The function of a lemon squeezer is simple: pressure is exerted on a lemon to extract its juice. The squeezer itself must resist the pressure, hence soft, easily deformable materials cannot be used. Because the lemon juice is very acidy, the squeezer can only be made of acid-resistant materials.

I found the gorgeous lemon squeezers shown here in Caimari’s olive oil market ten days ago. They were made of boxwood and crafted in Girona, to the northeast of Barcelona. The buxus tree (castellano: boj, catalan: boix) grows in Mallorca too, for instance in the Serra de Tramuntana mountain range. This plant was much more widespread here in the past, and could also be found in Menorca where nowadays it is absent. Apparently the activities of Mallorcan carboners (charcoal makers) in bygone times have lead to the rarefaction of this tree species.

The boxwood lemon squeezers were for sale at 10 €.

The photo was taken in Caimari, Mallorca, Baleares, Spain. The date: November 22nd, 2009. The time was 12:09:33.