Most people don’t eat nearly enough fruits and vegetables. Juicers can help you dramatically increase your intake of these foods. But keep in mind that fruit juices and carrot juice can spike your blood sugar levels, since they’ve got lots of sugar but virtually no fiber (the whole point of a juicer is to extract juice from the fiber). Vegan smoothies can therefore be a healthier choice than juice, since smoothies retain all the fiber of their fruits and vegetables.
There are two kinds of home kitchen juicers. Centrifugal models occupy the low-to-mid points of the spectrum, and generally cost anywhere from $30 to $200. Masticating models occupy the mid-to-high end, and cost $90 to $350.
Centrifugal vs. Masticating Juicers
Centrifugal models contain a demonic blade/strainer basket spinning at upwards of 10,000 rotations per minute. The blades tear up your fruit or veggies, then fling the pulp by centrifugal force against the strainer’s walls. The juice is then extracted using exactly the same method of a top-loading laundry machine’s spin cycle: the centrifugal force of the whirling demonic blade strainer spins any liquid (juice) out of the basket and into the unit’s collection cup.
Masticating units operate entirely differently. They’ve got a series of spinning serrated blades that tear apart (masticate) your fruit or vegetables. After that, the juice drips through a screen at the bottom of the mastication chamber.
The advantages of a centrifugal juicer are that it’s cheaper, lighter, and faster.
The advantages of a masticating juicer are the the juice will be better quality owing to reduced oxygen exposure. What’s more, the juice will contain more nutrients. That’s because masticating juicers do a much better job of chewing up the vegetables they process. Masticating models are easier to clean, too.
The best high-end juicers therefore marry a masticating juicer with a hydraulic press that extracts every drop of liquid from the pulp. Unfortunately, these “hydraulic” juicers are ridiculously expensive, and sell at a few thousand dollars.
Buying Advice
Masticating juicers once cost a great deal more than centrifugal juicers, so you could once make a strong case for buying the latter if you were on a tight budget. But you can now get a quality masticating juicer for roughly the same price as a decent centrifugal model. So it no longer makes sense to buy a centrifugal juicer, since masticating juicers produce a much better grade of juice.
This Mooka Slow Masticating Juicer is therefore an excellent choice for home use, and it’s very affordably priced. The motor has a ten year warranty. If you want to go higher end, consider the Omega NC800 HDS slow speed masticating juicer, which unlike most models can also make wheat grass.
