Guide To Choosing A Juicer In the UK

Choosing a juice extractor can be a very tough decision, considering the amount of products on the market. The information we provide you with here should arm you with enough knowledge to choose a juicer suitable for your individual needs.

Firstly, the juicers on our website are selected on the basis of availability in the UK & Europe, quality, ease of use and reliability and they are all serviced in the UK. The majority of our juicers eject the pulp (fibres) separately to allow continuous juicing. We do not generally sell cheaper 'high-street' juicers, as the ones we have tested have been found to be of poor quality and difficult to clean. The motors and juicing parts tend not to be as refined as with the professional juicers which can lead to poor quality juice with lots of foam and a very wet pulp. These factors can often be enough to turn the user off juicing for good!

There are different types of juice extractor, often referred to as 'centrifugal', 'masticating' 'twin gear' and 'citrus' juicers. We will attempt to explain further the different types of juicers below but firstly, we will cover how juicing works.

What is Juicing?

Juicing is the separation of the juice and the fibre (pulp) from the produce being juiced. The juicing process breaks down the cells of the produce which releases the liquids in to one receptacle and the fibres are discarded in to a separate container.

Why would we want to do this?

Removing the fibre allows us to get at more of those essential nutrients contained in fruits and vegetables which would otherwise take a lot of chewing to eat, juice is also much easier for the body to absorb and digest. As we are now being encouraged to eat at least 5 different portions of fruit and vegetables per day - juicing is an excellent way to get these nutrients in to our bodies. The triturating juicing process used in Twin Gear juicers also discards the chemicals found in non-organic food into the pulp.

The heating of food destroys a significant proportion of the vitamins, minerals and enzymes contained in it, it also changes the structure of the molecules - making it more difficult for the body to absorb and in turn less digestible.

The use of natural 'raw' foods in treating cancer and other serious illnesses has proved successful where conventional modern medicine has failed.

THERE ARE GENERALLY THREE CATEGORIES OF JUICES:

GREEN JUICES: Green juices cleanse the body of pollutants and have a rejuvenating effect. Made from a variety of green vegetables, green juices are rich in chlorophyll, which helps to purify the blood, build red blood cells, detoxify and heal the body, and provide the body with fast energy. Green juices can be made with alfalfa sprouts, cabbage, kale, dandelion greens, spinach, and other green vegetables, including wheatgrass. To sweeten and dilute your green juices, try adding fresh carrot and apple juice. Although green juices have great health benefits, they should be consumed in moderation. Try drinking about 8 to 10 ounces a day.

VEGETABLE JUICES: Fresh vegetable juices are restorers and builders. They boost the immune system, remove acid wastes, and balance the metabolism. They also aid in the control of obesity by removing excess body fat. Among the most healthful and delicious of the vegetable juices are beet, cabbage, carrot, celery, cucumber, kale, parsley, turnip, spinach, watercress, and wheatgrass juice. Carrot juice is probably the most popular of the juices and is packed with beta-carotene, the vitamin A precursor that helps fight cancer. Because carrots are the sweetest of the vegetables, their juice is not just delicious on its own, but is great for mixing with other vegetables to increase their appeal. On the other hand, strong-flavoured vegetables - broccoli, celery, onions, parsley, rutabaga, and turnips, for instance - should be used in small amounts only. Garlic is also a great addition to vegetable drinks in small amounts. For the greatest health benefits, use many different vegetables when making your juices. That way, you will provide your body with a variety of important nutrients.

FRUIT JUICES: Fruit juices help to cleanse the body and nourish it with important nutrients, including cancer fighting antioxidants. Although any fruit can be used, certain juices are particularly healthful and delicious. One favourite cleansing juice is watermelon. To make this refreshing drink, place a whole piece of watermelon - with rind intact - in the juicer. Other delicious juices can be made with apples, berries, citrus fruits, kiwi, melons, pears - or just about any fruit that you want to use. You can enjoy fruit juices at any time of the day. About 10 to 12 ounces per day is recommended.

Types of Juicer

We will now explain the different types of juicers and their particular advantages and disadvantages.

Centrifugal (high-speed) Juicers

These type of juicers work by centrifugal force (pretty much like a Tornado), the produced is pushed down on to a grater which is revolving at approximately 10,000 Revolutions Per Minute (RPM). The speed of the grater effectively shreds the produce and the centrifugal force created underneath - sucks the liquid through which is dispensed into a receptacle. Some juicers utilise Pulp Ejection where the pulp is flung upwards and discarded into a separate container, others have an internal collection system.

Advantages: These juicers are generally very easy to use and are quick at producing juice. The juice quality is very good. We have tested the majority of centrifugal juicers on the market and have found that the L'Equip 110.5 juicer is the best of the pulp ejection bunch. The Magimix Le Duo is teh best with an internal collection system. These are good entry-level choices of juicer to start with if you are not sure that you will use it on a regular basis.

Disadvantages: Centrifugal juicers introduce oxygen and heat into the juicing process which reduces the shelf-life. Juice produced from these types of juicers should be drank immediately to prevent any further loss in nutritional value, therefore it cannot be stored. This juicing process is not as effective when juicing leafy produce and therefore they are not recommended for juicing wheatgrass and other leafy greens such as spinach. This type of produce can be successfully fed through by screwing it up in to a ball and feeding through between firmer produce but the yield is nowhere near as good as with 'masticating' and 'twin gear' juicers. Also, the pulp will be wetter than that from the other types of extraction process. They can be slightly noisy due to the high-speed motor.

