Lemon squeezer
A lemon squeezer is a kitchen appliance for pressing juice from citrus fruits such as lemons or limes. Versatile is the juicer, with which, often be ironed out by means of interchangeable cones, larger fruits such as oranges, grapefruits and pomelos. But this device is also based on the much older principle of lemon squeezer.
The pulp of citrus fruit has a very high water content. The fruit juice is easy to squeeze out of the enclosed only by thin skins segments and the juice sacs even with low pressure. Therefore lemon juice can also win simply by expressing the in half cut lemon by hand. More productive, but it is to use a lemon squeezer.
Lemon juice is used for cooking and for making beverages world. In Europe it has been used since the Middle Ages for many recipes. However lemons were expressed for a long time only by hand. Lemon squeezers can be detected only for the early 18th century. Since then, various types have been developed with different operating principles which can be made from a variety of different materials. Until June 2007, over 300 patents have been applied for novel lemon squeezers. Depending on whether the lemon squeezer is designed for household use or for gastronomy, there are handy little models, however, require a higher effort, bulkier models that can be operated with little effort, or electrically operated presses.
History
Early lemon squeezers
The oldest known lemon squeezers were found in the Turkish city of Kutahya and date from the first quarter of the 18th century. These ceramic presses in typical Turkish pottery of the 18th century style have a superficial resemblance to conventional devices today with press cone, but are constructed differently. The pressing cone is hollow and perforated at the base. Inside it comprises a column which ends in a hole at the bottom of the press. Due to this structure juice flowing only through the bottom when the liquid level has reached a certain level, and may flow over the edge of the cone located within the cylinder. Such copies were not mass produced, but were custom-made for easier preparation of the then-popular lemon juice -based drink sherbet. Although a more preserved Turkish lemon squeezer comes from 1741. Lemons do not grow naturally in Northern Turkey, but were imported in large quantities to Constantinople Opel in the 17th and 18th centuries.
In the 18th century, were pressing for lemons also used in Europe. Presumably this worked on the model of potato mashers: tong-like devices that, like modern press garlic presses, the fruits with a plunger in a cylinder with holes from which the juice seeping out. The writer Jean Paul mentioned already in 1798 such lemon presser: " ... I say, if its not the minutes berry auskeltertet at each grape hours at least with some lemon oppressors --- because in the end what would it be? "
Presumably you used does not necessarily specially made lemon oppressor but also used simply existing potato mashers for lemons. This suggests a quotation from the dairy in the Vehfreude of Jeremias Gotthelf from 1850 about the customers something dubious traveling dealer: " This poor devils there often was made in such markets as the lemons in the B. S.: there they are in fact pressed at three different times to punch the first time with the thumb, the second time with his fist, the third time with a potato oppressors. " This quote clearly describes that the mechanical pressing is the expressions by hand ultimately superior.
In England, lemon squeezers learned probably even later in the second half of the 19th century, widespread in France, what is the fact that they were not mentioned in dictionaries.
Mechanization in the 19th century
End of the 19th century a large number of patents have been filed on novel lemon squeezers. To date (June 2007) listed the United States Patent and Trademark Office more than 200 patents for lemon squeezers, the vast majority of these patents pending 1880-1910. The oldest U.S. patent was filed by Lewis P. Chichester on July 3, 1860. It was a pliers- shaped model made of cast iron. According to the specification, the model of Chichester over the conventional presses was to operate with less effort.
A similar wooden equipment is passed since 1857 among students of Trinity College in Dublin. Originally a utensil for the preparation of punch, established William W. Niles, later Bishop of New Hampshire, the custom, in each case in the " Class Day" pass the Lemon Squeezer to the most promising following year transition. It developed then fights and rivalries for the award, the Lemon Squeezer was repeatedly raped in the sequence, so that now there are several reputed original equipment in circulation. The tradition persists to this day.
The turn of the century, 19-20. Century filed patents show a variety of different operating principles. They range from small model for use at the table, with the display individual squeeze lemon wedges over a glass or dish, to the elaborate mechanical apparatus that is attached with clamps firmly at the kitchen table or counter. It is striking that almost all of these patents only put pressure on the lemon or lemon half without the lemon half would thereby rotated. The patents differ especially in the various mechanisms how this pressure acting on the fruit is produced. This usually made it the leverage or the pressing action of screw presses advantage. How large was the proportion of ever actually produced for the market units under these patents can no longer comprehend.
