Lime Squeezer or Exprimidor de Limón

If you were to ask me what cooking tool I could not live without, I would tell you it’s my Mexican-style lime squeezer.

Limes are one of the most iconic ingredients of Mexican cooking. Not lemons. Limes! To me, limes have a much more concentrated citrus punch, and I like the fresh juice. I have a deep disregard for pre-squeezed lime juice bottles sold at the stores; they taste like airplane food.

What’s complicated about squeezing a fresh lime? Nothing much really. But when you use as many as I do, this squeezer is a delight: gets as much juice as the lime has in a snap, feels heavy and powerful in your hand, and it is easy to maintain and keep clean.

My lime squeezer is as common as common gets. You can find one easily in just about any Mexican kitchen. It is made of cast aluminum, which resists corrosion from the acidic juices. It is super simple to use: open it up, place a halved lime cut side down and just squeeze the juice wherever you want it to go, directly over food or into a bowl or measuring cup. Close and squeeze the long handles that give you leverage to extract all the juice and that’s that. Since it is so big, it works with lemons too… (continue for more information and photos)

Here’s a photo of my lime squeezer…

And from the other side…

lime squeezer back view

Up close you can see the perforated bottom that strains the juice from the pulp…

lime squeezer up close view

Here it is, with a big and juicy Mexican lime half ready to go…

lime squeezer with big Mexican lime ready to squeeze

And squeeze…look at all the juice coming out!

lime squeezer with lime juice dripping out

If you have limes or lemons that are tough and resist being juiced, here’s a hint: roll the lime or lemon, pressing down firmly with the palm of your hand, on a hard countertop until the pulp is softened. This will losen it up and make it easier to squeeze.

Fortunately, cast aluminum Mexican-style lime squeezers like mine are pretty ubiquitous these days and can be found in many department stores and big box stores that sell cookware. If you run into trouble finding one there, a boutique kitchen store is a good bet, or you can look on the Internet.

You will find all kinds of lime squeezers, colorful plastic ones, round ones, electric ones, even squeezers that resemble pliers. Any of these will work, but I stand by my handheld lime squeezer. It works like new even though I’ve had it forever! What’s more, it has bigger holes than usual so more juice comes out faster. Plus, my mom gave it to me, it aged with her and now it is aging with me.

Dream Big: Tres Leches and Strawberry Jello

Red, green, orange, blue… and all the colors you can dream up! Vanilla, cajeta, jamaica, chocolate, coffee, fruits, nuts… and just about any flavor you may crave. Smooth or chunky, creamy or foamy, heavy or light… choose any texture you like. Wait! We haven’t even gotten into shapes. Did you say your son likes Spiderman, your mom likes flowers or you want to go for a simple 2 layer design?

If you haven’t fallen for Jello, then you haven’t tried those in the Mexican repertoire. Forget about the 1950s-style-jello salads. Forget about the Jello you’ve seen people eat, or you may have eaten, in hospitals, too.

Mexican Jello is something to celebrate, to showcase, to boast about.

Gelatinas, in Spanish, many times come in individual servings with different flavors stacked in bright and colorful layers. Sold by street vendors who carry them in see through 2 to 3 tier covered stands, they are a common site in gas stations where cars wait for their turn and passersby can’t help but be tempted. Now you know why I always tagged along with my dad to fill up the tank!

It’s hard to show up at a kids party in Mexico and not see them. You will run into more sophisticated versions of them, standing tall, firm and proud at grown up parties, maybe with generous splashes of rum, tequila or rompope in their mix. There are simpler Jello creations brightening shelves at bakeries and grocery stores, too. In fact, Jello is such a big thing, that some cooks have elevated it to a complex art form with floral and abstract designs.

Most importantly, home-made Jello is a staple dessert in people’s homes. It is simple, easy to make and healthy: it can be tailored to use fresh seasonal ingredients.

The secret to this infinitum of possibilities with Jello is unflavored gelatin, which can be found in just about any grocery store: here and in China. Pick any ingredient, any flavor, and you can turn it into Jello.

Since I am going all out here, plus it is almost my son Juju’s birthday, I decided to translate one of our favorite cakes into Jello. Yup!

Remember Tres Leches Cake? Well, the first layer of my Spring-Time and Almost-Juju’s-Birthday-Jello is a Tres Leches Jello. Whole milk, evaporated milk and sweetened condensed milk turned into Jello (just follow my super simple recipe below!). The milks are quickly simmered to thicken, the result: rich, almost custardy like and so creamy.

I love serving Tres Leches Cake with strawberries, and Juju happens to be wild about strawberries, so my next layer has them. It is a Tres Leches Cake with strawberries in Jello form. Fully. And decadently.

strawberry jello mixture in cups

I have the berries swimming in a a Jello mix made with cranberry juice. It gives that layer a bright punch, a kick of refreshing tartness and more shine, which counterbalances the creamy Tres Leches layer.