Whole Fruit Centrifugal Juicers

More and more of these juicers are appearing on the market now and while the benefits of not having to chop up the produce before feeding through the machine seems great at first - the downsides can sometimes outweigh the good. Firstly, the extra power used by the High-Street versions to juice whole fruit can increases three-fold over the L'Equip 110.5, this extra power can result in the machine sounding like a jet engine taking off and some of our customers have reported concerns about the effect on their hearing! Secondly, once you have done a fair bit of chopping up of produce - you'll be surprised what you find inside. Grubs and decay can be found in even the most okay looking produce - do you really want to contaminate what you are drinking with this? Finally, the bigger the piece of produce - the more chance it has of bypassing the blade without being juiced and generally these juicers produce more foam than with the ones that require the produced to be chopped. These are the best models we have tested of this type - the Breville JE4, JE15 & JE16 and the Magimix Le Duo XL.

Masticating Juicers

These type of juicers utilise a slow speed extraction process of between 70 RPM and 160 RPM (depending on the juicer) to prevent heat and oxygen affecting the juice. There are different types of 'masticating' juicers with different processes with the most common being the 'single auger' process. All electric masticating juicers with the exception of the Angel, can produce smoothies, purees, salsas, sorbets and more by using the homogenizing screen.

Single Auger Juicers

The produce is pushed on to a large, slow turning screw (the auger) which crushes the fruit and vegetables against a cone shaped sieve (the juicing screen) which separates the juice from the pulp. The auger contains tiny grooves which direct the produce along the juicing screen. Juicers in this category include the manual Z-Star and the motorised Live Enzyme Juicer, The Compact 10 in 1 Juicer, the L'Equip Visor 509 and the Samson 6 in 1. Single auger juicers are able to juice wheatgrass and produce a very good yield, they are also whisper quiet in operation.

Advantages: Excellent quality juice as it has not been affected by frictional heat. This allows certain juices to be stored for up to 48 hours in a refrigerator with minimal loss of nutritional value. They come with extra attachments for making noodles and pasta and also a separate screen for making smoothies, purees, salsas, peanut butter and even truffles. Juice can be made in batches, stored in an airtight container and taken to work or school - you are not tied to only drinking juice when you're at home. Juice can also be frozen with minimal loss of nutrients, so its a good way to utilise all the produce that usually gets thrown away. Due to the design of the feeding chamber, these juices pretty much self feed and very little effort is required on the users behalf to push the produce through. Suitable for those people with very little hand strength or if suffering from arthritis.

Disadvantages: It's a slower process compared to a centrifugal juicer, the obvious difference is in the RPM (100's compared to 1000's). Also, the produce needs to be chopped smaller to fit the feed chute (usually 38mm). Unfortunately, the slow speed is the price you have to pay to get the best quality juice. To get an idea of how long this process takes, it would take 15 minutes to juice the equivalent of 2 x 350ml cans of pop, this includes chopping the produce and washing up. The actual juicing time is 5 minutes.

Single Cutter Juicer

The Champion juicer, the original and only true 'masticating' juicer has been around for 50 years. It utilises a cutter that has tiny teeth running along it which shreds and chews the produce. It operates at just over 1,000 RPM and is a commercial grade juicer which you will find in bars and restaurants around the country. This is one of our best-selling juicers due to the fact that its extremely well built and therefore should last a life-time.

Advantages: Especially good at chewing through harder produce like carrots and apples. Includes an extra screen for making smoothies, purees, salsas, peanut butter and even truffles. An 'optional' screen for juicing soft fruits can be purchased from us separately and there is also a Grain Mill for milling your own flour and grinding coffee. This is an extremely robust machine. Its commercial capability means that it can be run for longer than other domestic models without giving it a breather. It also has a feed chute of 45mm which is the biggest in the professional range.

Disadvantages: Leafy greens have to be passed through in small amounts with harder produce. When juicing larger volumes of fibrous vegetables and greens, there can be a slight increase in temperature of the juice from friction. Refrigerating produce prior to use does alleviate this. However, providing you are happy to juice any greens with plenty of carrot and apple, this should never happen. The Champion is not suitable for juicing wheatgrass but you can buy a manual wheatgrass juicer like the Easy Health juicer for under £30.00 to compliment the Champion. Also, due to the extraction process a certain amount of force is required to push the produce through the cutter, so would prove difficult for those people with very little hand strength or if suffering from arthritis.

Twin Gear (Triturating) Juicers

The most affective juicers out there. They utilise two stainless steel cylindrical gears that sit side by side. The produce is drawn in and effectively pulverised by the gears. This process produces the best quality juice and the highest yield of all the juicers. We always recommend these juicers first if your budget allows. Different models have their own unique selling points but our first recommendations are the Twin Health Living, Green Power Kempo and the Green Star range or the New all Stainless Steel Angel juicer extractors.

Advantages: The best quality juice you are going to get with the longest shelf-life. Although these type of juicers cost significantly more than the others, the savings made due to the gain in yield and nutritional value will pay for itself in the long-term. They come with separate screens for juicing different produce and the build quality is excellent. Excellent at all leafy greens and wheatgrass.

Disadvantages: Depending on the machine, these are the slowest of the juicers. Also, due to the extraction process a certain amount of force is required to push the produce through the gears so would prove difficult for those people with very little hand strength or if suffering from arthritis.

All juicers struggle with soft fruits like oranges, strawberry, kiwi etc compared to with harder fruit and vegetables as the pulp is much stickier which sometimes causes blockages, also the yield from these fruits isn't as good, The following juicers have a separate screen included or that can be purchased separately for juicing soft fruits. The Champion Juicer, Green Power Kempo, Twin Health Living and the Green Star juicers.

Citrus Juicers

These machines are dedicated to juicing oranges, grapefruit, pomegranate and other citrus fruit and therefore produce a better yield than using one of the conventional juicers above and don't require you to peel the produce first. They are motorised version of the old reamer style and can be manually or automatically operated by the user. There are also Citrus Presses which require the user to pull down on a lever which juices the half orange.