Fresh-Squeezed Orange Juice
Make orange juice at home, no matter what kitchen tools you own
Yield: 2 Glasses
Cost: $9
Equipment
- 1 Manual citrus juicer Optionally, use your hands, a fork, citrus reamer, hand juicer, hand-held manual pressure juicer, or commercial grade manual hand press juicer
- 2 Glasses
- 1 Kitchen knife
Materials
- 16 medium Valencia oranges
- 1 splash White vinegar optional
Instructions
- Wash the outsides of the oranges in warm water or vinegar diluted in warm water
- Slice each orange in half, cutting midway between the stem and blossom ends
- Squeeze one orange half at a time over a glass until you've squeezed half of your sliced-orange pile
Squeeze Oranges Using Your Hands, a Fork, or Citrus Reamer
- Over a glass or a larger pitcher first, squeeze one orange at a time in your palm, skin-side against your palm. Dig your fingers into the juicy sections to wring more juice
- Press a fork into the sections of an orange half, twisting and mashing to express as much juice into a glass as possible
- Using a citrus reamer, press the reamer point into the small space in the center of the orange half, rolling the reamer in waves from the center out, along the peel edge, keeping the orange half held on its side over a glass
Filter The Orange Juice (Optional)
- Pour each glass of fresh juice through a sieve held over another container to remove the pulp
Notes
Mix and match different types of oranges. Here in Colombia, my favorite juice locale uses half Valencias plus half mandarins for extra sweetness. Test different oranges in different seasons grown in different places.
Fresh orange juice changes in flavor depending on the time of year, no matter which variety you stick with. Last month I bought super sweet and tangy straight Valencia juice from a road stand, and last week the same Valencia juice tasted of half water, and was more expensive. The vendor said oranges were harder to come by due to the cold, rainy weather we've had lately that's diluting their sugars and pushing back their ripening.
