Citrus juicers: manual and electric presses for oranges, lemons and limes
A citrus press saves the work of peeling oranges for a juicer’s chute. Pith left on the fruit can make the juice bitter. A citrus press takes the fruit halved, skin on, and presses it against a cone: a lever press for volume, a reamer press for a glass or two, a hand squeezer for the lemon in a recipe.
Lever, reamer or hand squeezer
They differ in who supplies the pressure.
The machine presses
Lever press
Breville's Citrus Press Pro: an arm holds the half down while a motorized cone spins. The lever reduces the effort of pressing a bag of oranges, though the machine takes up more counter space.
You press, the cone spins
Reamer press
Smeg, Cuisinart, Breville's smaller press. A motor spins a cone; you push the fruit onto it. These compact presses usually cost less than lever models and suit a glass or two. Grapefruit takes more effort.
You do everything
Hand squeezer
Zulay's stainless press and Chef'n's geared squeezer work by hand and store in a drawer. They suit a single lemon; squeezing enough fruit for a pitcher takes more effort.
Quick picks
The short answer for common situations. Each links to the full card below.
An all-stainless hand press that fits in a drawer and handles limes through small oranges.
Compare the six
Breville's Citrus Press page is the source for the BCP600; the Pro, Smeg, Cuisinart, Zulay and Chef'n figures come from their listings and say so. Power is listed for the motorized presses only.
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The lever press: a triple-hinged arm with a power-assisted lever holds the fruit down while a die-cast, acid-resistant Quadra-Fin cone spins, so one cone does limes through grapefruit. A dual safety switch keeps the cone still until the arm is down, and a drip-stop spout holds the juice back between glasses.
Power
110 W (listing)
Cone
Quadra-Fin, die-cast, acid-resistant; one size for all citrus
The smaller Breville: a motorized finned cone with a magnetic fruit dome that grips and presses the fruit one-handed, from a lime to a grapefruit, with the same dual safety switch and drip-stop spout as the Pro. Breville says the dome, filter and cone are dishwasher safe.
Power
110 W (listing)
Cone
Finned, one size; magnetic fruit dome
Safety
Dual switch: cone spins only with the dome down
Spout
Drip stop
Size
12.76 × 7.99 × 17.99 in; 7.3 lb (listing)
Cleaning
Dome, filter and cone dishwasher safe (Breville)
Suits: Daily citrus without the lever and the weight; a lighter counter footprint.
Weigh: The dome does the pressing, so a dense grapefruit takes more hand pressure than on the lever press.
The pretty one: Smeg's 50's-style citrus juicer with a stainless reamer and filter, a motor that starts when you press the fruit down, a drip-stop spout, and the retro colours. 80 W on the US listing.
Power
80 W, 120 V (listing)
Start
Sensor starts the motor when the fruit is pressed
Reamer
Stainless steel, with stainless filter
Spout
Drip stop
Size
8 × 7 × 11 in; 6 lb (listing)
Colours
Pastel green, black, cream, red and more
Suits: A counter where the juicer is on show; lemons, limes and oranges by the glass.
Weigh: A reamer press, so you supply the pressure and grapefruit is work. You pay for the colour and the shape.
The practical reamer press: an adjustable reamer with three pulp settings (low, medium, high), an auto-reversing cone that juices in both directions, a final-spin feature that wrings the pulp, a snap-up spout for tall glasses, and dishwasher-safe parts. Cuisinart's listing gives a three-year limited warranty.
Pulp control
3 settings: low, medium, high
Cone
Universal, auto-reversing
Final spin
Extracts more from the pulp
Spout
Extra-long, snaps up
Warranty
3-year limited (listing)
Cleaning
Dishwasher-safe parts (listing)
Suits: Everyday citrus with a pulp preference; the person who wants the dishwasher to do the cleanup.
Weigh: You supply the pressure, as on any reamer. The listing's wattage figure is not credible for a citrus reamer and is not repeated here.
Zulay Kitchen Extra Large Stainless Steel Lemon Squeezer
The drawer tool: an all-stainless (18/8) hand press with an extra-large bowl that takes limes, lemons and small oranges, no paint to chip, and a dishwasher-safe body. Juice for a dressing, a drink or a recipe without plugging anything in.
Material
18/8 stainless steel (listing)
Fits
Limes, lemons, small oranges
Size
9.05 × 3.34 × 1.96 in; about 0.95 lb (listing)
Power
None, hand press
Cleaning
Dishwasher-safe (listing)
Suits: Small amounts of citrus for cooking or cocktails, including a single lemon when you already own an electric juicer.
Weigh: A hand squeezer, so a bag of oranges is a workout and seeds need a strainer underneath.
A hand press with a patented dual-gear hinge that multiplies hand pressure; Chef'n says it gets up to 20 percent more juice than a standard squeezer with less strain. Nylon and stainless, top-rack dishwasher safe.
Mechanism
Dual-gear hinge
Yield
Up to 20 percent more than a standard squeezer (Chef'n)
Material
Nylon and stainless steel
Fits
Lemons and limes
Cleaning
Top-rack dishwasher safe
Suits: Anyone whose hands tire on a plain squeezer; lemons and limes for cooking and drinks.
Weigh: Lemon-sized bowl: oranges do not fit. It is plastic, with the gears doing the work.
If you already own a cold press or a centrifugal and want the odd orange in a mixed juice, peel it and feed it; both kinds handle peeled citrus. Kuvings and Nama sell citrus attachments for their slow juicers, which turn them into reamer presses for the morning glass. What no juicer does well is a whole unpeeled orange: the peel oils and pith come through and the juice tastes of them.
