So you decide to join the ranks of the health-conscious, taking their five a day all at once in a healthy glass of juice. You want to know how to choose a juicer which will suit your needs, with so many out there to choose from.
The first thing to do is decide what kind of juice you intend to make; only citrus juices, only the juice of soft fruits, a mix of fruits and vegetables, juice involving wheatgrass or other herbs, or all of the above. There are different types of juicer: citrus juicers, centrifugal or masticating juicers, then into sub-categories of either pulp-ejecting or non-pulp-ejecting, which means the pulp is either separated into a different container, or is left in the juicer and needs emptying from time to time.
1. Citrus Juicers do just that – juice citrus fruits: they will deal with all kinds of citrus fruit; limes, lemons, mandarins, oranges and grapefruit etc but not with any other kind of fruit. This process involves the fruit being cut into halves, and a half fruit pressed onto a ‘reamer cone’ which revolves and extracts the juice. There are also manual juicers, where the reamer is static and the user must twist the fruit manually.
2. Centrifugal Juicers spin at high rpm, sending the foods against shredder discs to extract juices. A pulp ejecting juicer will dispatch the pulp to a separate container and dispense the juice to a jug or glass, while a non-pulp ejecting juicer dispenses juice through the spout, leaving pulp inside the basket, which will require emptying from time to time.
3. Masticating Juicers deal with fruit by “chewing” it between two grinders (masticating) to extract juice, which will contain more fiber. These juicers can also produce more substantial masses like nut butters, baby food etc. They are able to deal with all kinds of fruit and vegetable, wheat grass and herbs, nuts, and often grains and cereals.
Most juicers can cope with citrus fruits, but will need you to peel them first, if you don’t want the bitter peel taste. However citrus juicers remain the best for citrus juice. Juicers have evolved such that they can mostly deal with any job you choose to give them, whether or not you have to peel or prepare beforehand. Newer versions have extra wide feed chutes which will accept many fruits whole, with only larger fruits needing a little cutting first. It is not difficult to know how to find the right juicer once you know what you need it to do and what type of juice you like. Then you choose your juicer according to your budget and your needs. Enjoy!
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