'My main squeeze.'
My husband and I were wandering through the town of Tamworth in Staffordshire, and I spotted this robust equipment in the window display of a thrift shop.
It's as heavy as lead, 6.5 kg in weight, and when we inspected it, the seller timidly justified the price as a gift aid item. However, we knew that £15 was a pennyworth for a main squeeze.
You see, we're both into homemade freshly squeezed juices, for the taste and health benefits, so we figured that since we both love the sweet, tart, and bitter taste of grapefruit juice, this manual operating equipment would serve its purpose on the boat.
I like that there are few moving parts, which means fewer things to break, and it's easy to use.
It's to be noted that it's a squeezer, which acts differently from a juicer, in that the squeezer produces juice that is thicker and tastier because it's not diluted. This makes the juice healthier since all the nutrients are unaltered.
I mainly juice grapefruit since it's my favourite juice. However, oranges, clementines, and just other any other fruit would be as perfect, as the size of a half-grapefruit.
I got the idea to try a leftover beetroot and some tomatoes.
They did not work well.
Yes, I got a hint of both flavours (kind of like a restaurant experience, where you most times get hints of flavours only). However, I need to remind myself that the manufacturer clarified that this is a fruit squeezer, so there's no deception there.
I like a bit of a bulb in my juices, and after squeezing the grapefruit, this is what it looks like. Hubby and I figured that in the summertime we could then chop up the remains and use them for water bottle infusers.
This equipment is heavy-duty and great for a restaurant setting, so can you imagine how efficient it is for me on my boat?
I can have a full glass of tasty grapefruit juice with my breakfast in just minutes.
This is how simple it is to use.
- Place equipment on the counter.
- Cut grapefruit in half.
- Place half a grapefruit in the receptacle
- Place a glass for the juice receiver.
- Pull down the lever.
- Discard pulp
- Insert the second half of the grapefruit and repeat the steps.
It's a no-fuss piece of equipment that requires no maintenance, just a quick rinse of the receptacle.
It took 2 grapefruits to fill this jar. That required me to pull and release the lever four times, and voila!
This was the grapefruit with the tomatoes and beetroot. There's a slight difference in the colour of the plain grapefruit, so it worked to an extent.
However, to maximise the equipment's fullest potential, it's best to stick to its intended purpose of squeezing fruit.
The brand is Lumaland Stainless Steel Fruit Juicer if you're looking for a specialised fruit squeezer that's robust and efficient.
The RRP seems to be anywhere from £75 to £150.
So, tell me, are you a juice lover? The price for a single grapefruit is £0.49. To make this jar that I'm holding is £0.98 (for 2 grapefruit)—no additives, no preserves, no concentration, just the good ole' juice.
If this was within your budget, wouldn't it be worth a purchase, even at the full price?