Juice extractors are not some craze, trend, or fad. Over the past few years their popularity has surged as more people realize just how useful these small appliances can be in losing weight, improving your diet, and helping you undo years of poor eating habits. We all know that we should be consuming a lot more fresh fruits and vegetables daily, but instead we often go for french fries and ketchup which can do more harm than good. Juicing lets you enjoy the vitamins and minerals of fresh produce in a more convenient manner.
Drinking your veggies is a lot easier than constantly snacking on them for hours during the day. You can condense all of your daily requirements down into just one glass and enjoy all of the benefits in a hassle free process. Getting a juicer for your home is a great way to improve the quality of your diet without feeling like livestock grazing on plants.
But what should you look for when shopping for a new juicing machine? What type of juicer should I get? Is it worth the price? These are all valid concerns that most people have when the first get into juicing. The best juicer is one that you look forward to using everyday and makes juicing a fun and worthwhile experience for you. If it is too much work, the juice tastes awful, it is hard to clean, or it takes too long, then you are less likely to stick with it and make it part of your routine.
Hopefully we can answer some of these questions for you so that you can find the perfect juicer for you and your family.
Centrifugal Or Masticating?
These are the two most common types of juicers that are geared to juicing fruits and vegetables. They both have their advantages and disadvantages so it is important to think about which style of juicer is going to be the beneficial to you.
Centrifugal Juicers
Advantages:
- Speed – These are super fast juicers that have steel blades that spin at high speeds. They will juice just about any type of food extremely fast. If you are always in a hurry or don’t have a lot of patience this is they type of machine that you will want.
- Price – Centrifugal machines are generally going to be less expensive than masticating juicers. You can use the money that you save to buy extra produce to juice.
- Easy To Clean – Not that masticating juicers are hard to clean, but these machines usually get very high marks from owners for hassle free cleaning.
- Wide Feed Chute – What also makes these machines faster is that you don’t have to spend a lot of time preparing your food to fit into the machine. They have large openings on their feed chutes that allow large sized fruits and vegetable to be dropped in.
Disadvantages:
- Noise – To get a fast juicer you must sacrifice by enduring some noise. These juicers have powerful motors that enable the blades to spin at high rates of speed. This rapid spinning creates a lot of noise that can sound like a jet engine in the kitchen. Probably comparable to the sound of a blender on a high setting.
- Leafy Greens – These juicers are not ideal for anyone looking to juice a lot of kale or wheatgrass. They will get some juice out of these types of vegetables, but they do not come close in juice yield to masticating machines.
- Juice Quality – The fast speeds also have the drawback of introducing more oxygen into the juice which will cause it to spoil faster. You should drink the juice right away as it will typically not keep that long.
Breville makes the absolute best centrifugal juicers and if you are interested in buying one of these types of extractors then this is the only brand name you should look at. They will range from $100 up to $400.
Masticating Juicers
Advantages:
- Juice Yield – This method of juicing breaks down fruits and veggies and then puts them under high pressure to squeeze the juice from the pulp. For harder and leafy foods this will give you very high juice yield and ensures that very little goes to waste.
- Juice Quality – This is also a slower method of juicing that doesn’t allow as much oxygen to get into the juice. What this means is that the juice will stay fresher for longer allowing it to be stored in the refrigerator for a few days. It also protects the nutrients from excess heat.
- Quiet Juicing – In direct contrast to centrifugal juicing machines, these types of juicers are relatively quiet. If you do not like to endure a noisy appliance then this is the type of juicer for you.
- Leafy Green Vegetables – Masticating juicers are the very best option if you wish to juice a lot of kale, spinach, wheatgrass, chard, or cabbage. This method works best with these types of foods.
Disadvantages:
- Price – Masticating juice extractors tend to be more expensive and it is hard to find a quality machine under $200.
- Speed – These juicers work at a slower pace so some added patience is required to take full advantage of everything that it can do.
- Jamming – If you try to stuff too much down the narrow feed chute at once it may occasionally jam. This is something that you won’t have to worry about with a centrifugal unit.
Unlike centrifugal juicers, there are several good brands from which to choose when shopping for a masticating juice extractor. Omega, Kuvings, Tribest, and Champion are some of the more popular brands in this area worth considering.
Is One Better Than The Other?
This is why many people have trouble picking their first juicer. It all comes down to personal choice. You have to determine which are the most important factors for your individual needs. Knowing your budget, which types of foods you want to juice most, how much noise you can tolerate, and how much time you have to juice are all things that are vital to making the right decision. The bottom line is that both types of juicers will offer you all of the benefits that juicing has to offer. In this regard, it is important to not be paralyzed with indecision as you cannot make a wrong choice.
Getting a juicer can truly have a positive impact on your overall health. Take the plunge and see for yourself. Whether you are looking to drop some weight in the caboose or just have a better overall diet, juicing has a lot of positives that are definitely worth exploring.
