Nothing beats the sweltering heat of a hot day like a tall, cold glass of lemonade. Or maybe it’s cocktail hour, and an authentic Lemon Drop sounds like just the drink to hit the spot; either way, this calls for fresh lemon juice, which means it’s time to grab a lemon squeezer and get to work. But just how much work do you want to do, especially before cocktail hour? Do you need a handheld squeezer that gives you a forearm workout while you squeeze, or do you prefer the pull-down style, or even electric? With such a wide variety of styles, designs, and price points to choose from, we decided it was time to get cracking on some lemon-flavored homework. Here are our five favorite lemon squeezers. Zulay Kitchen Premium Lemon-Lime Squeezer Hip Hip Zulay!Featuring a simple but efficient design and aluminum durability, the Zulay Kitchen Premium Lemon-Lime Squeezer wins our top honor.Best OverallFind on Amazon If ever there was a classic lemon squeezer, the Zulay Kitchen Premium is it. With it’s bright yellow, non-toxic, lead-free coating over durable aluminum handles, this is the design you’ve seen in the kitchen for decades. We love it because it’s engineered to be gentle on your hands and fingers while still providing the maximum amount of torque against your fruit, assuring as little waste as possible. The BPA-free seed cup is another excellent feature: it fits snugly into the unit, allowing you to control the amount of pulp while preventing any seeds from getting in your juice. It’s easy to store anywhere, and the whole unit is dishwasher safe. Pros: Also comes in red & midnight black Lifetime money-back guarantee Strong enough to use in restaurants Cons: Coating can chip if unit is dropped Best with smaller lemons Bellemain Stainless Steel Lemon Squeezer Squeeze Lemons, Not HandsWith its ergonomically-designed handles coated with protective silicone, Bellemain delivers the most comfortable lemon squeezer.Best Ergonomic SqueezerFind on Amazon No one wants to need the forearm strength of Popeye and the hands of The Incredible Hulk just to squeeze enough juice for a lemon meringue pie. Bellemain has developed the solution. Constructed with 18/10 thick-casted stainless steel, reinforced hinges and strong levers coated with soft silicone, the Bellemain Lemon Squeezer is not only one of the most durable squeezers on the market, but the most gentle on your hand. Perfect for after a day of harvesting lemons – and even optimized for limes as well – you won’t get muscle fatigue using this one. When finished, throw the whole unit in the dishwasher. Missed the dishwasher? Don’t worry – stainless steel doesn’t chip! Pros: No-questions-asked money-back guarantee Won’t corrode Grooved for optimal juice flow Cons: Inner bowl can become pitted Careful not to lose removable silicone handles Cuisinart CCJ-500 Pulp Control Citrus Juicer Hands Free Is Care FreeFor serious juicers who want to leave their hands out of it, Cuisinart’s CCJ-500 does all the work.Best Electric Lemon SqueezerFind on Amazon When you’re making lemonade for the whole family – the whole extended family – you want to leave the hand-squeezer in the drawer. Enter the Cuisinart CCJ-500 Pulp Control Citrus Juicer, an electric lemon squeezer from a trusted name that gets the job done fast and efficiently. Flip up the protective cover and you’ll find a universal juicing cone that fits lemons, limes and other fruits. Use any of the 3 pulp-control settings to suit your taste and watch the magic happen. There’s an auto-reverse feature to increase efficiency, with a “Final Spin” mode to extract the maximum amount of juice. The juice spout is extra long to prevent drips and accommodate more varied styles of glasses. When you’re finished, simply put the removable parts in the dishwasher for easy cleaning, and voila! Bon appetit. Pros: Brushed stainless steel exterior Cord storage in rear BPA-free plastic components Cons: Assembly required for use Takes up valuable counter space Rovsun Citrus Hand Press Here Comes The RovsunUsing the power of leverage (and shoulder strength), Rovsun’s Citrus Press can be more effective than hand-squeezers. Best Press SqueezerFind on Amazon The Hand Press (or “Hand Crank”) style of lemon squeezer is another popular design, as it takes the muscle burden off your hands and fingers and distributes it to your arm and shoulders through a lever-press system. Constructed from heavy-duty cast iron and 304 stainless steel, the Rovsun Citrus Hand Press is a commercial-grade lemon squeezer that’s optimized to extract every bit of juice possible. Simply cut the fruit, place it in the pulp-and-seed strainer, and pull down the handle. Unlike an electric juicer, the hand-pull does not rub the rind, so none of the bitter, peel flavor gets into your juice. Perfect for folks who need a hand with their juicing! Pros: Handle locks into place Sturdy rubber footings Reinforced base provides stability Cons: Not easy to store Can’t be placed in dishwasher ARK Reamer EZ Lemon Juicer Easy Peasy Lemon SqueezyWhen all you want to do is go with what you know, the ARK Reamer EZ Lemon Juicer makes it, well, easy.Best SimplicityFind on Amazon If you’re looking for all the functionality of the traditional lemon squeezer plus a few extra, 21st-century improvements, you’re looking for the ARK Reamer EZ Lemon Juicer. Just like the kind that sat on grandma’s counter for all those years, this one is a simple one-piece ream-top with drip-cup attachment: no moving parts, no mess, no hard-to-clean pieces. The improvements? An anti-slip bottom ring on the drip cup and a reamer designed to require 37% less effort for 23% more juice. Made from FDA certified food-grade plastic, the reamer can be turned over and affixed to the drip cup so that only three inches are required for storage. Why reinvent the wheel when this classic works so well? Pros: Small, family business in New York No lead, no heavy metals, no aluminum Dishwasher safe Cons: Smaller seeds slip through the slots Not for customers with arthritis Frequently Asked Questions Which design gets the most juice out of a lemon? There’s a simple answer here and a science answer as well. The science answer is a calculation of the volume of your lemon, the moisture content of the pulp and the amount of energy being exerted per square centimeter on the lemon. But let’s KISS (keep it simple, stupid!) by turning to the simple answer instead. Use your favorite squeezer and squeeze a lemon half. Then, look at the juice and the squeezed lemon half. If you’re not satisfied with the results – too little juice or too much pulp remaining – then consider getting a different style of juicer. Is fresh-squeezed lemon juice more nutritious than the juice that comes from the store in the lemon-shaped plastic bottle? Yes. Fresh-squeezed lemon juice contains significantly higher levels of vitamin C than the bottled variety, though both seem to have a similar amount of potassium. However, bottled lemon juice typically contains sulphur dioxide, a preservative. If you’re trying to keep preservatives out of your diet or if you have an allergy to sulphur dioxide, it’s best to avoid processed lemon juice. I’ve got an orange juicer I’ve used for years. Why don’t I just use that on my lemons? Lemon and lime juicers are all about efficiency: how do you get the maximum amount of juice out of this particular fruit? Lemons (and limes especially) are smaller than oranges, shaped differently, and often have a larger skin-to-pulp ratio. Therefore, lemon squeezers are specifically designed to optimize the juice from Lisbon or Eureka lemons, Meyer lemons, Mexican limes, limequats and even Tahiti or Rangpur limes. The principle behind orange squeezers is certainly the same as lemon squeezers, but you risk getting a less-than-optimal amount of juice from your lemon if you use one instead. Related posts:Powered by SearchIQ The Top 5 Frisbees Read more The Best Pooper Scoopers Read more The Best Pooper Scoopers Read more The Best Pooper Scoopers Read more