The important thing to keep in mind when choosing a juice extractor is that – while there are several types of juicers and hundreds of different brands and models of juice machines available on the market today – there is no “perfect” juicer that will perform every juicing operation with equal quality. When buying a juicer, you should ask yourself, what considerations are important to you, when making your choice. For example, you may want to consider:
Ease of Use and Speed. The best juicer of all is the juicer that you will actually use. That is why the ease of cleaning and speed of juicing can be the most important factors for many people. It does not matter what quality of juice you can produce with a juicing machine and what other virtues it touts if it keeps collecting dust in your kitchen cabinet.
Types of produce you will be juicing. Different types of juicers are better suited for juicing certain kinds of produce than others: leafy greens, soft fruits, vegetables. There is no “perfect” juicer that will perform every juicing task with equal quality. While a centrifugal juicer may be able to juice the rind of a pineapple more efficiently, in most situations, the low speed action of a masticating juicer allows you to juice more vegetables with greater efficiency. A masticating juicer is especially good at juicing the green leafy vegetables such as wheatgrass, spinach, parsley, cilantro, kale, Swiss Chard, etc. While a centrifugal juicer can do a decent job juicing leafy greens, the centrifugal juicer is certainly not as efficient as a masticating juicer in this regard.
Type of juicing machine. Read my post explaining all the different types of juice extractors Buying a Juice Extractor: Centrifugal, Masticating, Triturating, and Wheatgrass Juicers Review for detailed explanation information.
Size of opening. Some juicers have wide feeding chute allowing you to put whole fruits and vegetables without the need to cut them. With other machines, you will need to cut every piece of produce before being fed. The larger the opening, the less preparation is required.
Quality of Juice. If you are juicing for health, should you purchase a centrifugal or a mastication type juicer? There are some claims that mastication juicers are superior because centrifugal juicers leave most of the nutrients in the pulp, which then gets thrown away, while the mastication-type juicer leaves very few nutrients in the pulp. Also, it’s possible that the heat produced by high speed action of a centrifugal juicer can be damaging to the enzymes in the juice. While I cannot confirm or deny these statements, one thing is for sure, a masticating juicer definitely does not create the friction that a centrifugal juicer will produce. So, I’d say, if you are juicing to help recover from some serious medical condition – then perhaps you should do more research on this subject. For the majority of people – especially those who seem to be always pressed for time – I’d say the quality convenience of use is probably the most important factor.
Oxidation. The twin-screw juicers use lower speed and therefore incorporate less air in the juice. However, because it takes so long to make the juice, by the time you are finished, the first part of the batch may be 20 minutes old. So, if you are planning to drink most of your juices immediately after extraction, then a centrifugal juicers is still a good choice, in my opinion. If you want to store your juices to be consumed hours or days after extraction, then you may want to consider a single gear or twin-screw juicing machine. Keep in mind that it is usually recommended that vegetable juices be consumed within 15 minutes of their preparation, since enzyme activity in juice 30 minutes old is one-half that of freshly made juice.
Yield. How much juice is extracted versus how much juice is still left in the pulp after juicing. The goal is to extract the most juice from the fruit or vegetable as possible. In general, centrifugal juicers that eject the pulp outside the machine yield less juice than juicers that keep the pulp in the basket. However, with continual ejection, a larger quantity of juice may be made without stopping to clean out the basket.
Noise Level. Masticating and triturating juicers are more quiet that centrifugal juicers, but manual juicers are the sure winners in this category.
Versatility. If you want to use your juicer for more than juicing, then masticating juicers masticating and triturating juicers can be used to make baby food, pasta, grind meat and to make nut butter. You may also consider getting a blender. A powerful blender such as Vitamix or Blendtec can be used for making juices and perform various other blending and grinding functions.
Durability and Reliability. Most cetrifugal juicers come with the limited warranty period (1-3 years), but many higher end juicers provide warranty periods which go as long as 15 years. Look for companies that supply replacement parts at reasonable cost.
Price. The most expensive juice extractor isn’t necessarily the best juicer for you. If you are still wondering whether juicing will fit into your family’s diet and nutrition program, an inexpensive $90 juicer may suffice. If you are still not sure how often you will use your juicer, don’t spend more than you absolutely have to. The main factors to consider when buying an inexpensive juicer is the power of motor – many lower cost juicers have really weak motor that will not last for someone that is serious about juicing; warranty - many cheap juicers may only have a 90 day year warranty. It’s best to buy a juicer with at least 3 year warranty; and the quality of the juicer – many of the lower priced juicers are made of mostly plastic (it will tend to stain over time), versus stainless steel construction of the more expensive machines. Most of the low cost juicers available in department stores are centrifugal ejection juicers.
Think about a juicer as an investment in your health, and as any investment – it should last.
Read my post explaining all the different types of juice extractors Buying a Juice Extractor: Centrifugal, Masticating, Triturating, and Wheatgrass Juicers Review. Read more articles on this Juicer Recipes blog. Some of my favorite recipes include Fresh V8 Juice Recipe, Watermelon-Grape Delight and Apricot-Mango Ambrosia. If you still don’t have a juicer and are considering getting one, read my review of my favorite juicing machine: Breville 800JEXL Juice Fountain Elite 1000-Watt Juice Extractor and read How to Make Juice Without a Juicer Using a Blender?
