning. Aaargh!

[Pat Hammond]

I was just going to post about them on Tristate. Here I go...

[Pat Hammond]

I came to this board to report buything that very "squeezer" at Bed, Bath and Beyond, about 20 minutes ago. Then I say your post! I set about squeezing limes right away, and in no time I have a cupful. With limes selling here for 16/$1, I plan to have plenty juice for the freezer, too. I bought the yellow one, by the way, because that's all they had.

[rtmonty]

They're fantastic, work great. We have a lime tree in the backyard so margaritas are a summer staple around here therefore need lots of fresh squeezed lime juice. I do agree that the "green" lime squeezer is probably not needed. The limes that come off our tree are too large for it so I use the "yellow" lemon sqeezer. For the price, don't think you could get a better juicer.

[Amuse Bouches]

I love mine. I rate it among my top kitchen tools. I have the lemon sized one, and it works for both lemons and limes. I don't squeeze a lot of oranges, but if I want to, I'll put in a quarter and it works OK.

[GG Mora]

Cast aluminum, by the way.

[JoanN]

They sure do. Buy the large one. I had a small one for limes and ditched it because it was too small--even for limes. It still helps, by the way, to prick the lime a bit with a knife, warm it for a couple of seconds in the microwave, and roll it on your countertop to get the maximum amount of juice from the fruit.

[Becca Porter]

Actually Cooks Illustrated found that with this squeezer none of that is necessary. Thats one of the reasons you save time.
-Becca

[JoanN]

Not my experience. In fact, I just squeezed some limes about half an hour ago, didn't warm the first one, and was disappointed in the amount of juice. Warmed the rest, and it did the trick.

Might my need for warming be due to the fact that I refrigerate them? Maybe I shouldn't be doing that. Or could it be the quality of the limes I'm getting here in NYC? Prices seems way up this summer.

[Becca Porter]

Oh I forgot, Ci found that it is best to squeeze cold key limes. It seems they submit more fully to the splitting and turning inside out.

I haven't tested it but they have.
-Becca

[JasmineG]

It's definitely because you refridgerate them -- I never refridgerate any citrus (unless it's already been cut into).

[Becca Porter]

They work very well. Cooks Illustrated rated them best for getting the most juice with the least work. Just make sure you put the flat side down. I use mine everyday.
-Becca