Everyone knows that eating more fruits and vegetables is a healthy lifestyle choice but it’s not always easy to eat such large portions of fruits and veggies. A lot of people get into juicing to make it easier to consume the multiple servings of fruits and vegetables that we are supposed to each day.
Drinking juice is also a tastier and more enjoyable way for a lot of people to get the nutrients they need from fruits and vegetables. If you are in the market for a juicer you will have an almost unlimited number of options available to you so we put together this juicer buyers guide to help point out the things that are important look for before you purchase a juicer.
What Type of Juicer Do You Need?
One of the first things to decide is what type of juicer you want. There are citrus juicers that are designed to make things like orange juice and grapefruit juice but on this page we are going to focus on centrifugal juicers and masticating juicers.
Centrifugal juicers are the most common and also the most affordable. The way they work is by rotating a sharp blade at very high speeds and as you feed fruits or vegetables into the feed chute, the rapidly rotating blade pulverizes your produce. The pulp goes into a collection tank and the juice goes into a glass or serving pitcher.
A masticating juicer works in a much different way. Rather than using a rapidly spinning blade a masticating juicer uses a slowly rotating auger to crush and squeeze juice out of the fruits and vegetables you put into it. Masticating juicers are usually more expensive but they also have a number of benefits. This type of juicer is usually able to extract more juice from the same amount of produce when compared to a centrifugal juicer.
Operating at lower RPMs also reduces foaming and doesn’t generate heat the way a centrifugal juicer does. A lot of people believe that the excess heat is destroying the nutrients and enzymes from the fruits and vegetables and therefore a lot of people believe that masticating juicers are also the healthier option.
Some of the Features You Might Want to Look for
When you have decided which type of juicer you want you can start shopping but you will also find that each type of juicer has various models with different features. One of the most important things to look for is a powerful motor. A powerful motor will work more efficiently and will also last longer.
Of course a more powerful motor will be more expensive too. Another thing to look for is a juicer with stainless steel blades and filters because stainless steel is corrosion resistant. You may also want to look for juicer that has components that are dishwasher safe to make cleanup easier.
Another thing to consider is the size of the juicer you need. If you are making juice for one or two people a small juicer may be exactly what you need but if you are going to be making a lot of juice you may want a larger capacity machine.
When deciding on the size of your juicer you also need to consider how much counter space you have available or if you are going to be storing it in a cabinet. If you are constantly taking it out of the cabinet to use it and then washing it and putting it back the weight of the unit may be an issue for some people. These are just some of the things you need to keep in mind.
A Few Final Considerations
When you know what type of juicer you want and you have an idea of some of the features you are looking for it is time to start looking for the unit with the best price and the best user reviews. You can get a cheap juicer for about $35 or you could spend a couple thousand dollars for a commercial machine. In our research we have found that very good quality juicers for home use can be purchased in the $150 to $300 price range.
It’s also a good idea to look at customer reviews before making your final decision. If you see what other customers have to say about a particular machine it will give you a good idea of whether you are making the right choice or not. A machine may look great on paper but if customers are saying that it has cheap plastic parts and it breaks after a few months you might want to avoid that particular machine.
On the other hand, if customers are raving about a particular machine and can’t say enough good things about it then it is a safe bet that you have found a great juicer.
