Monday, January 18, 2021

Fresh Orange Juice

Last week I wrote about orange juice and its role in American life, now declining (blog post here). Today I'm posting photos from random web searches, illustrating various juice squeezers that have been used to squeeze juice by hand. I also found a few vintage orange juice serving sets and glasses from the olden days when people drank a small glass of juice almost every day -- these come up for sale on eBay, Etsy, and similar sites.


This Foley juicer/strainer was a classic. It fit over a container such as a
Pyrex measuring cup, so the juice you squeezed could be measured out.

A classic for squeezing juice by hand: still available.
You have to strain the juice or pick the seeds out.

Older version, maybe Depression Glass.
 
My old but still working citrus juicer.
I use a wooden reamer for lemons, but not for oranges.

If you are interested in buying a juicer, here's an article for you: "The 8 Best Citrus Juicers of 2021." Prices range from $7 for a wooden reamer to $295 for a powerful electric juicer.

Juice Glasses from the Fifties and Sixties

Note that most juice glasses held 4 to 6 ounces of juice. They were often decorated with fruit motifs in various styles.





There's nothing like this available new these days!

Kraft Pimento Cheese Spread in a glass 
Cheese, jelly, peanut butter, and other processed foods were, and are, packaged in drinking glasses with pry-off lids. You could easily wash these, remove the label, and use the container for your drinks. When I was a child, we drank orange juice from the jars from Kraft cheese spread, as well as from other glasses, which constantly broke and had to be replaced. Several flavors of Kraft cheese spread are still available in such glasses, though my taste in cheese has changed. (For a history of pimento cheese see this site.)

Juice glasses from the early 1900s.


I'm sure that many people will recognize these styles of squeezers and glasses from their own experiences, both past and present. Quite a few people, in response to my post from last week, mentioned that they remember drinking from little juice glasses when they were children -- or they still do. I'm sharing with Elizabeth and the many bloggers who participate in her celebration of drinks!

Finally, on a completely different subject, here is my thought for today's holiday, Martin Luther King Day. I believe that we are about to finish with our 4 year nightmare of injustice, racism, glorification of ignorance, and mob rule.


19 comments:

Jeanie said...

Oh, if I saw those juice glasses -- any of them -- at a sale I would snap them up. They may or may not get juice but I would use them for everything! Battery tealights, holding brushes or pencils, mise en place!

Debra Eliotseats said...

Yes, I totally grew up drinking out of pimento chees jars (and jelly jars). We only bought pimento cheese during the holidays to stuff celery! I am sure that some grandparent had a set of those bright and cheerful orange juice glasses, too. Cool post! I hope the next four years are a ray of sunshine compared to the past. Be safe and well!

Divers and Sundry said...

We had some of those juice glasses! I think my daughter has them now along with the clear glass orange squeezer. The one I wish I still had was an aluminum one with a handle you pressed and a spout and filter. I may replace it yet :)

MLK Day has special meaning this year. Letter from a Birmingham Jail is available online, and I shared a link to it on Facebook. His words are worth hearing, especially now.

Pam said...

Off the subject-----I watched all of Lupin---great show!!! Thanks for mentioning it before and now I can tell naysayers I know to watch it! Can't wait for next season of it!!!
I still have the classic juicer, seldom use it as I really do not like any orange juice, generally had it for rest of family though. Great juice glass pics!
Dr King was a good man who awoke our country to the necessity of treating all men equal. He was a man of great courage and knowledge, someone this country needs the like of today!!!

Anne in the kitchen said...

We drank juice from Fred Flinstone jelly jars, but our favorites were the glasses that shrimp cocktail came in. We had neighbors ( an older couple with grown kids) who saved theirs for my sister and me. Since they were fluted we would put a cherry in our oj and act like we were women who brunched. In the breakfast room in our pj's no less, probably eating some exotic breakfast like corn flakes.

Tandy | Lavender and Lime (http://tandysinclair.com) said...

Hopefully tomorrow goes off smoothly. How often do you use your juicer?

Sharon Madson said...

What a fun post! I think my mom had the green depression glass orange juicer, and those one glasses with the oranges on them; I am sure we had those. :) Happy T Day!

Valerie-Jael said...

I still use one of those glass juicers, it's rather ancient, but so am I! Have a great week, happy T Day, Valerie

Iris Flavia said...

Ohhh, great designs, I sure would get some, if I could! Thanks for a trip to the past :-)

Bleubeard and Elizabeth said...

This brought back wonderful memories. The lemon squeezer in clear glass is similar to the one I inherited from my grandmother, but it was green like the one below it.

She also had glasses and a container similar to the orange ones you showed with the white lid. I even still have some of those pimento cheese (or maybe they were originally jelly) glasses.

I totally enjoyed this post because I never tire of seeing what you come up with to share for T. In your comment to me, you said you were a non-creative who maybe didn't fit in. I totally disagree. You always come up with the very, very best and most unique way of looking at drink references. We all learn from your posts and your vast knowledge, too, Thank you for always sharing it with us each week AND today for T.

DVArtist said...

The 50's had the best designs.

Let's Art Journal said...

I have one of the glass juicers which I tend to use for lemons 😁. Those jug and glass sets are so pretty and look perfect to serve and enjoy orange juice from. Take care and wishing you a very Happy T Day! Hugs, Jo x

CJ Kennedy said...

Another fun post. I think I still have the glass reamer that my mother used packed away with her stuff. The decorated glasses are just beautiful. Happy T Day

Linda Kunsman said...

a delightful post. Love the trip down memory lane regarding the juicers, glasses, and pimento jars!
Happy T day!

Kokopelli said...

Another great post about orange juice! Love the juice glasses! I once had an electric juicer, but my Mom "stole" it from me, when hers broke. *LOL* And I now have her own non-electric one.

Eileen Bergen said...

I remember these juice glass and pitcher designs. I still have an electric juicer and use it frequently. I also remember the glass juicers That my mom had.

Happy T-day! Stay safe and well. Hugs, Eileen

My name is Erika. said...

I remember getting jelly and cheese spread in a drinking glass. My family had a lot of them. It was also a nice was to make less waste. Maybe we need to do that now. There were some great vintage looking sets and oj squeezers too. Hope it was a nice T day. I'm a little late getting around. Hugs-Erika

Kate Yetter said...

Some beautiful vintage juice glasses. I love seeing these collections.
Happy Tea Day,
Kate

David M. Gascoigne, said...

The juicer we use is almost identical to the second picture. At one time we had a pitcher and tumblers from the sixties, and I am not quite sure what happened to them. We sold a few things on ebay so perhaps that's where they ended up.