Ten Important Things To Consider Before Buying A Juicer

Ten Important Things To Consider Before Buying A Juicer

There is nothing healthier than freshly squeezed juice and the difference between great juice and any juice is the type of juicing machine you buy. You have the choice of going manual or electric, masticating or centrifugal and whatever new features your juicer will come with but if you are not careful enough, you may not get that clean thick juice you want. It is therefore smart to evaluate your kitchen needs before laying down money on any juicer and always avoid flimsy-looking juicers because even when they are cheap, they are not worth the money. Here are ten of the most important things when it comes to buying a juicer.

What Do You Plan on Juicing?

Now, you may think that as long as you have a juicer, anything from carrots to green vegetables can be juiced but that is not the case. Juicing apples and carrots are very different from celery and tomatoes. If all you plan on making is orange and lemon juice, a small citrus press will work, just get one that is durable and whose coating won’t peel into your juice. Juice presses and masticating juicers are always the best for handling hard products although you will have to use more energy on the presser if your fruits are tougher. Otherwise, if you mostly juice soft fruits and green vegetables, a centrifugal juicer will get the job done.

The Feeding Chute

To juice fruits, they have to be fed into the juicer all the way to the main press and the larger your chute is, the easier it will be to feed in the fruit and get the juice out. It mostly does for masticating and centrifugal juicers which come with a feeding chute at the top. The standard width is 3 inches, but the bigger you can get the better. A small chute means that only small stuff can go in and that means more work for you.

Durability

This is the most important consideration when buying a juicer and while durability will largely depend on how you handle your juicer, the construction has to be solid. Flimsy plastic citrus presses will definitely break after a few presses and that just doesn’t work. Manual pressers also need to have a strong and durable steel construction and cast iron or aluminium plates. To determine the power of your motor when buying an electric juicer, just look at the wattage. You should also take off the chutes and the covers and check out the quality of steel blades or press your juicer has.

Power

Juice presses can last in your home or hotel for decades because they are rarely tested to their limits. You however have to use more energy when you need to make a lot of juice which is why electric pressers are easier to use. You should still go for the highest wattage you can afford because that indicates how powerful your motor is. The motor dictates the durability of masticating and centrifugal juicers.

Ten Important Things To Consider Before Buying A Juicer

Your Budget

Whatever juicer you like, you will still have to pay for it and the amount you are willing to pay will determine what you get. If your budget is below $30, you can get a citrus press or other simple electric juice makers but they won’t be well suited for the hard stuff. You could get a good centrifugal juicer for less than $100 depending on brand and quality. You need $80 to $120 to get a good quality masticating juicer. The quality of construction and wattage should be your guide on what quality the juicer will offer. A good manual standing juice press will cost you $70 to $120 depending on the quality of material used.

The Yield Level of The Juicer

Yes! Juicers have yield levels which come down to how effectively they can remove juice from the pulp. The manufacturers may state that the juicer has a higher yield but the fact remains that the yield depends on the amount of pressure the pulp is subjected to. Manual presses can have a high yield depending on how hard you press them. You can always press again until no more juice is coming out. Centrifugal juicers are the ones that have the lowest yield, especially from hard fruits because they make juice by shaking the pulp rapidly. Masticating juicers remain the kings of the yield for electric juicers.

Number Of Functions

Extra features are being added to juicers nowadays to make collection and storage faster and easier and also make it easy to clean after juicing. They shouldn’t necessarily increase the price of the juicer though because the basic function is to get lots of juice quickly and if the juicer has that, then extra functions can wait. Some juicers may have advanced extra features such as making oil, pasta, butters or milk or crushing ice, nuts, soy and almond. While these features are great, they are not primary and may not work as effectively as you expect. Other simple additions such as a jar or a stop switch may also suffice.

Heat And Noise

Heat is bad for vitamins since they are soluble and can evaporate. While speed is great for juicing, it also comes with lots of heat which is why centrifugal juicers need to be watched. Masticating juicers rarely get very hit but some can be very noisy. A good juicer should be slow but strong and get all the juice out without exposing the product to heat.

Ten Important Things To Consider Before Buying A Juicer

Quantity Of Juice You Intend on Making

If you plan on juicing lots of fruits every time, you may want a powerful press that will squeeze a litre of juice in under a minute. A powerful motor also points to more power which means you will be able to produce lots of juice without overheating. With manual presses, the quantity you can make only depends on the size of the chute and the power of the pressing plates.

Cleaning And Maintenance

After making juice, the tough cleaning job will start and it will be way harder if your juicer can’t be taken apart for cleaning. If your juicer has parts that can go into the dishwasher, then that will be even better. If you can’t take it apart, then cleaning will be tough.

Do you have any other tips when it comes to buying a juicer? If you do why not tell us about them in the comments below.

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