How to Choose a Juicer

So you have decided to buy a new juicer. If this is your first one, congratulations are in order. This is one of the easiest and enjoyable ways to improve your health. If you have owned a juicing appliance before then you may already know the sort of machine you want. However, perhaps the suggestions contained within this juicer buying guide will reassure you that you’re making the right decision. Rather than talk about which specific juicer you should purchase, I simply want to discuss the most important points that you should consider to help you make up your mind. These are:

• Price of juicer vs. your budget
• Types of juice you want to make
• Speed of use and ease of cleaning

There are other sites on the internet with a wider range of juicer reviews than I have here. So if none of the models that I discuss appeal to you then there are other websites that will be able to assist you. Let’s now look at the three points above in more detail.

Price of Juicer vs. Your Budget

You can really spend as much or as little as you want on a juicer. At the high end of the spectrum are appliances such as the Norwalk Juicer 275 which costs around $2,500 (two thousand five hundred dollars) through to much cheaper units for under $50. Cost is obviously an important factor to consider. What you really want is a juicer that does everything you need at a price you can afford. You do not have to spend a fortune to find the best juicer. At the same time, if you care too much about the purchase price, it is possible overlook they actual functionality that you require.

No one can tell you how much you should spend. I would suggest that you want to keep price in mind while you think about the following two points. Once you are clear on the types of drinks that you want to make, you’ll have a better idea about which sort of appliances meet your needs.

Types of Juice You Want to Make

This is perhaps the most important issue. Once you have the answer to this question, everything else begins to fall into place. Do you simply want to make fresh orange juice to have at breakfast time? In this case, a citrus juicer would be perfect. Not only is this the best juicer for the job, it is also going to be pretty cheap. A couple of popular models include the Tribest Citristar Electric Citrus Juicer or the even cheaper Oster 3186 Juice-n-Serve 27-Ounce Automatic Citrus Juicer.

If you need a more versatile juicing appliance the three main options open to you are either a centrifugal, masticating or twin gear model. Each of these appliances have particular strong points. For making things like carrot juice, apple juice or any drinks using primarily hard fruits and vegetables, a centrifugal unit makes a good option.

Where centrifugal juicers are weak though is where both masticating and twin gear units are stronger. To make green drinks which use leafy green vegetables as a main ingredient, the slower grinding, masticating juicer, and crushing, of the twin gear models, is more appropriate. Simply put, you get a higher juice yield. Masticating juicers such as the Omega J8006 can also be used to make shots of wheat grass. Both masticating and twin gear appliances can juice any kind of produce really. However they are slower and more expensive than the lower cost centrifugal juicers.

As you can see, each style of juicing appliance has its own strengths and weaknesses. It is not simply a case of one style being better than another. It all comes down to how you look at it and what you personally see as the most important factor(s).

Speed of Use and Ease of Cleaning

As you would expect, there are differences in this area too. Typically it is the juicers with fewer parts that are easier to assemble, use and clean. In general, citrus juicers and centrifugal juicers are both pretty quick. Part of this is because you don’t really have to cut up the produce that you want to juice into tiny pieces.

With citrus juicers, all that you have to do is cut however many oranges or grapefruits you want to juice, in two. Lots of centrifugal juicers these days, such as the cheap Breville BJE200XL have wide feed chutes. In fact, all Breville models have a 3″ wide hole at the top. This makes it real simple to feed in whole, or roughly chopped, ingredients. The Breville 800JEXL is made entirely of stainless steel.

Masticating and twin gear units on the other hand have smaller holes to push the produce through. The Omega VRT350HD can take more produce at a time than the horizontal style, but still not quite as much as centrifugal units. There is a trade off here though. Masticating and twin gear juicers are slower however they have a wider range of uses.

For me, the crux of the issue relates to the sort of juices that I want to make. Once you can answer this question, you will have a much better idea about which is the most appropriate style of juicer for you. On a personal level, I use a citrus juicer, a centrifugal juicer and a masticating juicer. I have nothing against twin gear juicers and I considered buying the Green Star GS-1000 but opted for the Omega VRT350HD masticating juicer simply because I wanted a vertical style masticating juicer – also, it was a bit cheaper.

Since I have a few different juicing appliances, I can simply use the most appropriate one for my needs of the day. If I had to choose just one, it would either be my Omega VRT350HD or Breville BJE510XL. Citrus juicers are nice but with a bit more effort, it is easy enough to make orange juice with either of these two machines. The Breville has speed and ease of use in its favor and it’s a bit cheaper too. The Omega, on the other hand, can handle anything you throw at it and it does make a better quality juice.

If I could only have one of these two, I would go for the Omega VRT350HD. I suppose it’s a bit like falling in love. There is something about this one that makes me like it more than any other. It is really cool how I can just drop things in the feel chute and there’s no real need to use the plunger. If you want a juicer for any occasion, and can afford it, this is the one I recommend.

On my site, I don’t have all that many juicer reviews as I only like to talk about machines that I have used myself. If I can encourage just one person to begin a juicing lifestyle I’ll feel like I have accomplished something.

[Edit: I am glad to announce that the scope of this juicer review site is expanding. I have been speaking to friends, both on and offline, and am happy to report that they are beginning to send me reviews of juicers they own.]

• Vitamix Blender – by Karen