Another Kitchen Gadget You Don’t Need
That’s right. There’s another kitchen item that you don’t need.
(Now there’s a start that could lead to thousands of devices. Automated orange peeler, anyone?)
Well this time, the useless kitchen gizmo just happens to be one that I have:

I bought this hand-held juicer with a yellow handle years ago. The spoon comes with the tire house.
We moved to Germany, and I had every intention of buying another little juicer there. But I couldn’t find one.
To make matters worse, the weather was sunny and warm. I just wanted a cold glass of lemonade. But they don’t have that, either.
So I jumped on my bike and headed down the cobblestone roads to the grocery store. I fell in love with making homemade lemonade (it’s soooo easy with that recipe). I also figured out how to use a spoon to squeeze out the lemon juice.
In fact, a spoon works better than that special little hand-held juicer. You use it in the exact same way, scrapping the spoon along the inside of your fruit’s peel over a bowl that catches the juice.

Did you know that?
The simplicity of using a spoon for juicing is a lot like the gadget-free salad spinner we adore at our house – sometimes it’s the sort of trick that you just know. And sometimes, you just don’t.
So the only question now is: who wants that plastic juicer sitting on my counter?








April 7th, 2011 at 12:44 pm
This reminds me of the orange peeler that I “invented” in 2nd grade for the invention convention. Back then I thought that my idea was brilliant! But now that there are actually orange peeling machines out there, I think the idea is silly and a waste of valuable kitchen space.
April 7th, 2011 at 1:21 pm
I kind of like my juicer (same style as your, basically, from Ikea)… have you had success with limes with a spoon, too? I’ve found that juicers bust open the little, um, juice sacs? pretty well, making more juice than squeezing by hand–but I’ve never tried a spoon. And limes seem to be bit more heard-headed, if you know what I mean….
April 8th, 2011 at 12:16 am
i have a plastic juicer home, but much much bigger, and its really easy to use! especially for oranges, you need some strenght to do it but it works well;D that yellow little juicer you have i see for the first time;D
April 8th, 2011 at 7:13 am
Germans use this and have it in almost every supermarkt. Zitruspresse –
http://www.porzellantreff.de/webimages/pictogramme/ka_/ka58310g.jpg
or dozens of similar things since fresh ornage juice is a “muss” ony every table.
http://www.liveshoppingwidgets.de/angebote/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/image_leopold-zitruspresse-westend-edition-b-ware_type2.png
April 10th, 2011 at 2:12 pm
Hello! hey, for my two cents, I love reemers. Like someone commented above, they are REALLY helpful for getting all the juice out. And, they don’t take up as much space as electric ones. Also, heating up whatever fruit you are using for no more than 30 seconds in the microwave makes the juice ready to burst forth! (that is a tip from America’s Test Kitchen.)
:) KZ
April 11th, 2011 at 11:51 am
My first thought was, “No, no, no – that’s one tool that’s actually worth it!” But, you know what? I’ve never tried a spoon, so how would I know!?! So, I’m gonna give it a try, because I happen to love the gadget-free salad spinner trick. Here’s my tip for juicing, no matter which method you use: Press down on the lemon (with all your might!) and roll it back and forth on the counter a few times. Then, cut and juice. It helps a lot! (I think I got that one from Martha.)
Thanks for making me think!
April 11th, 2011 at 12:09 pm
Thanks for the tip, Pamela. It makes sense; I’m giving it a shot!
April 25th, 2011 at 10:35 am
Okay – I gave it a try! And – IT WORKS! Of course, you already knew that. :-) Now there’s one more kitchen utensil I can get rid of. Oh, happy day!
April 25th, 2011 at 10:38 am
Awesome Pamela! Thanks for giving it a shot and letting me know. :)