The Kitchen Tongs Hack That Will Make Juicing A Breeze

Few things can grab, flip, turn, twist, reach, adjust, and retrieve like a pair of tongs. Many cooks consider tongs an essential part of their kit. In fact, the Escoffier School of Culinary Arts recommends, "When you want to mimic the use of your hands but don't want to burn your fingers on hot oil or a scorching pan, grab a pair of tongs." If you are accustomed to using tongs, there are few things more frustrating than not having a pair handy when you need to flip a steak or reach to the back of the grill.

Still, there are detractors. Years ago, in The New Yorker, David Chang (restaurateur, author, and podcaster) called cooking with tongs a disrespectful, bad technique. An offending cook "should have been using a spoon or a spatula." Ouch. There are some restaurants that share his view and ban tongs for the same reason. But, seeing as none of us is David Chang, we might want to follow different advice.

Tongs are already useful but sparing our hands from touching hot food is only the beginning of what they can do. A good pair of tongs solves many kitchen dilemmas. CNET identifies tongs as the perfect way to extend your reach to the top shelf or deep recesses of cupboards. Ditch those slotted, spiked, spoons known as pasta forks for a better way to pull pasta from boiling water. Use non-metal tongs to reach into a toaster for that slice of toast. They beat an oven mitt for pulling ramekins from a hot water bath. A pair of tongs is a perfect tool to clean and then lubricate grill grates. The right tongs can even help you strip kale.

How about juicing citrus? There's no shortage of gadgets to help cooks unlock the juice from citrus. There are citrus taps that you can screw into the fruit. US Citrus recommends a few ways to help you prep your fruit to achieve the maximum yield. After those tips, however, they prefer a citrus squeezer. But, can kitchen tongs add another function to their multipurpose arsenal?

Whether you need to juice a lime for a cocktail that pairs with dinner, or need some lemon juice to brighten up a meal, traditional citrus juicers might not be the best option. CNET also suggests cutting citrus in half, placing one half between the two tong handles, and using those long levers as an upgrade from just pinching the fruit between your fingers. Beware that your newfound strength could lead to a citrus explosion but you'll soon get accustomed to that mechanical advantage. Worried about seeds? Just do your squeezing over a small strainer, or juice into a bowl and pluck out those unwanted bits.

Feel like there might be even more juice in that half of citrus? Tongs are also a makeshift reamer that rivals the real deal. According to America's Test Kitchen, "Just pick up your pair of kitchen tongs. Hold the tongs closed, stick the pincers into the halved fruit, and use a twisting motion to extract the juice." This will work just as well on a tiny key lime all the way to a plump grapefruit.