Dunlap, 1890
Barrett, 1893
Wilson, 1886
Morgan, 1896
Walker, 1897
Filler, 1910
Carroll, 1915
The " Egg of Columbus " - lemon squeezers pressed glass
"Then they talked about the lemon press made of glass, the egg of Columbus', as he called it. That is, he said, and she yawned inwardly, understanding and participating. If you remember, in earlier times, terrible. Thumbs spasm could get one, and half the juice remained in the lemon sit, and the nuclei were unnecessary in the glass. But now, with the glazed lemon press for 50 Heller, the juice runs down to you like a clear brook in the lower channel, while the unnecessary nuclei lie in the upper channel. The shell itself but inside is dry as the Gobi desert. Only now could be a usurer and a cocotte say: " I have it squeezed like a lemon ' " lets Peter Altenberg in 1900 published prose sketch Flirt the protagonist say to his beloved and describes so vividly that the little lemon squeezers made of pressed glass that against end of the 19th century had emerged as kitchen appliances for home use, not only deceptively simple worked, but were also affordable and priced for everyone.
In a published since 1873 cookbook thus it is called: "To win all the juice from a lemon, you break the peeled lemon apart, makes every piece in the same length after a cut and pressed it out. If one makes the other hand, cross-sections, so most of the juice cells remains intact and therefore gives very little juice. Lately missing probably no more households, the small glass exquisite lemon squeezer. " This glass " Egg of Columbus "was the first lemon squeezer outside Turkey, with which you express lemons not only but still by the rotation of the lemon half on a fluted cone also could squeeze out the last drops of juice from the fruit. Basically, this principle has remained unchanged and embodies the proverbial lemon squeezer, a term that in a figurative sense, buildings such as St. Engelbert 's church by the architect Dominic Böhm in Cologne- Riehl, the dome of the Academy of Fine Arts Dresden by Constantin Lipsius, the tower completion of the Bethany Church of purpose & Voigt in Leipzig or the felt hats ( Lemon Squeezer Hats) of the New Zealand Army vividly describes. To date, lemon squeezers are made in a modification of this original model made of different materials.
Operation
Basically, all lemon squeezer models pressure exerted on the fruit, so that the juice retaining in the fruit skins burst and the juice can run out. The lemon squeezer itself must withstand this pressure, so soft, easily deformable materials are unsuitable. Because the lemon juice is very acidic, suitable only acid-resistant materials. Depending on the model the whole unpeeled fruit, a lemon half or a lemon wedge is pressed.
Lemon pliers or lever handle, lever presses and small presses for individual slices lemon juice produce exclusively using the spent pressing pressure. With tongs lemon fruit is squeezed into a cylinder or hemisphere with a roll, conical or hemispherical counterpart in a kind of pliers, so that the juice runs out through holes in the cylinder. While the seeds and flesh retained in the interior. These presses were originally usually made of wood, but now also made of stainless metal. The juice comes out on the back of the press, so that the juice flowing outwards at the lemon zest along. Here, the juice takes addition to essential oils from the peel.
This method is applied in a more developed form in the common in the catering arm presses. It is fixed heavy equipment. The pulp is crushed by the lever action of a hemisphere, which presses from above on the seated on a cone half lemon. The emerging fruit juice is separated by a filter or a sieve of pulp and seeds. Modern lever presses are made of stainless steel.
Small lemon squeezers for juicing individual lemon wedges also work according to the principle of pliers. They usually consist of stainless steel or plastic. There are two different basic types, which are available in various decorative variants, for example, avian or fish-shaped. In the model of a lemon wedge lies along in a small pan, pressing from above a tongue-like counterpart to the pulp and the juice comes out of holes below the hinge. In the other model of the slice of lemon is transverse in a pincer which consists of two blade -like members, wherein the juice outlet at the sides of the blades.