I didn’t add any sugar to that fruit layer, because the Tres Leches layer has all the sweetness I think it needs. Plus, you are eating them together, one on top of the other.

Since you can do almost anything you want (no joke!) with Jello, I played and alternated. Some Jellos started with the Tres Leeches layer and others with the fruity one.

I chose plastic cups, because they are practical, you can see through, making it more colorful and irresistible. As a bonus, the servings are already pre measured. But you can choose many kinds of molds, individual or not.

Tres leches and Strawberry Jello on Tray

It’s a good idea to place all your cups in a baking tray or sheet pan, so that when you move them in and out of the refrigerator they won’t shake much. You don’t have to take so many trips either.

So you prepare your mixes, in a snap. Pour your first layer and refrigerate until it firms up, then pour the second layer and let it firm up again.  You can go crazy and make thick layers, thin layers, 2 layers or 10 layers!

Tres Leches and Strawberry Jello side view on tray

Sometimes experiments in the kitchen are a total failure and you just have to pick up the pieces and move on. But sometimes, it takes a few tries to get it right (this one took three tries!) and when you nail it, they become a treasure to share. If you feel you are onto something, don’t give up on the first try. Go for it, find a treasure and share it.

Here, this is a treasure I sought and found, and now it is yours too.

Print Recipe
4.60 from 5 votes

Tres Leches and Strawberry Jello

If you haven’t fallen for Jello, then you haven’t tried those in the Mexican repertoire. Forget about the 1950s-style-jello salads. Forget about the Jello you’ve seen people eat, or you may have eaten, in hospitals, too. Mexican Jello is something to celebrate, to showcase, to boast about.
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time2 hours 20 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: Mexican
Keyword: evaporated milk, gelatin, jello, pati's mexican table, strawberries, Sweetened Condensed Milk, tres leches
Servings: 8 servings
Author: Pati Jinich

Ingredients

For the tres leches jello:

  • 1 cup whole milk or 2 percent
  • 1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
  • 1 12-ounce can evaporated milk
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 2 envelopes unflavored gelatin or about 2 tablespoons
  • 1/2 cup lukewarm water

For the strawberry jello:

  • 2 cups cranberry or pomegranate juice
  • 2 envelopes unflavored gelatin or 2 about tablespoons
  • 1/2 cup lukewarm water
  • 1/2 pound strawberries stemmed, rinsed and quartered

Instructions

To prepare the tres leches jello:

  • Bring 1 cup whole milk to a boil in a medium saucepan. Reduce heat to medium low and allow milk to simmer for 5 minutes. Add the sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, and vanilla extract and stir to combine. Increase heat to medium high to return to a simmer, then reduce to medium low and let simmer for 5 more minutes. Remove from heat and pour into a large mixing bowl.
  • *Pour 1/2 cup lukewarm water into a medium bowl and add 2 envelopes of unflavored gelatin. Stir until well combined, then let rest until the mixture puffs up (it will increase slightly in volume and appear as if it’s solidifying) – approximately 4 to 5 minutes. Fill a small saucepan with up to 2-3 inches of water, and bring to a simmer over medium low heat. Place the bowl with the puffed-up gelatin mixture onto the saucepan with the simmering water. Let it rest there, stirring occasionally, until the gelatin is completely dissolved and the mixture has a barely amber color – approximately 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat.
  • Pour the dissolved gelatin into the tres leches mixture and stir to combine.

To prepare the strawberry jello:

  • Pour the juice on to a large mixing bowl. Repeat step with * above. Pour the dissolved gelatin into the juice and stir to combine.

To layer your tres leches and strawberry jello:

  • In 6-8oz plastic cups or single-portion gelatin molds, use a liquid measuring cup or small pitcher to fill about 1/3 of the cup with tres leches mixture. Place the cups into the refrigerator until it solidifies (appears solid and does not slosh when moved), about 20 to 30 minutes. Do not put your remaining Tres Leches mix and juice mix in the refrigerator.
  • Remove from the refrigerator and pour juice mixture on top to fill about another 1/3 of the cup and add some strawberry pieces. Return to the refrigerator and let it set for about 20 to 30 minutes.
  • You are at free will to play with your combinations! You can decide how many layers (one or ten!) and how thick or thin you want to make them. You can choose which flavor you want to start with or if you want to alternate. Continue until you are done using all of the flavored mixes. When done, return to the refrigerator, cover with plastic wrap and let chill for at least 2 hours before serving.
  • If you want to use a large 8 to 10 serving mold, fill with Tres Leches mix and refrigerate until set. Then pour strawberry mixture on top along with the fruit. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before unmolding. It should be firm and not feel sticky or sag and should slide easily out of the mold with a few gentle shakes.
  • Hint: If your Jello mixtures start to solidify while you are waiting for layers to set in the refrigerator, not to worry! Adding a little at a time, stir water into the mixture until it becomes more liquid.

