People have been juicing even as far back as 150 BC to 70 AD as indicated by the Dead Sea Scrolls unearthed by archaeologists. The first juicer machine used a hydraulic press and was created in 1936 by Dr. Norman Walker. He released the book “Raw Vegetable Juices” describing the benefits of juicing and lived until he was 99.
The first masticating juicer called Champion was introduced in 1954. It was followed by the GreenPower twin-gear juicer in 1993 and later by the popular and more affordable centrifugal juicers and heavy-duty hydraulic press juicers.
Type Of Juicers
Centrifugal
The most common type of juicer that you can buy is the centrifugal juicer. Operating at speeds of about 3,000-16,000 RPM, it works by chopping up the vegetables and fruit that you want to juice using a sharp, flat blade and then spinning the chopped foods at high speeds to extract the juice from the remaining pulp.
It is the power of this spinning, or centrifugal force, that separates the juice. The juice then passes through small holes located in a straining basket, leaving the pulp behind to be removed. After the juice is strained it is then collected in a cup or other container in the juicer.
Since these juicers are so common, they are also the least expensive option that you can buy. They are great if you are just getting into juicing or aren’t going to be juicing on a regular basis and are very easy to use and to clean, and you will get your juice relatively quickly when using a centrifugal juicer.
Unfortunately, these juicers are incredibly noisy and have a lot of foam on the juice because of the way air is trapped in the juice while the machine spins. Additionally, your juice will begin to oxidize almost immediately after being extracted, and since the blades don’t do a great job chopping the food you will miss out on a lot of nutrients.
Centrifugal juicers don’t do a great job on herbs, leafy vegetables, or wheatgrass, so users need to stick to more solid vegetables and fruits. The extracted juice can separate easily due to the high water content and can’t be stored in the refrigerator to be enjoyed later.
Masticating
Masticating juicers go by a lot of names, including “single-gear”, “cold press”, and “slow” juicers. They actually break down the fruits and vegetables that you want to juice into a finely ground pulp, which allows this juicer to release all of the enzymes and nutrients contained in the food. The end result is a juice that is deeper in color and has more minerals and nutrients, making it a much healthier drink.
Masticating juicers run much slower than centrifugal juicers, at about 80-120 RPM, so they do not cause the juice to oxidize due to cellular destruction. These juicers come in both vertical and horizontal options. The vertical juicers are more aesthetically pleasing, don’t take up as much space on the counter, and have a larger auger and feeding chute.
The vertical chute means that the produce being juiced falls into the juicer on its own, making this type of juicer relatively hands-off. Horizontal juicers require more work, but they have a smaller feeding chute that forces you to slowly feed in your produce. This ensures that you do not feed the juicer too quickly for the RPMs.
Masticating juicers are ideal for juicing herbs, leafy vegetables, and wheatgrass, and produce a dryer pulp and more juice than other kinds of juicers. They are much quieter than centrifugal juicers and produce juice that can be stored for up to 24 hours in the refrigerator.
The juice has very little foam, tastes great, and is rich in nutrients. Unfortunately, these juicers tend to be very heavy and cost a lot more than other types of juicers, making them a bit more of an investment. Of course, you will find that you enjoy better-quality juice and get more of it when using a masticating juicer, so you will make back the increased cost over time.
Triturating
Known also as “twin-gear” juicers, triturating juicers work by pounding, crushing, or grinding the fresh vegetables and fruits into fine particles to extract all of the enzymes, nutrients, and juice that they can. They have two gears that rotate towards each other with a very small gap in between them.
This gap allows small bits of ground produce and juice to move between the gears, ensuring that all juice possible is extracted. The juice from these juices will be dark, rich, and packed with nutrients. Operating at 80-160 RPM, this juicer uses such a low speed so that the juice does not oxidize and has enzymes and nutrients that are close to nature and very well preserved.
These juicers self-feed due to the motion of the gears and can easily juice soft produce and leafy items without any problem. However, hard foods, like carrots, can be a little difficult for some people to force into the juicer. If you struggle with this then you will want to cut the produce into finer pieces to make it easier to push between the gears.
When you buy this kind of juicer you will have the option of different attachments that will allow you to use the juicer’s motor to also make pasta or even grind grains. Additionally, there may be controls that will allow you to adjust pulp output.
You will enjoy more juice from your juicer when using a twin-gear juicer, and it is very quiet when compared to centrifugal juicers. The motor operates at such a low speed that you don’t need to worry about oxidation of the juice or missing out on important nutrients. The juice you get is so stable that it can be stored in the refrigerator up to 36 hours without problems and tastes concentrated and rich.
Your triturating juicer does a great job on leafy vegetables and produces dry pulp with very little juice waste. The problem with these juicers is primarily how much it costs, as it is the most expensive of the three main kinds of juicers. You also have to dedicate more time to juicing, as the process takes longer, and can be a little more difficult compared to other types of juicers. These juicers are also incredibly heavy, which means that you may have trouble moving them, but also ensures that the juicer won’t bounce around on the counter.
Manual
Non-electric juicers are easy to find, relatively inexpensive to buy, silent during operating, and easy to clean. In addition, they are small enough to pack in the car on a trip and don’t have any risks of injury since there aren’t any moving parts. Citrus juicers are the most common type of manual juicers and do a great job juicing all types of citrus, including lemons, oranges, limes, and grapefruits.
They require the user to cut the piece of citrus in half across the middle and then place it on the juicer. Some manual citrus juicers then have a handle to press the fruit and squeeze out the juice, while others have a cone that the user presses the juice onto to extract the juice. While you can find some electric citrus juicer, it’s much easier to find manual ones. These juicers are limited in the kind of product that you can use and do tend to take much more time to extract juicer than other juicers do.
Hydraulic Press
Hydraulic press juicers are often overlooked because they are not conventional, but they do an incredible job juicing produce and operate by using pressure to press the juice out of produce. The first step that these juicers use is to grind, shred, or cut the produce into smaller pieces.
After that is completed then the juicer can exert extreme pressure to extract the juice from the produce. Some hydraulic press juicers have pressure up to 6,000 PSI, allowing the juicer to extract an incredible amount of enzymes, minerals, and vitamins from the produce. The resulting juice is not only packed with nutrients but also more flavorful than juice that you can get from any other juicer.
Of course, this type of juicer takes more time to use and is more difficult to clean, and is so expensive that most people are unwilling to buy one. However, they don’t introduce a lot of air to the juice, resulting in a product that will stay fresh and safe to drink for a very long time.
Pulp Ejecting
Wheatgrass
As healthy as wheatgrass is, it can be really difficult to find a juicer that can handle it. If you want to be able to juice wheatgrass and add it to your morning juice then you must look for a juicer that is able to juice this produce. Since it isn’t bulky like most fruits and vegetables that you’re going to be juicing, it will tend to catch in the juicer and not get chopped or ground up. Instead of being able to extract the juice from your wheatgrass, most juicers will simply mangle it. You have to buy a juicer that will be able to actually press the wheatgrass, as any sort of grinding will only ruin it.