How to Use a Lemon Juicer (Which Way the Lemon Goes, Every Type)

You pick up a lemon squeezer, put the lemon in, squeeze, and juice shoots straight into your eye. Or you get three sad drops and a lemon that still looks full. Almost everyone has been there. The tool isn’t the problem. It’s usually the direction of the lemon.

This guide covers how to use a lemon juicer of every common type, from the yellow handheld squeezer in most kitchen drawers to wooden reamers, lever presses and electric citrus juicers. You’ll learn which way the lemon goes, how to get noticeably more juice from each one, and how to pick the right juicer for how often you actually juice lemons.

Quick answer: Cut the lemon in half across the middle. For a handheld squeezer, put the half in cut side down, facing the holes, and squeeze the handles together slowly and firmly. For a reamer, press the cut side onto the ridged cone and twist. For an electric juicer, press the cut half onto the spinning cone. A room-temperature or briefly microwaved lemon gives more juice.

Types of Lemon Juicers (and Which One You Have)

“Lemon juicer” can mean several different tools. The method depends on which one is in your hand.

Type	How it works	Best for	Example
Handheld squeezer (press)	Two hinged cups crush a lemon half	Everyday lemons and limes, cocktails	Chef’n FreshForce
Handheld wooden reamer	Ridged cone you twist into the fruit	A lemon or two, small drawers	OXO Good Grips Wooden Reamer
Reamer with cup	Ridged cone over a strainer and measuring cup	Measuring juice for recipes	OXO Good Grips Small Citrus Juicer
Lever citrus press	Countertop press with a long handle	Big batches, lemonade, bars	Zulay Kitchen Cast Iron Juicer
Electric citrus juicer	Motorized cone spins as you press	Lots of citrus, including oranges and grapefruit	BLACK+DECKER CJ625

If you’re thinking of a machine that juices carrots, apples and greens too, that’s a different category. Our guides to the best juicers and commercial masticating juicers cover those, and pressed apples are their own story in our look at the difference between apple juice and apple cider.

How to Prep Lemons for Juicing

A few seconds of prep makes a real difference, no matter which juicer you use.

1. Bring the lemon to room temperature. Cold lemons are firmer and give up less juice. If you store lemons in the fridge, take one out a while before you need it.
2. Or microwave it briefly. The Kitchn compared cold lemons with microwaved ones and found that 20 seconds on high gave noticeably more juice. Their batch of unheated lemons gave just under 2/3 cup, while the batch microwaved for 20 seconds gave 3/4 cup. Ten seconds barely helped.
3. Roll it on the counter. Press down with your palm and roll the lemon back and forth a few times. This softens the fruit and makes it easier to squeeze.
4. Zest first if you need zest. Once a lemon is juiced, it’s almost impossible to zest. Grate it while it’s whole.
5. Cut it across the middle. Slice the lemon in half through its “equator,” not end to end. This exposes all the juice segments to the juicer.

A sharp knife and a stable board help here. If your knives struggle with lemon peel, run them over a knife sharpener or look at a decent knife set under $100, and our comparison of forged vs stamped knives explains what you’re paying for. In a tight kitchen, an over-the-sink cutting board gives you a juicing station right where the drips can go straight down the drain.

How to Use a Handheld Lemon Squeezer

This is the hinged, two-handled tool most people mean when they say “lemon juicer.” It’s also the one people most often use the wrong way.

Which way does the lemon go?

Cut side down, facing the holes. The rounded peel side faces up, toward the top cup. When you squeeze, the top cup pushes the lemon half inside out, and juice flows down through the holes into your bowl or glass.

It feels backward because the bottom cup is shaped like a bowl, so it looks like the lemon should sit in it like an egg in a cup. But if you put the cut side up, the juice has nowhere to go but sideways and up. America’s Test Kitchen’s guide to manual citrus juicers confirms that halved citrus goes in cut side down in a press.

Step by step

1. Cut the lemon in half across the middle.
2. Open the squeezer and place one half in the bottom cup, cut side down against the holes.
3. Hold it over a bowl, measuring cup or glass. Holding it over a small strainer catches any seeds that slip through.
4. Squeeze the handles together slowly and firmly. A slow squeeze sprays less than a quick snap.
5. Once the handles meet, open the squeezer, flip the spent half out, and repeat.

