A lemon squeezer is a kitchen utensil designed to extract juice from lemons or other citrus fruit such as oranges, grapefruit, or lime. It is designed to separate and crush the pulp of the fruit in a way that is easy to operate. Lemon squeezers can be made from any solid, acid-resistant material, such as plastic, glass, metal (usually aluminium) or ceramic.
The oldest known lemon squeezers were found in Kütahya, Turkey and date to the first quarter of the 18th century. [1] These ceramic presses are in the traditional style of Turkish pottery of the 18th century and have a superficial resemblance to today's press equipment with cones, though they are designed differently. These examples were individually made, and specially designed for making the then popular citrus drink sorbet . Lemons are not native to northern Turkey, though during the 17th and 18th centuries they were imported in bulk to Constantinople. [1]
At the end of the 19th century a large number of different models of lemon squeezers were patented in the United States. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office lists over 200 patents for lemon squeezers, the majority of which were registered between 1880 and 1910. The oldest of these patents was issued to Lewis S. Chichester on July 3, 1860 for a cast iron squeezer. The stated purpose of the invention was "to obtain a simple, economical and durable implement whereby lemons may be squeezed for domestic purposes with much less power and with far greater facility than by the ordinary squeezers in general use." [2]
The patents filed around the turn of the 19th/20th century show a variety of different functional principles. They range from small models to be used at the table (with which individual lemon wedges can be squeezed out over a glass or dish) to mechanically complex equipment which is firmly attached to the kitchen table or counter with screw clamps. It is noteworthy that nearly all of these patents merely put pressure on the lemon or lemon half, without the fruit being rotated. The patents vary mainly in their different mechanisms how they create this pressure. Usually, leverage or screw presses were used. It is no longer possible to reconstruct how many of those patents were actually produced for the market.
Not all squeezers are only meant to squeeze. Perhaps the most famous example of this is the Juicy Salif , designed by Philippe Starck in 1990. It is considered an icon of industrial design, and has been displayed in the Museum of Modern Art and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. [3] [4] Manufactured by Italian kitchenware company Alessi and made from cast and polished aluminium, it is 14 centimetres (5.5 in) in diameter, and 29 cm (11 in) high. Large numbers have been sold, despite frequent criticisms that the kitchen tools do not work very well. [5]
For the tenth anniversary of its launch, 10,000 Juicy Salifs were issued, individually numbered and gold-plated. [6] The gold-plated version has been described as an "ornament" because citric acid would discolor and erode the gold plating. Starck has publicly stated that his squeezer was "not meant to squeeze lemons" but "to start conversations". [7]
Other designers have also developed innovative citrus squeezers, which respond to new usage scenarios by considering the ergonomic aspects their products as important as aesthetics. In 2009, Joseph Joseph introduced the Catcher, a pestle squeezer that filters out seeds, designed by Graeme Davies. In 2011, the Dutch company Royal VKB introduced the Citrange, a playful double sided hand juicer which can be placed straight onto the glass, designed by the Belgian designer Quentin de Coster. [8] In 2012, the Spanish brand Lékué launched its Citrus Spray, a juicer that works like a spray, designed by Papila Studio in collaboration with Joanrojeski. [9]
A wooden lemon squeezer has been passed down to students of Trinity College (Connecticut) since 1857. It was originally used to make punch, but William W. Niles, who later became the Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of New Hampshire, established the tradition of handing down the lemon squeezer to the most popular rising class during Class Day. Soon afterward, rivalry built between classes and the lemon squeezer was stolen, replaced, and re-stolen multiple times, so that there are multiple allegedly original utensils circulating. The latest version of the lemon squeezer makes its only appearance during Convocation when the college president squeezes a fresh lemon to make a toast to the incoming class. [10] [11]
Alessi is a housewares and kitchen utensil company in Italy, manufacturing and marketing everyday items authored by a wide range of designers, architects, and industrial designers — including Achille Castiglioni, Richard Sapper, Alessandro Mendini, Ettore Sottsass, Wiel Arets, Zaha Hadid, Toyo Ito, Hani Rashid, Tom Kovac, Greg Lynn, MVRDV, Jean Nouvel, UN Studio, Michael Graves, and Philippe Starck. The Alessi company in the UK is worth around £2.4 million.
Citrus is a genus of flowering trees and shrubs in the rue family, Rutaceae. Plants in the genus produce citrus fruits, including important crops such as oranges, lemons, grapefruits, pomelos, and limes. The genus Citrus is native to South Asia, East Asia, Southeast Asia, Melanesia, and Australia. Various citrus species have been used and domesticated by indigenous cultures in these areas since ancient times. From there its cultivation spread into Micronesia and Polynesia by the Austronesian expansion ; and to the Middle East and the Mediterranean via the incense trade route, and onwards to Europe and the Americas.
