What Type of Juicer Should You Get?
There are mainly two types of juicers: Slow/Masticating/Cold Press and Centrifugal juicers. The way slow juicers work is they gently squeeze or chew the ingredients- veggies and fruits to get the most amount out of them by efficiently removing pulp and fiber and the juice yield is often very high with these units, depending on the quality of the specific juicer. They are often suitable for juicing wheat grass, leafy greens, sprouts and a variety of fruits and some of the stronger ones with a larger motor capacity will act as food processors. The most important advantage of masticating juicers over the very fast and powerful centrifugal juicers is that it helps maintain nutrients and healthy enzymes better and also lengthening the shelf and fridge life of the final product as it will be generating less heat and less foam as a result of juicing and you will have more dietary fiber and more juice than centrifugal juicers that run at high speed and it often works much quieter.
You can make dough, sorbets, ice cream, make milk, peanut butter, salsas, sauces and baby food just like with a food processor. Slow juicers don’t have the traditional sharp blades (or any blades for that matter) of the fast juicers so you won’t have to handle blades during the cleaning. On the other hand, they don’t generally have large feeder tubes of the centrifugal so you’ll be cutting and putting in smaller pieces through the smaller feeder and harder skinned fruits may need to be peeled and there will be a bit of a pulp left in the juice which is both a disadvantage for those that want just the smooth liquid and a disadvantage as it is fiber that is good for your digestive system and overall health. With centrifugal juicers, you have the high speed very sharp blades and the centrifugal force and with the rotational movement, the juice is separated from the pulp that often goes into a separate container. You’ll get to use both soft and hard fruits and vegetables and you can put in whole produce through the large feeders of some units, you’ll get juice in larger amounts faster.
There will be less prep work for you and you’ll be able to stick whole apples or other fruits in and get juice quickly so you can have juice ready pretty quickly for several people at the same time. Most removable parts will be safe to be put in the dishwasher but you do need to be careful with those sharp blades. They are usually not suitable for the leafy greens or grass, pulp tends to be a bit wetter than the slow juicers and the resulting juice will contain fewer nutrients due to generated heat that is not good for healthy enzymes and nutrients, less dietary fiber and you may be likely to see more foam and they will be much noisier due to fast and powerful motor. So when you’re shopping for a juicer you might want to look for one without too many parts (and removable parts should be dishwasher safe), that is not too complicated and that is easy to operate without much preparation required, clean and store. A see-through glass or plastic container is nice to have, stainless steel or cast metal parts and high-quality materials are great for both the way it looks in your kitchen and will improve the unit power. You also have the citrus press to squeeze juices out of citrus fruits- oranges, tangerines, lemons and more, that is often simple and not as expensive, in both electric and manual versions.