Want to squeeze a little more? After the first press, give the lemon a quarter turn and squeeze again. Some people also slice a small piece off the far end of the lemon half before squeezing, a trick Food Republic covered, which gives the juice another way out and can make squeezing easier on your hands.

Why press-style squeezers work well

America’s Test Kitchen found that press designs beat reamers on both speed and yield. Their top handheld pick, the Chef’n FreshForce, uses a gear mechanism for extra leverage. ATK also noticed a flavor difference: presses squeeze the rind too, releasing some of the peel’s oils, which made the juice more aromatic than juice from reamers.

Consumer Reports also named the Chef’n FreshForce its Editor’s Choice among citrus squeezers, noting its deep well cuts down on splashing, though it should be washed by hand.

How to Use a Citrus Reamer

A reamer is a ridged cone. The handheld wooden kind looks a bit like a small club. Others sit on top of a bowl or cup with a strainer.

Handheld wooden reamer

1. Hold a lemon half in one hand, cut side up, over a bowl or a small strainer.
2. Push the tip of the reamer into the center of the fruit.
3. Twist back and forth while pressing down, moving toward the edges as the middle empties.
4. Squeeze the peel with your hand at the end to get the last bit.

This is the smallest and cheapest option, and it lives happily in a utensil drawer. The downside is that seeds and pulp go right into your bowl, so juice over a strainer.

Reamer with a cup or bowl

1. Set the juicer on the counter so it’s stable.
2. Press a lemon half, cut side down, onto the cone.
3. Twist the fruit back and forth while pressing down. The strainer catches seeds and the cup below collects the juice.
4. Check the measurement marks on the cup, then pour.

Juicers like the OXO Good Grips 2-in-1 Citrus Juicer come with two cones, one for lemons and limes and one for oranges. Consumer Reports picked it as the most versatile squeezer and found it produced the most juice of the models it tested. The small OXO version has a 2.5-ounce cup that’s handy for measuring juice straight into cocktails or dressings.

How to Use a Lever Citrus Press

A lever press is a heavy countertop juicer with a long handle. It’s the kind you’ll see at juice bars and lemonade stands.

1. Set the press on a flat, stable counter. Place a glass or pitcher under the spout.
2. Raise the handle all the way up.
3. Place a lemon half in the bottom cone or cup, cut side down.
4. Pull the handle down slowly and firmly. The top cup presses the fruit against the bottom.
5. Lift the handle, remove the peel, and repeat.

These are fast. ATK found its top countertop press, from Zulay Kitchen, juiced 10 lemons in under 3 minutes, the quickest of all the juicers it compared. The catch is size and weight. A cast iron press takes up real counter or cupboard space, so it makes the most sense if you juice a lot of citrus often, and these small kitchen cabinet organization ideas help you find a shelf for it.

How to Use an Electric Citrus Juicer

Electric citrus juicers do the twisting for you. Most start spinning when you press fruit down on the cone.

1. Assemble the juicer: base, juice container, strainer and cone. Choose the small cone for lemons and limes.
2. Plug it in.
3. Press a lemon half, cut side down, onto the cone. On pressure-activated models like the BLACK+DECKER CJ625, the motor starts when you push down.
4. Keep steady pressure. The CJ625’s cone switches direction automatically to pull out more juice.
5. Lift the fruit to stop the motor, remove the peel, and repeat.
6. Pour the juice from the built-in spout.

The CJ625 comes with two cones (a smaller one for lemons, limes and oranges and a larger one for grapefruit), an adjustable pulp control, and dishwasher-safe removable parts. An electric juicer is a good choice if you make fresh orange juice regularly or have trouble squeezing with your hands, though it competes for outlet space with the other small kitchen appliances for cooking for one.

Which Lemon Juicer Should You Use?

Match the tool to how you actually use lemons.

