Most people don’t eat nearly enough fruits and vegetables. Juicers can help you dramatically increase your intake of these foods. But keep in mind that fruit juices and carrot juice can spike your blood sugar levels, since they’ve got lots of sugar but virtually no fiber (the whole point of a juicer is to separate juice from the fiber/pulp). Vegan smoothies can therefore be a healthier choice than juice, since smoothies retain all the fiber of their fruits and vegetables.
There are two kinds of home kitchen juicers. Centrifugal models occupy the low-to-mid points of the spectrum, and generally cost anywhere from $40 to $200. Masticating models are priced higher, mainly because they feature larger and more powerful motors.
There are also manual or electric citrus reamers, which are often called juicers. I won’t cover them here other than to say that it’s worth owning one for juicing oranges and lemons.
Centrifugal vs. Masticating Juicers
Centrifugal models contain a demonic blade/strainer basket spinning at upwards of 10,000 rotations per minute. The blades tear up your fruit or veggies, then fling the pulp by centrifugal force against the strainer’s walls. The juice is then extracted using exactly the same method as a top-loading laundry machine’s spin cycle: the centrifugal force of the whirling demonic blade strainer spins any liquid (juice) out of the basket and into the unit’s collection cup.
Masticating units operate entirely differently. They use a slow-rotating auger that thoroughly crushes and presses (masticates) your fruit or vegetables. After that, the juice drips through a screen at the bottom of the mastication chamber.
The advantages of a centrifugal juicer are that it’s cheaper, lighter, and faster.
The advantages of a masticating juicer are that the juice will be better quality owing to reduced oxygen exposure. Masticating juicers also do a better job of chewing up the vegetables they process, creating a slightly richer juice.
The best high-end juicers therefore marry a masticating juicer with a hydraulic press that extracts every drop of liquid from the pulp. Unfortunately, these “hydraulic” juicers are ridiculously expensive, and are used primarily by commercial juice companies.
Buying Advice
Masticating juicers once cost a great deal more than centrifugal juicers, which made the latter choice preferable for most people. But you can now buy a quality masticating juicer for not much more money than a decent centrifugal model.
This affordably priced Jocuu Slow Masticating Juicer is an excellent choice for home use. The motor has a multi-year warranty. If you want to go higher-end, consider the Omega J8006HDS cold press juicer, which unlike most models can also juice wheatgrass.
Alternately, if all you want is an occasional glass of freshly made juice, maybe a bargain-basement centrifugal juicer is just the ticket.