In the method that has become generally established for domestic use, the juice is pressed out of the halved fruit by being on a convex cone whose surface has a longitudinal rib structure, rotated back and forth. For mechanically or electrically powered devices, the cone rotates among the fruit. Along the longitudinal grooves of the juice runs into a collecting vessel. Unlike pressing, the only function by means of pressure, the pulp surrounding skins are already torn up by the rotational movement over the finned cones in this operating principle. In combination with the pressure required here too, the juice comes out easily. The simplest model that makes use of this principle advantage is the cone on a simple handle. Such squeezers are traditionally made from wood, but there are also copies made of plastic. A disadvantage of this model is that the seeds and flesh are not retained and the acidic lemon juice runs almost inevitably on the user's hands.
Originally widespread model made of laminated glass has a running around the cone channel in which collects the juice. Seeds and flesh are intercepted by a jagged rim on the edge of the gutter. Some models also have a handle or a holding trough and a pouring spout. Today, these presses are usually made of plastic. Somewhat more complex models of two-piece metal or plastic of a removable upper part in the middle of the cone is located, with holes or slots through which the juice runs into the underlying collecting container. This vessel is usually, occasionally provided with a chute with a handle. Work just as pressing, which can be placed in or on a mug, can flow into the then the lemon juice. In almost all lemon squeezers this type of friction cone has equilateral and equiangular wedge cuts. However, a design study by Wilhelm Wagenfeld was in the 1950s show that scalene and ungleichwinklige saw-shaped incisions lead to a better utilization of the fruit. However, so that also for filtering of skins and cores, the saw-shaped ribs broke a lot more skins of the lemon zest, another solution had to be found.
Less exhausting are lemon squeezers, in which the cone rotates under the lemon. With a manually driven device, the movement of a hand crank is mechanically directed to the cone, so that it rotates. Because this is no longer the fruit back and forth, but only a hand crank must be rotated, these devices are more comfortable to use and more suitable for large quantities.
In electrical lemon presses the cone is a reduction gear of an electric motor - often a synchronous motor - is driven. The rotation start, when a fruit half is pressed on the cone. Automatic juicers take in addition the division of the fruits, the pressing and ejection. They are suitable for larger quantities and are generally used only in restaurants.
A completely different approach is taken by so-called Zitronenausgießer: It is sharp-edged tubes, usually made of metal, sometimes made of plastic, with ground slots that are completely twisted into a whole lemon. The cut edges of the pipe scraping the skins on the inside of the lemon. If the lemon is now compressed by hand, occurs at the puncture site of the metal tube from the juice. This method is particularly suitable for small quantities. The lemon can be kept in the refrigerator along with a spout for a few days.
Electrically operated juicer
Zitronenausgießer
Lemon tongs
The disposable Press
In the catering small halved lemons or limes are sometimes packed and tied in paper bag (alternatively, paper towels). Guests can squeeze out the juice by hand; Pulp and seeds are held back.
The bags can be disposed of together with their contents as kitchen waste.
The lemon squeezer as a decorative object
The only lemon squeezer that was known mainly for their designs is the Juicy Salif, 1987 designed by French designer Philippe Starck, since 1990, produced by the company Alessi. The idea for the design of the Juicy Salif said to have come at the sight of a squid Starck. Sketches on paper coaster of a restaurant, where Starck held his idea while eating, this formal derivation of the design show. The three-legged model made of cast aluminum with a rigid cone is 29 cm high and has neither a receptacle for the juice, seeds and flesh are still retained. According to Umberto Eco, this is probably because " that the client wanted to have no real lemon squeezer, but a work of art and conversation piece that would covet the buyer as an abstract sculpture ( which is very nice way to look at this disturbing as a deep sea monster ) or in any case. than a prestige object, not as a household appliance that you can practically use. " Starck applies among other things because of this design as a representative of an oriented semantics of design that the communicative function of an object rated higher than the practical Starck said to have declared, in fact, to criticism of the functioning of its object, the actual function is not the pressing of lemons, but the initiation of conversation. This becomes more evident considering an anniversary edition with gold coating, which brought out the Alessi company in 2000 in an edition of 9999 numbered copies and provided with the warning: " Juicy Salif Gold is a collector's item. Do not use it as a lemon squeezer: In case of contact with acidic substances, the gilding might suffer harm. "
As a result, Alessi and other producers of household items such as Koziol other designers lemon squeezers have brought to the market. To create a new conversation piece, but it has not succeeded. The lemon squeezer Juicy Salif has become an often cited and pictured emblem not only for the company Alessi and Philippe Starck, but also for the post-modern design infatuation of the 1980s, however.