If you…	Use	Why
Squeeze a lemon or two for dinner	Handheld squeezer	Fast, strong yield, fits in a drawer
Have a tiny kitchen with little storage	Wooden reamer or small handheld squeezer	Smallest footprint
Need exact amounts for baking or cocktails	Reamer with a measuring cup	Juice goes straight into a marked cup
Make lemonade or juice a bag at a time	Lever press	Fastest for big batches
Juice oranges and grapefruit too	Electric juicer or 2-in-1 reamer	Multiple cone sizes
Find squeezing hard on your hands	Electric juicer or geared squeezer	Less hand strength needed

How to Get More Juice From Every Lemon

Here’s everything that helps, in one place:

• Warm it up. Room temperature, or 20 seconds in the microwave for a cold lemon.
• Roll it. A firm roll on the counter softens the fruit.
• Cut crosswise. Across the middle, not end to end.
• Use a press. ATK found presses outperformed reamers.
• Squeeze slowly. A slow, firm squeeze gets more juice and makes less mess.
• Turn and squeeze again. A quarter turn and a second press gets the last bit.
• Pick heavy lemons. A lemon that feels heavy for its size usually has more juice.

For how much juice to expect, this table uses figures from A Couple Cooks. Our full guide on how much juice is in one lemon goes deeper, and our ounces and quarts conversion guide handles the tablespoon-to-cup math.

Lemon size	Juice per lemon	Lemons for 1/2 cup	Lemons for 1 cup
Small	About 2 tbsp	About 4	About 8
Medium	About 3 tbsp	About 3	About 6
Large	About 4 tbsp (1/4 cup)	About 2	About 4

Common Lemon Juicing Mistakes

• Putting the lemon in upside down. In a handheld squeezer, cut side down is right. Cut side up sprays juice everywhere.
• Juicing lemons straight from the fridge. Cold fruit gives less juice.
• Cutting lemons end to end. You miss much of the juice this way.
• Squeezing too fast. A hard snap sprays pulp and juice around the sides.
• Using the wrong size squeezer. A lime squeezer can’t close fully on a big lemon, and an orange squeezer is loose on a lime.
• Letting pulp dry on the juicer. Dried pulp is much harder to scrub off. Rinse right away.
• Skipping the strainer. Most handheld squeezers catch seeds well, but small seeds can slip through. A strainer costs nothing and saves you picking seeds out of a dressing.

How to Clean and Care for a Lemon Juicer

Rinse your juicer right after you use it. Lemon pulp and juice dry on fast, and dried pulp sticks in the holes.

1. Rinse under warm water, flushing the holes or strainer from the back.
2. Wash with warm soapy water and a small brush for the holes.
3. Dry fully before putting it away.

Dishwasher or hand wash? Check the care instructions. Many plastic juicers and enameled or coated aluminum squeezers are dishwasher safe, while others are hand wash only. A Consumer Reports materials expert explained that citrus juice has little or no effect on stainless steel or coated aluminum, but bare aluminum is badly affected by dishwasher detergent. If your squeezer’s coating is chipping or peeling, it’s time to replace it.

Electric juicers usually have dishwasher-safe removable parts, but the motor base should only be wiped with a damp cloth. If your dishwasher itself is leaving spots and film on tools, it may need attention too. Here’s how to clean a dishwasher.

How to Store Fresh Lemon Juice

Squeezed more than you need? It keeps.

• Fridge: About 2 to 3 days in a sealed glass or plastic container, according to StillTasty.
• Freezer: Pour juice into an ice cube tray or a small silicone mold, like Souper Cubes 2 Tbsp trays, freeze, then move the cubes to a freezer bag. It keeps its best quality for about 3 to 4 months. Leave a little headspace in any container, since liquid expands as it freezes.

Measured frozen portions make it easy to drop exactly what you need into a recipe. A set of airtight food storage containers is handy for keeping the fridge juice fresh and the frozen cubes from picking up odors.

Small Kitchen Tips for Lemon Juicers

If your drawers are already full, you don’t need a big citrus setup.

• One tool is enough. A handheld squeezer or a wooden reamer handles almost every home cooking job. Skip the electric juicer unless you juice oranges often.
• Store it smartly. Handheld squeezers are awkward in a drawer because the handles splay. Hang it on a hook or a utensil rail, or give it a spot in a drawer divider. These countertop organization ideas for a small kitchen cover the rail-and-hook approach. These tips on organizing kitchen drawers in a small kitchen and vertical storage ideas for small kitchens help find room for awkward tools.
• Buy lemons as you need them. If you cook for one, a lemon or two a week is often plenty, and freezing extra juice means nothing goes to waste, which fits the routines in our guide to easy meal prep for one person in a small kitchen.

