Selecting a Juicer: My juicer buying guide.
Dec 31 '08 (Updated Dec 15 '09)
The Bottom Line Spend the money on something good.
This is my juicer buying guide. A juicer is a tool designed to extract the juice from the fibrous material of a fruit or vegetable.
The 4 main types of juicers
The reamer
There are actually two styles of reamers and both are designed for citrus. The first one is a hand held reamer. If you are short on space or money but like citrus then this is the perfect solution. If you juice lemons and limes for food (like over chicken) then a reamer is perfect and more convenient than your hands or the electric version.
The second style is an electric reamer. This is probably the most common style of juicer that people own and it is specifically designed for citrus. The reamer unit sits on top of the unit to break down the tissue, which releases the juice. The problem with this style is it also extracts the bitter oils in the skin.
Citrus press
If you love citrus then this is a must. There are handheld versions that I absolutely hate. There is also a stand version where you squeeze a single half piece at a time. You have a handle that allows you to apply more pressure than you would otherwise and this unit does not juice the rind (which contains bitter oils.)
The centrifuge juicer
In my opinion, this is the best juicer for fruit. These are great for producing large amounts of juice very quickly. If you do a combination of soft fruits and hard vegetables and you do a high volume, then this is the juicer you need to get. But the quality will not be as good the citrus press (for citrus) or the masticator juicer.
The auger, masticator, single gear juicer.
There are a couple types out there but they all pretty much do the same thing. They first grind up the food. Then they press the ground up food to extract the juice.
One of the advantages is it does not let as much oxygen get into the juice compared to the centrifuge juicer. The more oxygen in the juice the fast it will decompose. This is the juicer of choice if you mainly do vegetables. One person has even made a banana smoothie by putting frozen banana's through this machine.
There are two considerations. One is this style can be slow and secondly it is usually more expensive than the other versions.
Industrial versions
Basically the same idea as the masticator juicer but this is not a home version and it is the best way to extract juice from many fruits. This is what they do in apple country to produce that great tasting and clear apple juice. They grind up hundreds of pounds of apples, put it in cheese cloth, stack the filled cheese cloth on top of each other, and use a giant press (sort of like a horizontal vice) to press down on the filled cheese cloth. This extracts the juice and is the best way to juice apples if you are looking for a clean juice, but it is also very expensive juice.
There is also another version I have seen at some hotels and cruise ships I feel I should mention. This version is a huge block the size of a dorm fridge and it only juices citrus (normally oranges.) The user drops the orange in and the machine automatically cuts it in half and juices the citrus. I am not sure if it is a reamer or a press. The great advantage of this machine is it does all the work for you. It is a nice machine and may be worth it if you have a lot of people over for breakfast every morning. But it is expensive. I saw one that pressed oranges, grapefruit, and grapes for 3 grand. I'm sure you can find a cheaper one for just oranges that is around 1 thousand.
First, decide what you are going to primarily juice
Citrus- I do not recommend using an electrical reamer juicer because the juicer also extracts a lot of the bitter oils in the skin. The citrus press is ideal for citrus and I refuse to use anything else. I was amazed at how sweet the fruit was when I compared it to my electric reamer unit.
Fruit- (Not including citrus.) I feel that a centrifuge juicer is the best bet for most fruits. Keep in mind that a centrifuge juicer juices everything so you may want to remove the skin of some foods because it will impart a bad taste.
Vegetables- Masticators are your best bet for these. These machines are better able to grind up harder vegetables then the centrifuge juicers.
Pomegranates- If you are doing pomegranates then a citrus press will work better than a centrifuge juicer in my opinion. Any fruit with a hard shell, round, similar in size to an orange, and has a soft center will work better in a citrus press.
Banana-There is no consumer method that I know of for soft fruits like this. There is some laboratory tools out there and I'm sure in 10 years someone will come out with a consumer model.
Wheat grass-If you juice this then you need a masticating juicer or a juicer specifically designed for wheat grass.
Tips on selecting the right fruit/vegetable combination
Good food is balanced. When you juice food you need to keep this in mind. When I do apple juice I try to juice a combination of tart cooking apples and sweet eating apples. This gives you a balance of acids and sugars and produces a great tasting juice. Good cooks follow the same principal when they make apple pies.
You should also follow the same idea when juicing vegetables/fruit combinations. Try to find a nice balance between bitter, sour, and sweet tastes. They should all compliment each other. Besides, it should be fun to experiment with combining different types of fruit and vegetables.