The grapefruit is a subtropical citrus tree known for its relatively large, sour to semi-sweet, somewhat bitter fruit. The interior flesh is segmented and varies in color from pale yellow to dark pink/red.
Philippe Starck is a French industrial architect and designer known for his wide range of designs, including interior design, architecture, household objects, furniture, boats and other vehicles.
A lime is a citrus fruit, which is typically round, green in color, 3–6 centimetres (1.2–2.4 in) in diameter, and contains acidic juice vesicles.
A juicer, also known as a juice extractor, is a tool used to extract juice from fruits, herbs, leafy greens and other types of vegetables in a process called juicing. It crushes, grinds, and/or squeezes the juice out of the pulp. A juicer clarifies the juice through a screening mesh to remove the pulp unlike a blender where the output contains both the liquids and solids of the processed fruit(s) or vegetable(s).
The citron, historically cedrate, is a large fragrant citrus fruit with a thick rind. It is said to resemble a 'huge, rough lemon'. It is one of the original citrus fruits from which all other citrus types developed through natural hybrid speciation or artificial hybridization. Though citron cultivars take on a wide variety of physical forms, they are all closely related genetically. It is used in Asian and Mediterranean cuisine, traditional medicines, perfume, and religious rituals and offerings. Hybrids of citrons with other citrus are commercially more prominent, notably lemons and many limes.
Citrus production encompasses the production of citrus fruit, which are the highest-value fruit crop in terms of international trade. There are two main markets for citrus fruit:
Minute Maid is a product line of beverages, usually associated with lemonade or orange juice, but which now extends to soft drinks of different kinds, including Hi-C. Minute Maid is sold under the Cappy brand in Central Europe and under the brand "Моя Семья" in Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States. Minute Maid was the first company to market frozen orange juice concentrate, allowing it to be distributed throughout the United States and served year-round. The Minute Maid Company is owned by The Coca-Cola Company, the world's largest marketer of fruit juices and drinks. The firm opened its headquarters in Sugar Land Town Square in Sugar Land, Texas, United States, on February 16, 2009; previously it was headquartered in the 2000 St. James Place building in Houston.
Jif is a brand of natural strength lemon juice prepared using lemon juice concentrate and water, whereby the concentrate is reconstituted using water. After reconstitution, it is packaged and marketed. It is sold in the United Kingdom and Ireland by Unilever. Jif is used as a flavourant and ingredient in dishes, and as a condiment. Two tablespoons is around the equivalent of the juice of one lemon. The product has a shelf life of six months.
Sunkist Growers, Incorporated is an American citrus growers' non-stock membership cooperative composed of 6,000 members from California and Arizona headquartered in Valencia, California. Through 31 offices in the United States and Canada and four offices outside North America, its sales in 1991 totaled $956 million. It is the largest fresh produce shipper in the United States, the most diversified citrus processing and marketing operation in the world, and one of California's largest landowners.
Hawaiian Punch is an American brand of fruit punch currently manufactured by Keurig Dr Pepper, originally invented in 1934 by A.W. Leo, Tom Yeats, and Ralph Harrison as a topping for ice cream. It was started from an original syrup flavor called Leo's Hawaiian Punch, containing orange, pineapple, passion fruit, guava and papaya, and is currently offering 14 different flavors since 2020. The drink is currently made with 3% fruit juice.
Sudachi is a small, round, green citrus fruit of Japanese origin that is a specialty of Tokushima Prefecture in Japan. It is a sour citrus, not eaten as fruit, but used as food flavoring in place of lemon or lime. Genetic analysis shows it to be the product of a cross between a yuzu and another citrus akin to the koji and tachibana orange.
An orange is a fruit of various citrus species in the family Rutaceae ; it primarily refers to Citrus × sinensis, which is also called sweet orange, to distinguish it from the related Citrus × aurantium, referred to as bitter orange.
Juicy Salif, a citrus reamer designed by Philippe Starck in 1990, is considered an icon of industrial design, and has been displayed in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, as well as the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. It has also received this distinction at the RISD Museum and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.
The brandy daisy is a cocktail which first gained popularity in the late 19th century. One of the earliest known recipes was published in 1876 in the second edition of Jerry Thomas's The Bartenders Guide or How To Mix Drinks: The Bon-Vivants Companion:
Fill glass half full of shaved ice. Shake well and strain into a glass, and fill up with Seltzer water from a syphon.
A citrus reamer, also known as a lemon reamer or simply a reamer, is a small kitchen utensil used to extract the juice from a lemon or other small citrus fruit.
The lemon is a species of small evergreen tree in the flowering plant family Rutaceae, native to Asia, primarily Northeast India (Assam), Northern Myanmar, and China.
Salif may refer to:
Sharbat is a drink prepared from fruit or flower petals. It is a sweet cordial, and usually served chilled. It can be served in concentrated form and eaten with a spoon or diluted with water to create the drink.
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