Manual Juicing 101: How to Get More Juice With Less Effort

Manual juicing is one of the simplest ways to add fresh flavour to your day. It’s quick, it doesn’t take up much space, and it’s far easier to clean than most electric options. Whether you’re squeezing a lemon into a pasta sauce, making a lime-heavy drink, or just fancying a proper glass of orange juice on a slow morning, doing it by hand gives you control over everything: how much juice you get, how much pulp ends up in the glass, and how bright the flavour tastes.

The key to getting good results with manual juicing isn’t strength. It’s prep, pressure, and knowing when to stop.

The first thing that helps is starting with fruit that actually wants to give you juice. Citrus that’s been sitting in the fridge can be firm and stingy, so if you can, let it come closer to room temperature before you begin. Even a short rest on the counter makes a difference. A quick roll under your palm on the worktop also helps. You’re not trying to squash it flat, just gently loosen the inside so the segments break down more easily when you press.

How you cut your citrus matters more than most people think. For lemons, limes, and oranges, cutting across the middle usually exposes more of the juice-bearing segments than slicing from end to end. That wider surface area makes it easier to extract juice efficiently and reduces the temptation to overwork the fruit. If you’re using a handheld squeezer, this cut often feels more stable, too.

Once you’re ready to juice, aim for steady pressure rather than a sharp, sudden squeeze. A slow press gives the juice time to flow and tends to extract more without forcing bitter flavours into the mix. This matters because when you crush fruit too aggressively, you can start pushing out harshness from the pith and peel oils. You’ll still get liquid, but the taste can turn a bit rough, especially if you’re juicing for drinking rather than cooking. If you want to squeeze a little more out of each half, a second gentle press after a small rotation can help, but if the peel feels flattened and dry, you’ve already got what you’re going to get.

Pulp and seeds are mostly about your preferred texture, not right or wrong. If you like a thicker, more “freshly squeezed” feel, let the pulp stay in. If you prefer it smoother, a quick pass through a small sieve is all it takes. Seeds are best removed, not because they’re dangerous in small amounts, but because they can add bitterness if they break. The easiest approach is simply to strain the juice as you pour, or to choose a tool that naturally catches seeds as it presses.

Different manual juicers suit different rhythms. A handheld squeezer is brilliant for day-to-day lemons and limes because it’s fast and tidy, and it keeps things controlled for cocktails and cooking. A reamer is a very simple option when you only need a small amount and don’t mind a bit more pulp. A lever press is the most comfortable choice if you juice oranges often or do batches, because it spreads the effort and can feel much easier on your hands and wrists. Whichever you use, the best results still come from the same principles: warm fruit, a good cut, and a slow press.

Cleaning is where manual juicing really wins, but only if you do it straight away. Citrus sugars dry sticky, and pulp dries into little cement-like fibres, so the easiest habit is to rinse the tool immediately after you finish. Warm water and a quick wash is usually enough. If your juicer has grooves or holes, a small brush (even an old toothbrush) makes it effortless. For metal tools, drying properly is worth it too, especially where water can sit in hinges or seams.

If you want to store your juice, it’s best treated as something you’ll use soon rather than something that lasts all week. Fresh juice tastes brightest the day it’s made, and it usually stays pleasant for a day or two in the fridge if sealed well. For cooking, freezing in an ice cube tray is a genuinely useful trick, because you can drop a cube of lemon or lime into sauces, marinades, and dressings whenever you need it without any waste.

Manual juicing doesn’t need to be complicated. Once you get the feel for it, it becomes one of those small kitchen routines that makes everything taste a bit more alive, with barely any effort at all.