courtesy omnomicon.com

Now I don’t pretend to understand how exactly a citrus reamer came to inspire a heavy metal song. For the nonmusical layperson, it’s hard to imagine Robert Plant whipping up a lemon mousse, or Ozzy Osborne insisting on fresh key lime juice rather than bottled as he meticulously constructs a pie for his dinner guests; however, the gods of rock move in mysterious ways. Ours is not to question why.

I do know that the handy citrus reamer is among the most important tools in my belt. It occupies a place of honor next to the garlic press in the top drawer of my kitchen – meaning it’s not shoved at the back and covered with takeout chopsticks and back-up corkscrews. For a quick tablespoon or two of fresh lemon or lime juice, it is just the thing. Slice the fruit in half, ream the life out of it, rinse the utensil and bung it in the dish drainer. Done.

One more thing we can be certain of: you can never have too much fresh citrus, or too much cowbell.