How to Choose a Juicer

People who are new to raw food or juicing often ask me how to choose a juicer. This is not an easy question. I always suggest that a person should buy the best kitchen tool he or she can afford. 

 Mine! - Breville Juicer

As with everything you will either use your juicer daily, or keep it out of sight, in its original box where it will never see the light of the day. Buying a "right" juicer can make a big difference.

People who are new to juicing are horrified how much food is wasted after a juice has been made and get discouraged very quickly. They might still use their juicer from time to time when they feel that they need to detoxify their bodies, but they would rather use a blender. But juice is not a smoothie and blenders do not separate fruit or vegetable pulp from liquid. They liquify all the ingredients and keep the indigestible fiber in the blend.

If you want to drink a pure juice you will have to use a juicer of some kind. The more powerful the juicer the better the juicing experience. You can trust me on that. I owned few juicers that broke down rather quickly before I decided to invest in a very powerful one. I bough a Breville centrifugal juicer that came with 1200 Watt motor and 35 years warranty! Unfortunately this juicer is not very well suited for juicing wheat or barley grass, but it is wonderful with all kinds of fruit and vegetable.

To juice wheat grass you will need a masticating juicer. My husband bought a Champion juicer with a special attachment that makes grass juicing possible. This is another powerful juicer that will last for many years. It is very expensive but you can also use it to make wonderful ice cram out of frozen fruits. Additional attachments allow you to grind grains and seeds into flours.

His! - Champion Juicer

Both juicers are easy to assemble, easy to operate and easy to clean. Many people get discouraged when they realize how tedious it is to clean up a juicer they bought. Yes, the juicer must be "dismantled" and washed after juicing, and the sooner you wash it the better. 

Both juicers eject the pulp into receptacles. The Breville juicer has one that is incorporated into its design. The Champion juicer ejects the pulp into a bowl that has to be placed near it during juicing. Believe me, ejection of pulp into a receptacle makes such a difference! My first juicer did not eject the pulp and I had to stop it few times during juicing to remove the pulp from the juicing basket. This was quite messy and I did not really enjoy it. I bet, you would not either.

My suggestion is, look around before you spend any money. Visit a store and ask for demonstration. Merchants who really want to sell their products are happy to show you how their juicers work. Ask friends what juicers they are using and what it their juicing experience.

Once you have chosen a bought a juicer you will end up with the juicer's dilemma: What to do with all the pulp that remains after juicing. Like many other people who love juicing I came up with few recipes that utilize the pulp. To find out more, read my article How to Save Money With Juicing. Also, check out the recipes that are listed under the label "frugal recipe." But if you do not feel like using the leftover pulp, you can always compost it. 

Each juicer comes with its own recipe book, but once you start juicing you will create your own delicious recipes. No juice will ever taste the same and you will never buy a bottled juice again.

One last thing, I know people who make juices with their blenders. They blend all the juice ingredients and let the blend pass though an nut bag or a mesh of some sorts. If you can afford only one kitchen tool at this time, a high speed blender would probably be better for you. The juice making would be a bit laborious, but you will still be able to make a juice when you want one.

In radiant health - passionately raw - Dominique

Dominique Allmon©2014