Juicer types

First of all, before buying it is necessary to determine type of juicer, as it depends on such key indicators as productivity, types of processed products, speed of juice preparation of and even its shelf life. Modern home appliance market offers following types of juicers:

For citrus. These are simple, rather compact and inexpensive devices for processing only citrus fruits: oranges, grapefruits, lemons, limes, etc. They consist of rotating nozzle with ribbed surface and container where the juice flows. All that is required of you is to cut fruit and put half on nozzle, flesh side down. In conventional models, you will have to press it manually, but there are also more advanced devices with clamping mechanism. Often, citrus juicers have little power and cost, as they are quite simple to equip and use. Perhaps they have only one drawback - narrow focus, because they are intended only for citrus fruits and are not able to squeeze other fruits juice.

Stylish citrus juicer Smeg CJF01.

Centrifugal. These are one of the most popular juicers today as they are versatile and high performing. Such models have more complex equipment: fruits are first crushed, after which separator separates juice from the cake. By the way, cake remains quite wet, so it can be used in other dishes - for example, in pies and other pastries. However, amount of pure juice is correspondingly less. When buying juicer, we advise you to pay attention to models with automatic ejection of squeezed pulp into separate container. This feature greatly simplifies the cleaning of the instrument: you do not have to periodically stop process and clean separator.

Centrifugal juicer Kenwood Excel JE 850.

During operation, engine develops high speed and provides large number of revolutions, which leads to temperature increase. Firstly, juice can heat up, and secondly, it oxidizes due to contact with air currents. As result, some of vitamins are destroyed, and the shelf life of juice is reduced. To get maximum nutrients, it is better to drink it immediately, within 10 - 20 minutes after preparation. In addition, due to high power, devices are quite noisy, and juice is often obtained with foam.

Centrifugal Juicers

But centrifugal juicers also have many advantages. They are universal, because they can process almost any vegetables, fruits and berries. Although it is difficult for them to cope with fibrous and hard fruits. In addition, such juicers are characterized by high performance: they work quickly and process large number of products in short time. Therefore, they are in demand among lovers of home conservation and owners of garden plots.

According to operation principle, auger juicers resemble meat grinder : rotating, auger crushes fruits and squeezing them, and special sieve retains cake, passing only juice into container. Manufacturers offer vertical and horizontal models, which differ in design and auger location. In first case, ingredients fall under their own weight, in second, they must be pushed into neck with pusher.

Auger juicer Bosch MESM500W.

Advantage of auger juicers is that they can extract maximum juice from almost any food, even soaked seeds and herbs. At the same time, consumption is much less than that of centrifugal juicers - cake is almost dry, and juice is more saturated and thick, since it often contains impurities. Thanks to cold pressing technique, juice does not heat up and retains maximum amount of vitamins and nutrients. In addition, it can be stored for longer - up to several days. Moreover, equipment consumes electricity economically and works quietly, so it will not disturb household, especially if you want fresh juice in early morning. But due to more thorough pressing, processing of vegetables and fruits is slower, so for large number of products, screw juicers are not as convenient as centrifugal ones. Often this technique is popular among athletes, lovers of healthy lifestyle and people who are prescribed diet. If you need to make one or two servings of healthy drink, take nutritious shake with you to your workout, or like to experiment with ingredients, this is just good option.

Combined juicers combines capabilities and design features of centrifugal and citrus juicers. This is small category of devices, as price tag on them is quite high. Their advantage is versatility, but they are no more effective, and often even inferior to specialized devices.

Centrifugal augers

Power

Important indicator of any household appliance is its power, and often the higher it is, the higher performance. This rule also works with juicers, but each type has its own optimal value. So, citrus juicers consume the least - usually their power does not exceed 100 - 200 watts. For screw models, this figure varies from 200 W to 500 W. Centrifugal juicers are the most “gluttonous”, because the higher their power, the faster separator rotates and juice is separated. In addition, continuous operation time often depends on power. Therefore, for this type, an indicator of about 1000 W is optimal, although there are models with power of more than 1500 W. Motor safety is also important, with features such as soft start and overheating protection to help prevent breakdowns and prolong life.

Speed modes are closely related to power, and it is desirable that there be several of them. For convenient use and work with different types of products, 2-3 speeds are more than enough, although some manufacturers add even more settings. Soft berries and fruits (cherries, currants, pomegranates, etc.) are best pressed at low speeds, and harder vegetables, herbs and other low-juicy ingredients - at high speeds. However, keep in mind that in centrifugal juicers, as speed increases, amount of pulp and foam increases, while at minimum speed, juice is cleaner and clearer.

