Using lemon and lime in recipes is one easy way to unlock a depth of flavour, whether in a pasta dish or a cake. While there are a million innovative ways to chop and slice vegetables, I've always found handheld juicer options to be somewhat lacking.
I've never been a fan of plate citrus juicers which require a lot of exertion and still leave you with the juice in the dish, rather than in your saucepan or mixing bowl. I even have one of the best juicers in my kitchen cupboard, but plugging in and setting up a full-sized juicer for a small amount of lemon juice is simply not practical.
So, in my last attempt to find a useful citrus juicer, I turned to my favourite practical kitchen brand: Joseph Joseph. Nearly all my favourite little kitchen luxuries are from the brand, so I had high hopes for its highly-rated citrus juicer.
Rather than the usual crushing mechanism this juicer uses a helix design to extract the maximum amount of juice from your lemons and limes.
You might be wondering how innovative a citrus juicer can really be - fair enough. But let me explain just how this type of juicer works as opposed the usual type, like this one from Amazon (for £9.95). While a foldover juicer needs the user to exert quite a lot of pressure to squeeze out every last drop, the Joseph Joseph product uses a helix mechanism.
This means that the juicer has two disparate parts, with the top layer fitting via a twisting motion into the bottom part. Fitting the top into the bottom pushes the half lime or lemon down without all of the force needing to come from you. It's also fantastically effective at really crushing up the entire fruit. When it comes out it looks like it's really been through the ringer.
In case you're confused by how to use it in the moment, the juicer also has two red dots on each part, which line up to show you how to operate it.
Another plus with this juicer is that it's dishwasher safe, so when you're done with cooking you can simply sling it in to be washed up without worrying about citrus residue getting sticky and stuck in the long run.
The Amazon reviews revealed that I'm not the only convert to this juicing mechanism. It has a 4.5-star rating on Amazon, one reviewer writes that it is a 'slightly large gadget. However, it is super easy to squeeze out every last bit of lemon juice. The best one we’ve had. Easy to clean.'
It is true that this is a pretty sizable piece of kit - I can't quite squeeze it into my utensils drawer which is very shallow and have had to house it elsewhere - but it is the easiest way I've found to quickly juice citrus fruits.
While perusing the Amazon reviews, I discovered that this isn't the only Joseph Joseph product to use the clever helix mechanism to squeeze the most out of ingredients. Here's a look at the others that use the same design.
The same idea but for garlic. You won't have to struggle with your old garlic press after picking up this one.
We've already written about this fab potato ricer, a favourite of the wonderful Rosie Ramsey. Amazon reviewers also swear by it for perfect mash.
I've personally got my eye on the garlic press next. I'm sure I'll be adding it to my list of Joseph Joseph buys I couldn't live without.