Notes

Gelatina de Tres Leches con Fresas

Unflavored Gelatin: How to Use

Are you tired of the clumps and lumps when you make your own flavored Jello? Yes? No? What?! You don’t make your own flavored Jello? You should! It is healthier than the already flavored ones sold at the store and you can decide what ingredients go in it! It is tastier, exactly for the same reason, since you can choose your flavors, you can choose your own favorite ones.

Many cooks complain about the clumping when mixing unflavored gelatin with any liquid in order to be able to use it. Yet there is a fast and simple technique that provides a smooth and seamlessly effective gelatin base that will add volume and will help solidify any liquid that you may want to turn into Jello.

Note: You can find unflavored gelatin as easily as finding flour or sugar. It will be located in the baking section of your grocery store and is usually sold as a dry powder in packets or in a dry leaf form. I use the dry powder, which is most common. Make sure to buy “unflavored” gelatin.

unflavored gelatin

Powdered gelatin looks like small granules, almost crystal looking, see photo above. The first thing you want to do is hydrate the gelatin by combining it with lukewarm water in a bowl – use the amounts specified in the recipe you are preparing like this one for Tres Leches and Strawberry Jello. Stir, and you will see the gelatin granules puff up…

water and unflavored gelatin powder mixture

Stir it a couple times more, and after 3 to 5 minutes, you will see the granules absorb the water almost entirely.

puffed up water and unflavored gelatin mixture

It is all absorbed, but now you need to completely dilute those puffed up gelatin granules, so that you don’t feel them when you eat your Jello and so that this gelatin base will act throughout the entire dessert.

To do this, your second step is to heat up water (up to halfway in depth) in a small sauce pan and bring it to a medium simmer. Place your bowl with the puffed up gelatin on top (make sure that the bowl is larger than the head of the saucepan for sure), making a double boiler or water bath, and let it heat up for about 5 minutes, stirring here and there.

gelatin dissolving over heat in double boiler

Remove from heat when the gelatin has completely dissolved into a barely amber and almost clear liquid.

completely dissolved gelatin ready to add to your liquid flavor mixture

It’s ready to add to your fruit puree or any flavor mixture you’ve dreamed up.

Jello Molds or Moldes Para Gelatina

Jello molds or moldes para gelatina are as versatile as Jello desserts themselves. Plastic, metal, ceramic, stoneware, porcelain, glass and silicone are all suitable materials for molding Jello. They can vary from multiserving ring molds to individual portions in plastic cups or ramekins (even water glasses or anything you can pour a drink onto!), or in silicon shaped, like anything from pyramids to cartoon characters. It’s important to make sure your molds are heat-tolerant to avoid warping when using hot liquids.

I tend to make my Jellos in clear and simple plastic cups like the ones you’d see on street stands in Mexico. It is simple, fast and you can see through all the colors and layers of your creations without having to unmold the Jello. It is also great for kids because they can just eat the Jello right out the cup. Also, in a way, servings are pre-measured.

But if you want to be artistic with the shapes, aside from the flavors of your Jello creations, the newest molds are made of high-quality silicone and come in elaborate shapes.

See below all the choices I could gather for individual servings of Jello…

There are also large molds that can be used. Same applies as above. I even have one that comes from my mother-in-law’s kitchen, which was made in the 60’s especially for Jello. Yes, it’s true!  See the green retro mold below? It is plastic, in the shape of a traditional Mexican large Jello. It has a lid to cover the Jello as it sits and settles in the refrigerator, and it has a conveniently located tight-fitting lid on the top that makes it easy to unmold the gelatin as you flip it over. Both lids help keep other savory smells from the refrigerator from slipping into your sweet Jello. If you like vintage items, plastic molds are the way to go. They come in a wide variety of shapes and are fun to search for on Esty or at yard sales, Goodwill, and antique shops.

You can also use metal round, tube or bundt cake pans. They work beautifully to make layered ring-molded gelatins too.

large Jello or gelatina molds

You should be able to find ring-shaped molds and individual-portion molds at your local cookware store. But the internet is also a great resource for more variety, especially if you are looking for artfully shaped silicone molds or retro plastic molds.

When it is time to unmold your Jello, the most important thing is to make sure your gelatin has had sufficient time to chill (at least 2 hours in the refrigerator) and is completely set – it should be firm and not feel sticky or sag. Once set, it should slide out of the inverted mold easily with a few gentle shakes side to side. If your Jello is acting stubborn and seems too attached to the mold, try either carefully running a wet small knife (with warm water) around the top edge of the mold to loosen or filling a shallow pan or sink with warm water (but not hot!) and dipping the mold in just to the rim for 10 to 20 seconds to help loosen it up.