Useful features

When choosing juicer, also pay attention to additional features that can provide more convenient use and comfortable work.

Foam separator separates foam from juice and gives user an already purified drink. Basically, centrifugal juicers need foam separators, since foam is formed as result of high speed revolutions. Of course, there is nothing harmful in the foam, but if you want to achieve perfect result, you will definitely appreciate foam separator.

Reverse - function that activates the movement of nozzle in opposite direction. It is often used in meat grinders to clean the auger of stuck pieces. In screw juicers, principle is the same. In addition, reverse can help increase work efficiency and squeeze the maximum amount of juice out of fruit. Basically, this option is found in auger models and citrus juicers.

Reverse juicers

Turbo mode. Unfortunately, this feature is not often found among juicers, which is pity. Turbo mode turns on maximum power of equipment for short time in order to clean internal parts of food residues. Thus, it greatly simplifies cleaning of device.

Drip-stop system is another feature to keep kitchen clean. It provides for swivel mechanism of faucet - by lifting it, you will prevent drops of juice from dripping onto surface and contaminating working area.

Safety. For correct and efficient operation of juicer, not only high power and careful squeezing of juice are important, but also protection system. Soft start and overheating protection take care of motor, extending its life. And protection against accidental activation blocks operation of motor if parts are assembled incorrectly, thereby eliminating injury to user. This feature is especially important if there are small children in house.

Equipment. Some manufacturers equip juicers not only with basic parts, but also with additional nozzles, thereby turning model into multifunctional technique. It can be sorbet attachment for making delicious treats of frozen berries and fruits, coffee grinder module with full grinder for grinding coffee beans, spices, nuts, and even blender module. In this case, you get jug with cutting knives that is attached to juicer and performs the functions of familiar stationary blender: grinding food (often even ice cubes), mixing them, making smoothies, various cocktails and mashed soup.

Multifunctional juicer Sage 3X Bluicer with blender module.

Equipment

In addition to main indicators such as type and power, design and equipment are also important in juicer. Here are some points to pay attention to when buying:

Neck. Juicer loading depends on shape and size of neck. For example, round neck with large diameter makes it possible to load large-cut fruits, and some even whole. Usually this indicator does not affect cost of goods, so it is better to immediately choose model with large opening in order to spend less time preparing vegetables and fruits in future.

Round neck juicers

Juice container. Citrus juicers are usually equipped with built-in juice container, but centrifugal and auger juicers have separate container. It is more convenient to pour juice from it, and if necessary, free-standing container can be replaced with other dishes. When choosing juicer, consider volume of this tank. For example, if you are preparing just glass of drink at time, small container with volume of up to 500 ml will suffice. However, if you need productive machine for processing large amount of crops, choose container that can hold several liters. But keep in mind that larger the tank, the more space juicer will take up on work surface.

Juicer Bosch MES4010 with separate juice container and round neck that fits whole apple.

Cake container. Automatic separation of cake into separate container is very useful feature in centrifugal, auger and combination juicers, as it eliminates need for user to periodically stop process and spend lot of time cleaning separator. All that is required of you in this case is to throw away waste from special container. Cake containers also come in different sizes - from 400 - 500 ml to 2 liters or more. Same principle works here as with juice container: the larger container, the less often it needs to be emptied, but the larger design becomes. Therefore, when choosing this option, also consider amount of juice you need.

Body material. Most models in range of manufacturers have plastic case, as it is more affordable and lightweight. Case made ofmetal(mainly aluminum or stainless steel) is characterized by increased strength and durability, but such devices are heavier and more expensive. In general, high-quality plastic and careful operation of device allow you to use it for as long as possible and and eliminate overpayment.

Alternatives

If there is no free space in kitchen for another appliance, and you can never make juice, if vegetables and fruits are lying around in refrigerator, there are alternative options - other household appliances, with special juicer nozzles that can fully prepare fresh juice . These are food processors and machines with centrifugal juicer and citrus press, as well as meat grinders. with juicer attachment. You can choose complete equipment or buy juicer attachment separately. In addition, you can mix delicious cocktails of soft vegetables, fruits and herbs using a stationary blender. It is more suitable for foods such as banana, which do not release juice, but will be good ingredient of drink as puree.