The chute size
If you do apples or other wider fruit, then find a juicer that will accept the whole apples/fruit easily. It is a pain to have to cut up my apples just to put them in my centrifugal juicer when it is only going to be obliterated. If all you are going to do is carrots and celery then the chute size will not be a problem.
The power of the motor
This is huge. If you put food in the unit and it slows down then the motor is not powerful enough. You need something more powerful. If it does not slow down with hard vegetables then the motor is fine. A weak motor will not last very long, at least not in my house.
Noise level
Centrifuge juicers and electric reamers will be loud because of the high-speed motor (centrifuge will be the loudest.) Not much you can do about that. The press will be virtually silent because it is all hand operated. The Auger styles' noise level will be somewhere in the middle.
The plastic used
Check the overall durability of the machine. Is the plastic easily broken? Are there areas that you think can come off? Is the plastic a hard plastic? Will it with stand the high temperatures and abuse that a dishwasher will give it? How much flex will it have when you squeeze the store model?
Ultimately you need a fairly strong plastic that will hold up to the abuse it will be subjected to.
The size of the machine.
This is a big consideration if you have a small kitchen. I store my centrifuge juicer and my citrus press on the top shelf, which has a lot of headroom. Centrifuge juicers and masticators will take a lot of counter space. If you have a big kitchen or lots of storage space then you do not need to worry about this.
How wet is the pulp?
If you get the chance to try out a juicer before you buy, you should grab some of the pulp in your hands and try to squeeze some liquid out of it. If you cannot then your juicer is working quite well. If you can actually squeeze liquid out of the pulp then the machine is junk and you should avoid it.
How much pulp is too much or not enough out of a centrifuge juicer?
If you use a lot of pulp for cooking then you want a cheap unit. They do not extract as much juice out and generally leave a wetter pulp, but they also do not grind up the pulp to the degree that it will also be in your juice when you drink it. This means that you have more pulp to cook with if that is your primary goal.
Now if you like a denser juice get a centrifuge juicer that does not produce as much pulp like the Jack LaLane juicer. The reason there is not a lot of pulp is because this juicer grinds up a lot of the pulp/tissue so well that a lot gets deposited into the juice itself. The advantage of this is the juice has more fiber and (supposedly) more nutrients. If you are health conscious then get a more powerful juicer that leaves more fiber in the juice.
Ease of cleaning
The more complex the unit the harder it is to clean. My citrus press just needs to be wiped down and it is clean. My Jack LaLane juicer requires 5-10 minutes to clean (or one shelf in my dishwasher). The only thing that has to be cleaned by hand is the stainless steel grind plate. Always make sure the unit is dishwasher safe before you buy (unless you like cleaning by hand. I sure don't).
How quickly should I consume the juice
It depends on the acid level and the type of fruit or vegetable. If it is a low acid vegetable then you should drink it immediately. For other types of fruit and vegetables you can wait a little longer, just keep in mind that some light sources and air born molecules (like oxygen) will start to degrade the juice over time. A masticating juicer will produce juice that lasts a little longer because there is less oxygen imparted in the juice. I would never recommend waiting over half an hour to consume your juice if you are drinking it for nutritional reasons. If you are just drinking it for taste then you have about a day.
What are the advantages of owning a juicer?
-Fresh juice tastes better.
-You can control the amount of sugar and nutrients you add to the finished product.
-It has greater nutrition value.
-It is not pasteurized.
What are the disadvantages of owning a juicer?
-Juice needs to be drunk fairly quickly.
-It is a lot of work.
-You usually have a small mess to clean up.
-It takes time (although quicker than a run to the store.)
-It can be more expensive than store bought juice.
-Juicing machines can be expensive.
-Most fruit have a high concentration of sugar which is bad if you are on a diet. (although less than some store bought juices)
-Juicing machines take up a good deal of space in a kitchen (which is bad if you have a small kitchen like me.)
Who should not buy a juicer?
-People that hate cooking in the kitchen.
-Convenience oriented individuals.
My final recommendation.
For most fruits, it is cheaper and more convenient to buy juice from the store. This is my recommendation to most households. Store bought juice lasts longer in the fridge and does not require any preparation. I want to encourage any of you out there that are considering a juicer but hate to work to NOT buy a juicer. The rewards are worth it but most people that buy a juicer never use it after the first month. This is just a waste of money. If you love fresh juice and do not mind the work and clean up, then a juicer is for you. For me I feel having my two juicers is worth it.
My juicer reviews
Jack LaLane Juicer
Metrokane Chef's Juicer
Oster electric juicer
Xango, Mangosteen fruit juice.
And my newest citrus press that I highly recommend.
Jupiter heavy duty citrus press by OrangeX
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