Citrus juicers are essential tools for your home, whether you’re planning to use one in your kitchen or bar. A juicer saves you the trouble of mashing your citruses yourself and getting sticky in the process. They also provide more juice, making it the best option for people hoping to get the most out of their fruits.
Since the juicers are manual, you don’t need to worry about loud noises or finding a free wall outlet—just grab the handle and pull. We’ve made a list of tips on how to properly care for an artisan manual juicer so that you can enjoy it for as long as possible. Read on to learn more!
How Do Juicers Work?
Everyone knows the function of a juicer: it squeezes the fruit to extract delicious juice! But how do they work? Understanding the device can help you get the deepest clean possible since you’ll know all the nooks and crannies that juice can go.
The citrus juicers that artisans make are citrus reamers—the ridged, cone-shaped part of the juicer is a reamer. Once you slice your citrus in two, place one half on top of the cone with the flesh facing down. Then, all you need to do is pull the handle. This action pushes a metal piece down on the citrus, which, in turn, presses it against the reamer.
The reamer and the force squeeze out the juice in the citrus, with the ridges on the reamer helping to get every last drop. The drink falls through slits underneath the reamer and into your cup that’s waiting below! What happens next is up to you.
Why Is Cleaning Important?
Proper sanitation is critical when you’re working in food preparation. Now that you know how the juicer works, you can see how bits of pulp could get trapped in the slits underneath the reamer. If you don’t clean it after every use, those pulp pieces can become nasty.
While it’s unlikely that leftover pulp would lead to any unpleasant health effects, it’s better to avoid the problem altogether and clean your juicer.
Cleaning is also important because some non-organic citruses have a wax covering on their peels. This helps with preservation, but it doesn’t help when you use a manual juicer. Because you have to press part of it into the fruit, that part can come away with wax on it. That wax can build up over time and get grosser as it does.
Clean Your Juicer Regularly
You should clean your juicer after every use. Every squeeze has the potential for trapped pulp, so you should always finish your juicing experience with a quick clean to ensure a tasty drink for next time.
Cleaning Steps
Now that you have an idea of why you should keep your juicer clean and how often to do it, let’s dive into the cleaning method.
Step 1
First, use a damp cloth to wipe down your juicer. This will get any residual pulp and flecks of juice off of it before you dive into the deep clean.
Step 2
Next, add a few drops of dishwashing soap to the cloth and clean every area of the juicer. This is good for getting rid of any dried juice droplets and cleaning sticky residue.
Step 3
Now you can either use your little finger and the edge of the cloth or a small brush to tackle the holes. A small brush is the best option for a thorough clean since you probably can’t fit your finger through the slits for a good scrub. If you don’t have a cleaning brush but want a deeper clean of the holes in your juicer, you can use a cotton swab.
Step 4
Next, rinse the juicer once again, this time with hot water. This will work to eliminate any bacteria on it, and it will also remove any residual soap.
Step 5
With a dry cloth, wipe down the juicer for an initial dry. Then, you can wait for the juicer to air dry any remaining water.
Step 6
Once you completely dry the juicer, you can either store it on your counter or in a cabinet. We love to keep ours on display since it has such an authentic, artisan look!
Juicer in the Dishwasher
We wouldn’t recommend putting the juicer in the dishwasher. Washing either in the dishwasher will break down the pins and rotational devices over time, and the last thing you want is to break your juicer! Plus, washing it by hand is a great way to get in touch with the traditions behind them and appreciate the fine detail that goes into each item.
Soap Types
There’s no need to be careful with the soap you choose to clean your juicer. Liquid dishwashing soap with mild scents will do the job without a problem. However, you may want to look for an unscented dishwashing soap because even some mild scents can linger on your dishes and appliances.
You probably don’t want to taste “Ocean Breeze” when you enjoy your next glass of freshly-squeezed orange juice!
Juicer vs. Squeezer
We have both artisan citrus juicers and citrus squeezers in our shop. The squeezer, or hand juicer, is similar to the larger version, although it requires a little more elbow grease! Instead of pushing a handle down on your citrus, place half of your fruit into the bowl-shaped cup on the hand juicer. Then, squeeze the handles together in one hand above a cup and watch the juice flow.
Both options have their benefits—while the hand juicer is smaller and more portable, it requires a little more effort since you don’t have the lever system that a large version provides. It’s all up to your preference, but we know you’ll love whichever juicer you decide to go with (or you could always pick up one of each)!
Now that you know how to properly care for an artisan manual juicer, keep yours in great shape so that you can enjoy it for years to come!
