Manual Citrus Juicer Overview

The identifying characteristic of any manual citrus juicer is that they require no power other than elbow grease - they are purely powered by hand. There is a very wide range of complexity in manual juicers, from the very simple, extremely inexpensive manual juicer we all remember from our youth to the more complex, ergonomically designed machines of today.

Depending on your juicing intentions, you will want to research the features of manual juicers as well as electric citrus juicers before making your selection.

The distinguishing characteristic for any citrus juicer, electric or manual, is the presence of a reamer. The reamer is the component of the juicer that the citrus fruit is pressured against in order to force juice expulsion.

Reamer

A reamer is similar to a dome in shape; it is designed to accommodate half of a fruit. Half a fruit is placed cut side down on the reamer, manual pressure is applied to the fruit to push the fruit onto the dome to pressure the juice from the fruit.

In the simplest manual citrus juicer, the fruit is pressured and twisted by hand against the reamer to extract the juice into the bowl below the reamer. The reamer is engineered to efficiently penetrate into the half fruit. The surface of the reamer is designed with vertical ribs for rupturing the juice sacks unique to citrus fruits.

For those who may have little hand strength, a manual juice press with handles designed to increase leverage would be recommended. These juicers work much like a nutcracker. Cut a citrus fruit in half, place the cut side down on the reamer and steadily apply pressure to the two handles until they meet. This presses the juice out of the fruit and into a waiting receptacle.

Gearing

Another fine model design of manual juicers is the engineering of models that have but one handle and a gearing system that allows for twisting and intensified pressure when the lever handle is pushed down and the fruit is pressured onto the reamer. In appearance these juicers look similar to a can crusher. These machines are free standing and very powerful with capabilities of reaching 600-1000 pounds of pressure depending on the model. <

Electric Juicer

Electric citrus juicers are very similar in principle and design to manual juicers. The most obvious difference is the power source. Electric juicers require electricity to operate. Electric citrus juicers are faster than manual citrus juicers and thus, enable higher volumes of juice to be squeezed in a shorter time frame. Commercial grade electric citrus juicers have found popularity at juice bars, restaurant and health clubs.

Manual

All manual citrus juicers are capable of extracting very fine quality juices. Many of the juicers have interchangeable reamers so that you are assured of extracting the maximum juice from each type of citrus fruit. The true advantages of manual citrus juicers are that they require no electricity (you can even use them when camping in the boon docks) and that they are comparatively less expensive than electric citrus juicers. For this type of citrus juicer, manual force is the only power requirement. They are simple; anyone can operate a manual juicer.

If you want to juice citrus for very little investment in equipment, check out manual citrus juicers today. You are sure to find a manual juicer to fill your glasses with delicious, nutritious citrus juice. A manual citrus juicer is a small investment with a big pay off in the future of your health.