Destroy Fruit With The Greatest Of Ease: Jack LaLanne Juicer
Written: Aug 15 '04 (Updated Dec 31 '08)
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Pros: Good motor, good design, makes fresh juice.
Cons: Food shoot is still too small, juice has a lot of particulate matter.
The Bottom Line: A great juicer if you can deal with the lengthy clean up.
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| yakkowarner's Full Review: Jack Lalanne 10091 Power Juicer |
This is the Jack LaLanne power juicer called a centrifuge juicer. The Jack LaLanne power juicer first grinds the fruit/vegetable into pulp, then is spins the pulp around forcing the liquid and smallest particles through a mesh, then the Jack LaLanne power juicer forces the remaining pulp up and into a receptacle.
I refused to buy the Jack LaLanne power juicer device until someone wrote a fully detailed review on the device. Well since Costco had the Jack LaLanne power juicer and Costco rarely provides its customers with cheap equipment, I decided to buy it anyways. The Costco model came with several books, an accessory package, and an extra blade and blade release key.
The only other juicer I know of uses pressure to extract the juice. This is usually a better method because they usually extract a little more juice and it is generally cleaner juice. This is the preferred method for citrus because you end up with a sweeter juice. See my review on the citrus press juicer below to get an idea of which juicer is better for your needs.
Setup of the Jack LaLanne power juicer
There really was nothing to setup with the Jack LaLanne power juicer. It is fully assembled for you. I disassembled and reassembled it to make sure I knew how it worked before I used it.
To disassemble the Jack LaLanne power juicer you pull down the metal bar the holds the top down, remove the top, use the 2 pronged tool to unscrew the metal grind plate and remove, take out the strainer basket, then take out the bottom catch basket. It will take about 30 seconds once you know the steps.
Extras that came with the Jack LaLanne power juicer
A filter brush- A useful brush that make cleaning the filter a little easier. It is not very abrasive.
Measuring cup- This can hold 36 ounces of juice if filled to the rim. It fits perfectly under the pour spout.
Power Juicer Platform-This holds the power juicer and pulp basket on one platform. It is very loose fitting and I do not see much value in it. Just a gimmick.
Overflow platform- In case your cup overfloweth then this will catch the excess juice. Cute idea, too bad it is only a gimmick.
-There is also book provided that I describe below.
Cleanup
Cleaning the Jack LaLanne power juicer unit is not easy. First you release the bar and take off the top of the unit. Flip the top upside down and wash out the pulp that is stuck to the top of the unit. You then wash out the pulp basket and the measuring cup. After that you take the key to unscrew the blade. Wash and scrub the blade. Then take out the basket and scrub that down. Depending on the food used you can do this in 10 seconds or 2 minutes. Then take out the bottom piece and wash that.
If you let the Jack LaLanne power juicer sit then it will be much harder to clean the crusty pulp off the unit.
It will take you 3-5 minutes to clean the entire machine properly by hand but it is dishwasher safe if you would rather go that route. Just like knives, I do not recommend putting the blade in a dishwasher.
Noise
The Jack LaLanne power juicer is surprisingly quiet for a centrifuge juicer. It is not as noisy as previous generations of juicers that I have used and the motor is a better quality motor. If you are a room away you probably will not hear it running. Compare that to my In-Laws old juicer that you could hear across the house.
About the Blade of the Jack LaLanne power juicer
The blade is made out of surgical stainless steel. It looks and feels more like a parmesan cheese grater than a blade. Because the motor is more powerful it can use a blade of this kind. The other juicers I have seen in the past have a knife like blade not a grater like blade.
How well does the Jack LaLanne power juicer work?
The Jack LaLanne power juicer works great. It tears apart the food with little effort from the user and provides a great deal of juice. Overall I am pretty happy with it.
apples-Works very well if you like unfiltered apple juice. The juice has a lot of mouth feel and particulate matter. But the juice does taste good.
The best thing to do is mix sweet and tart apples together to give the juice more character. Six large apples will provide about 26 ounces of juice.
grape-Very easy and you do not even have to remove the stem. You get a cloudy grape juice that tastes pretty good. It will be as sweet or sour as the produce. So it is good to mix sour and sweet grapes together.
Citrus- Do not use this machine, use a citrus press juicer. But if you insist on serving sub par orange juice to your guests then you have to peel it first. The result will be similar to an electric citrus juicer.
Citrus peel- When I juiced an orange peel I got a greenish liquid. It tasted incredibly bitter and foul. This proves that these machines can juice anything with liquid in it.
