Where to Find It!
Return to Extras.
Steamer-Juicer
The Finnish juicer-steamer Mehu-Liisa (see Food
from My Kitchen) is a brilliant low-tech method for extracting
juice from fruits. A tower of three interconnected stainless steel
or aluminium basins, the lowest tier holds water, the middle tier
has a bundt pan-like chimney in the middle, and a spout fitted with
a hose, and the top tier is a steamer-colander fitted with a tight-fitting
cover. Water from the bottom tier creates steam that filters through
the chimney to cook the fruit in the colander. As the fruit steams,
its juices drip into the middle collecting pan and can be poured off
with the hose into a sterile jar or bottle. Depending on the fruit
and the quantity, the steaming process can take from one to two hours,
as soft fruit is faster than hard fruit. In any case, the process
is effortless -- the cook has only to make sure that the water doesn't
run out in the bottom basin. As useful trick for keeping track of
the water level is to add some marbles to the boiling water. As the
water boils, the marbles make a gentle noise, but as the water runs
out, they fall silent. It's a useful aural reminder to re-fill the
pot.
While several manufacturers have copied features of the original Mehu-Maya
steam process juice extractor, the best is still the original, now
sold in the United States as Meju-Liisa. It's available from
Mehu-Liisa Products
2190 Jackson St.
Eugene, OR 97405
800-450-6081
or on the internet
at www.juicer-steamer.com.
Grater/Zester
One of the my most useful tool discoveries of the last year is the
microplane Grater/Zester. Based on a wood rasp, a few passes up and
down the plane reduces hard wedges of Parmesan cheese to a fluffy
pile of shavings with very little effort. We use this tool with pleasure
nearly every night, adding grated cheese to pasta, salads, and bean
soups. Available from cookingbythebook.com
, as is a similar tool for zesting the skin of lemons and limes.
