How to choose a juicer for vegetables and fruits

Millions of articles have probably been written about the benefits of healthy eating. And what could be more beneficial than natural vitamins contained in fresh vegetables and fruits?

Depending on how much energy the juicer uses to work, they are divided into mechanical and electrical. As the name implies, for actuating devices of the first type, manual mechanical forces are required, while electrical ones are operated from a power socket. Of course, each variety has its advantages and disadvantages. The mechanical juicer will cope with squeezing fruit or vegetable juice anywhere - in the country, on a hike, on a picnic; however, to put it into action it is necessary to put enough effort and you can quickly get tired. The electric juicer can handle any amount of food, but only in a room equipped with a power outlet and in the presence of electricity.Therefore, when choosing a juicer, decide in what conditions you are going to exploit it and only then look at other characteristics;

By purpose of the juicer are divided into citrus and universal. Well, everything is clear here: a device designed to make citrus juice can only be used for squeezing juice from oranges, grapefruits, lemons or tangerines. Such a device consists of a cone-shaped nozzle, a container for prepared juice and a motor.

A universal juicer is a more expensive device that has a more complex device, but its functionality is much broader: this juicer is used to make juice from all kinds of vegetables, fruits or berries.

In turn, universal juicers are divided into:

1. centrifugal. Juicing with the help of such machines is as follows: the fruits (fruits, vegetables, berries) are placed in the bowl on top of the machine; the juicer crushes them with disc-shaped knives, after which the juice flows into a special container, and the remaining waste enters the separator.In this procedure, the temperature inside the device rises, as a result of which the products heat up and the juice is slightly oxidized. Because of this, some of the vitamins are lost and the drink becomes less useful. Another disadvantage of the centrifugal juicer is the impossibility of using it to squeeze the juice from the herbs for the preparation of "green" detox cocktails. However, don’t be in a hurry to be disappointed in devices of this type: after all, if you want to squeeze juices from hard fruits and vegetables (for example, carrots, apples) every day, and you also need to process a large amount of these gifts of nature, centrifugal juicers are exactly need to;
2. screw. The principle of operation of such juicers is the careful grinding of products with a spiral auger (like a meat grinder). Next, the processed mass passes through a fine sieve, which separates the cake from the liquid. With such a spin, the temperature does not rise and the juice does not lose vitamins due to the forced heat treatment. The screw juice extractor is capable of processing not only fruits, vegetables and berries, but also nuts, healthy herbs, coffee beans.Of course, there are some drawbacks to it: it takes more time to get juice with its help, it turns very soft fruits into a puree and it turns out juice with a high content of pulp. Also auger juicers are quite expensive.

The following factors influence the choice of the speed of rotation of the cutting element of the juicer:

• What juice you want to get at the exit. If you like juice puree, with a high content of pulp, set the speed higher; clear juice will work when your machine at low revs;
• Fruits and vegetables of solid species (beets, pumpkin, zucchini, apple) are easier to process with the rapid rotation of the knives of the device; soft foods easily turn into juice at low speed.

In order to choose the best juicer for all the necessary characteristics, you should consider the following parameters:

• What the instrument case is made of. Of course, metal is stronger than plastic, so choose a device whose case and “filling” are metal. Such a juicer will last much longer than its plastic "rival";
• It is very important what material the filter is made of.This part of the juicer has the largest load, because you have to withstand the pressure of processed fruit and vegetable mass. Therefore, it is desirable that the filter was metal, made of stainless steel;
• The inlet (loading) opening should be wide enough so that a medium-sized fruit or vegetable (from 7 cm) can be pushed into it. If it is less, pre-grinding of products will be needed. The depth of the loading chute is also very important. For security reasons, choose a model in which this value is greater than the length of your fingers - this will save them from falling into the cutting element when pushing a fruit or vegetable into the depths;
• Capacity for juice. Its volume depends on the number of people for whom fresh juice will be prepared - from 300 ml. for two people and up to 1-1,5 l. for a large family;
• Option "Automatic cleaning". Not all devices are equipped with such a function. For example, in citrus juicers it is absent, they are cleaned manually. In auger juicers it is: the cleaning of the cake takes place by moving the waste through a special channel into the tank.Centrifugal devices with a cylindrical separator are often equipped with a lever for dumping the cake, but they still have to be cleaned with their hands or special brushes;
• Additional options. Such pleasant additions, such as, for example, the technology that allows you to hold the last drop of juice, after that is pressed and poured into the container. This is to keep the table dirty. One more necessary option - the legs covered with a rubber layer. They will prevent unnecessary movement on the working surface, which may occur due to vibration, working at high speed of the machine. Also in some designs there are fuses that prevent the inclusion of an incorrectly assembled machine;
• The choice of the manufacturer. A very important point. When you decide on all the desired characteristics of your future juicer, consider several options offered by different manufacturers - from economy to premium. Remember that the quality of the instrument is a guarantee of long and safe service. Pay attention to the warranty period and the possibility of post-warranty service.

We give the first place in our rating to universal machines of the BOSCH company (Germany). They are made of high quality stainless steel, have additional options, long service life and good performance. On the market are models of different price categories;

Another good manufacturing company that we recommend for consideration is MOULINEX (France). It has a stylish design, the presence of nice additions, such as automatic cleaning function, a more affordable price. The material of the case is steel, but cheaper models are made of plastic;

Next, go to the next foreign manufacturer - the Polish company ZELMER. Their juice machines are also appreciated in the market, thanks to affordable pricing, excellent quality and a wide range of models;

The English brand KENWOOD has not stood aside. Juicers of this company are made of metal or high-quality plastic and have additional options (automatic cleaning, switching speeds). The products of this company belongs to the premium class, so the prices are quite high;

We cannot bypass our attention the domestic company BORK, which is perhaps the best Russian manufacturer of small appliances for domestic use. In the manufacture of juicers are used only high-quality materials, they have an impressive design, long service life and the presence of various functions that simplify the work on the device. BORK juice-pressing machines are premium class appliances;

If you are interested in good technology for little money, look at the products of such brands as SCARLETT (a joint production of China and Russia), DEX (PRC), SATURN (PRC). For a more than affordable price, you can choose a truly worthy quality item.

Analyzing customer reviews, we can definitely say that the overwhelming majority choose universal juicers. This is easily explained by the fact that constantly drinking the same type juice will get tired very quickly. However, with regard to the choice between centrifugal and screw machines, here users are not so unanimous. Here are the pros and cons of each variety, they note:

1. Centrifugal juicers undoubtedly have a lot of advantages: low cost, large selection of models, they easily process hard fruits and vegetables, they are fairly easy to wash.But it is impossible not to draw attention to the disadvantages of these devices: they are noisy when working, the output is a moist cake, which gets into the juice, so that it can turn into a puree; due to the temperature increase during the spinning process, the vitamins are destroyed, and, as a result, the usefulness of the juice is reduced.
2. Auger juice extractors also have both fans and opponents. This is what consumers say:

• The positive qualities of such devices include their noiselessness, a higher percentage of juice at the outlet and the absence of oilcake in it; temperature during the work remains invariable, therefore, all vitamins remain; they can be used to process not only fruits and vegetables, but also berries, nuts, herbs;
• the disadvantages of auger models are their higher cost and a smaller selection of models.

Finally, I would like to say that in order to choose the right juice extractor machine, think about how often you will use it and which drinks to prepare. You do not have to grab the first available model just because it has an attractive price, just as you should not overpay for options that you personally do not need.The best juicer is the one that combines price, quality and a set of necessary functions.