Fresh Squeezed Orange Juice

Let's face it, I could have titled this blog numerous different ways.

• How to Start your Morning Right
• How to Waste a Lot of Time and Make a Giant Mess
• How to Make Fresh Squeezed Orange Juice the Hard Way
• How to Make Orange Juice with the Bare Essentials: Oranges and a mug
• I Hope you Like Pulp
• How to Spend your Morning Laughing

Yes... soo that's my morning in a nutshell.  

I got to work at around 8:15am this lovely Saturday morning... Note when I say lovely, I don't actually mean lovely... I mean Gray... This gray, drizzling, sad kind of Saturday morning... It has been raining non stop in Rome for the last week, so this Saturday morning is no different. 

In any case I got to work and decided I needed a pick me up. 

I wasn't in the mood for coffee but orange juice, now that seemed like a good idea.  

The crate of oranges I bought

Now, normally I would go downstairs to the bar and order myself a nice spremuta, or freshly squeezed orange juice.  However, earlier in the week I bought a case of oranges for €3 for the office. It was a lot of oranges.  I have no idea how much the crate weighed but it was A LOT. Luckily I only had a block to walk with them and the price was SOOO worth it. 

I bought a lot of oranges and even though we've been snacking on them all week, there are still a lot left.  So between having extra oranges, and getting the idea from one of my coworkers yesterday, I decided to make myself a freshly squeezed orange juice in my tea mug.  Laure had started squeezing the juice out of an orange yesterday since she's been sick.  I didn't see how much juice came out of her orange, but it seemed like a good idea.  

So his morning half awake I decided to make myself orange juice.  

I grabbed a bunch of oranges, some napkins, a coffee mug and a knife and I started making myself some orange juice.  

Let me tell you, I made a GIANT mess because I squeezed the oranges by hand.  I cut them in half and slowly and with an attempt at being careful attempted to squeeze each half into my mug that I regularly use for tea.  I struggled to aim. I squirted myself in the eye.  The orange skins split.  It was kind of hilarious.

The yield of one orange lol

It is not easy to squeeze oranges into a mug by hand. I would highly recommend either using a bigger bowl to squeeze your juice into or getting an actual kitchen aid, to help you squeeze out the juice. Either would have prevented the majority of the mess I created. I got juice and pulp all over the table and made a sticky disaster that I had to mop up later on.
Plus, in case you didn't know, the yield of one orange is relatively pitiful.  So I wound up needing five oranges to make a decent glass of orange juice.  

That being said, it was totally worth it.  The oranges were very fresh, so the juice was absolutely delicious.  A little pulpy but amazing.  If you like pulp, try it my way.  I also have to say that it is an utter pain to squeeze five oranges by hand.  It takes a long, long time.  I think I wasted about a half hour. Again, it was a half hour really worth it but it would have gone quicker with actual kitchen aids.  

But that's ok.  

I definitely spent the morning laughing. I was super entertained by the time my lesson started and therefore in a good mood.  Vitamin C and a little exertion make mornings go well!

My Mug of orange juice and the cookie that would've been breakfast:
Lucky for me, my student brought me a pastry instead :)

  

What you need:
5- 6 oranges
a mug... but let's face it, something bigger would be preferable
LOTS of Patience and the ability to laugh at yourself

Bonus if you actually have a kitchen aid for making orange juice!!