Tomato- The result is a thick viscous type of liquid. To make it taste palatable (I hate tomato juice) add a Jalapeno to it.
celery- Tastes just like Celery. A good addition to other juices because it tastes a little watered down.
berries- Difficult to juice. It is recommended that you put harder fruit (ex. Apple) after you put in the berries. And you can drain the juice out of the pulp basket to get the remaining juice. If you do a lot of berries then find another style of juicer, not a centrifuge.
bell pepper- When I juiced my left over garden grown orange bell peppers I got a watered down version of the pepper. Not very good by itself so it needs some other thicker juices to add character.
hot peppers- (Jalapeno, Fresno, Serano, etc.) You get a strong gas but it is not as bad as habaneros. The juice is relatively strong and good for cooking or adding to mixed vegetable juices.
habanero- Do not blend these indoors. You will get an incredibly strong gas coming off the juicer. But the juice is pretty strong and can be used in place of chili powder. But the juice will not be as strong as extract if you buy that stuff for cooking.
banana- They do not recommend using banana’s because it will just clog up the system. Put them in a blender or hand mash them.
kiwi-I have done kiwi and you get a very thick tasting juice. I do not recommend it.
How much juice is in the pulp of the Jack LaLanne power juicer?
When I grab a handful of the pulp I can feel the moisture and hear the moisture when I squeeze it in my hand. But I can only get a couple of drops from the pulp and there is no standing water in the pulp container(the exception is going to be with berries or similar fruit.) In summary the pulp is as dry as a centrifuge juicer is going to make it
How about using the pulp
Jack LaLanne provided a recipe for making salsa. It was quick and easy and it tasted really bad. You can get the same effect from grating the ingredients on a microplane, draining the water, then put some liquid back in. Then serve to uninvited guests. I would rather spend the time and do it right. Even a food processor would do a better job.
If you are an avid baker then you will probably like using the pulp in your breads and muffins. It should make for heartier breads and muffins.
There are also suggestions for freezes and such. These are only for people that would want pulpy frozen Popsicles. Not my favorite.
My personal recommendation for the pulp is to put it in a compost pile.
Is the Jack LaLanne power juicer good for a low carb diet?
One of the principals that some low carb diets preach is you should allow your body to process the food, not let a machine do it for you. If you eat a stick of celery you eat the whole thing and your teeth, stomach, and intestines need to work harder to process it. Also the sugars are not as easily consumed because they are trapped inside the plant cells. A juicer destroys the plant cells and allows easy access to the sugars from the start.
But if you use this machine in moderation then it can be a healthful addition to your low carb diet (just not in the first phase).
The books that came with the Jack LaLanne power juicer Costco package.
Jack LaLanne’s Power Juicer: Recipes for Healthy Living
A small 63 page book that gives you 3 pages of introduction to power juicing, cute colorful pictures that you have all seen before, and 73 recipes. It gives you some basic ideas in how to use the juice and pulp in some very common recipes. I probably will not open it again.(ex. Juices, freezes, muffins, soups, breakfast foods, Salad dressing, salsa, dips, etc.
Secrets of Power Juicing
This books provides recipes for juice drinks. This seems far more useful to me since I do not see the value in the pulp (a food processor is far better at making products for cooking than this machine.) 58 drink recipes provided in 40 pages.
Total Juicing
240 page book with some recipes. This basically gives you the history of juicing, the argument in how juicing helps you stay healthy, common ingredients, common recipes, and baby food recipes. Authors are Elaine La Lanne with Richard Benyo.
Problems with the Jack LaLanne power juicer
-Centrifuge juicers allow oxygen to enter the juice.
-The opening is not big enough for a large apple.
-Not very easy to clean
-Cannot handle pits.
-Not good for berries.
-Horrible for citrus.
Warranty
It is your typical 90 day warranty. It will be free of defects in material and workmanship and can only be used in residential settings.
The motor is covered for the lifetime of the original purchaser. They do not define the word lifetime.
You pay for postage to the warranty location and you need to provide 20 dollars so they can ship it back to you. I feel this is a rip off which is one reason why I went through Costco, and I will deal with Costco if something happens.
Pour Spout dimensions- 2.25 diameter fruit is the largest fruit you can put in whole. (ex. you can put in small whole apples or a small bunch of celery)
Important StatsListed on the Costco web page. Here for your convenience.
Weight: 16 Lbs
Dimensions: 16.5" L x 10.5" W x 17.5" H
3,600 RPM motor has lifetime guarantee
My opinion of the Jack LaLanne power juicer.
I like the juicer and I recommend it for the price. But if you have more money to blow then I would recommend a juicer that acts more like a meat grinder, not a centrifuge.
Summary:
The Jack LaLanne power juicer is a great centrifuge juicer that produces good juice. If you do not mind drinking nonfiltered juice, you do not mind cleaning up a messy product, or you need to supplement your diet then I recommend the Jack LaLanne power juicer. If any of these things seem unappealing to you then I recommend you stay with store bought juice. What I have found is most people use these for a few weeks and then stop using them because it is a hassle, but the benefit are obvious. But for me I love my Jack LaLanne power juicer and I highly recommend it.
Other juicing reviews.
Jack LaLane Juicer
Metrokane Chef's Juicer
Oster electric juicer
Xango, Mangosteen fruit juice.
My Juicer Buying Guide
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 110
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