This is an ode to our juicer. Stalwart of mornings, afternoons and evenings, our juicer at home is used daily, often multiple times. And it's not just because I have a (very healthy) obsession with citrus fruits - I press 'The Land Where Lemons Grow' by Helena Attlee onto anyone who’ll listen - but also just because when something works very well it is immensely pleasing to use it, often.
Our juicer is made entirely from fine bone china, with the juicing part surrounded by a bowl-like dish with an elongated spout, to catch and perfectly pour out the juice. It is a dream to use and has a little handle for holding it when pouring (or hanging to store if there’s somewhere safe to do so).
For the drizzle to a traybake, a refreshing lemonade or - our current personal favourite at this time of year - a whisky sour. After reading Stanley Tucci’s brilliant book ‘Taste’ a couple of years ago, Jeremy decided to really get into after work drinks - the type of drinks that involve a cocktail shaker and a chilled glass. He was inspired by Tucci senior, who would habitually mix a drink on arriving home from work. Just the one, to savour both the process of making it and the drink itself. It's very easy when running your own company to let work and home blend, but this way there's a definite stop to one and start to another. And for this our juicer found a new lease of life. No longer just hot toddies and lemonade, but whisky sours and margaritas too. I’ve written out Jeremy’s (much) tried and tested whisky sour recipe here, with the (very basic) tools you need to make it.
Our juicer is, by the by, also the most complicated thing we make by some distance - so tricky that we made a film all about it. It details all the steps it takes to cast, join, fettle, sand, glaze, fire and decorate a single juicer. The methods we use are listed as 'critically endangered' by the Heritage Crafts Association here in the UK, so it feels good to be able to shine a light on them. The film is both beautiful and meditative - with only the sounds of the workshop accompanying it. We edited it to be deliberately long I'm afraid - it rolls in at 14 minutes, so basically a feature length movie - but this isn’t something you can squeeze into 3 tick-tock seconds, and nor would we want to.
It's something to take your time over. Much like that whisky sour.