A good squeezer is one of the small tools that earns its spot. It shows up in our list of small kitchen gadgets worth buying when you cook for one, and it belongs on the checklist for stocking a small kitchen for solo cooking.

What to Make With Fresh Lemon Juice

Once you’ve got a juicer you like, you’ll find uses everywhere:

• Lemonade and iced tea. Fresh juice makes a big difference. If you brew iced tea at home, see the best iced tea makers or learn how to use a Mr. Coffee iced tea maker.
• Dressings and marinades. A quick lemon vinaigrette is just juice, oil, salt and a little mustard. An immersion blender makes it creamy and stable, and our picks for the best immersion blenders show what to look for.
• Smoothies. A squeeze of lemon brightens green smoothies. Our picks for the best blenders for smoothies can handle whole fruit and ice, and our NutriBullet vs Ninja blender comparison weighs two popular personal models.
• Cocktails and mocktails. Measure fresh juice straight into the glass with a reamer and cup. Plenty of clear ice helps, and a home ice maker keeps it coming.

The Bottom Line on Using a Lemon Juicer

Using a lemon juicer comes down to a few simple moves. Warm and roll the lemon, cut it across the middle, and in a handheld squeezer put it in cut side down, facing the holes. Squeeze slowly. For small jobs, a handheld squeezer or reamer is all you need. For big batches, a lever press or electric juicer saves time and hand strength. Rinse it right away, and you’ll get the most juice from every lemon with none in your eye.

Related Guides

• How Much Juice Is in One Lemon?
• Top 6 Best Juicers With a Buyers Guide
• Small Kitchen Gadgets Worth Buying When You Cook for One
• How to Organize Kitchen Drawers in a Small Kitchen
• How to Stock a Small Kitchen for Solo Cooking
• Best Blenders for Smoothies
• Difference Between Apple Juice and Apple Cider
• 7 Best Knife Sharpeners
• How Many Ounces in a Quart?

Frequently Asked Questions

Which way do you put a lemon in a lemon squeezer?

Put the lemon half in cut side down, facing the holes, with the rounded peel side up toward the top handle. When you squeeze, the top cup pushes the peel inside out and forces juice down through the holes. If you put it in cut side up, juice sprays out the sides and at you. It feels backward the first time, but cut side down is correct.

How do you get the most juice out of a lemon?

Start with a room-temperature lemon, or microwave a cold one for about 20 seconds. Roll it firmly on the counter, then cut it in half across the middle, not end to end. Use a press-style juicer and squeeze slowly and firmly. America's Test Kitchen found that press-style juicers got more juice, faster, than reamers.

Can you put a lemon squeezer in the dishwasher?

It depends on the material. Many enameled or coated aluminum squeezers and plastic juicers are dishwasher safe, but some, like the Chef'n FreshForce, are recommended for hand washing. Bare, uncoated aluminum reacts badly with dishwasher detergent and can darken. Check the maker's care instructions and rinse any juicer right after use so pulp doesn't dry on.

How much juice is in one lemon?

A medium lemon gives about 3 tablespoons of juice, a small lemon about 2 tablespoons, and a large lemon about 4 tablespoons, or a quarter cup. For a full cup of juice, plan on about 6 medium lemons or 4 large ones. A good press-style juicer helps you get close to those numbers.

Can you use a lemon juicer for limes and oranges?

Yes, with the right size. Handheld squeezers come in lime, lemon and orange sizes, and a lemon-size squeezer handles limes well. Oranges usually need a bigger squeezer, a large reamer cone, or an electric juicer. Many reamer-style juicers, like the OXO 2-in-1, come with two cone sizes for small and large citrus.

How long does fresh lemon juice last?

Freshly squeezed lemon juice keeps for about 2 to 3 days in a sealed container in the fridge. For longer storage, freeze it in ice cube trays or small silicone molds, then move the cubes to a freezer bag. It keeps its best quality for about 3 to 4 months in the freezer.