What sort of juicer should I buy?
If you are looking for a juicer machine to buy, there are a few considerations you should make. There are many different types of juicers out there, and some are better at certain jobs than others. Just because a juicer is good for one ingredient does not mean it is best for another, and the most expensive machine is not necessarily the best. Below are a few tips for making the best selection.
What are you planning to juice the most? If it is basically just fruits and vegetables, then the short answer is that you can use any sort of juicer. Even a cheap deal from a local department store is fine if that suits your budget. Most basic juicers are able to efficiently extract juice from most firm, juicy ingredients.
But what if you intend to make juice from leafy vegetables like salads, cabbage, Kale or even herbs? If this is the case you will need a more versatile juicer that can handle these more difficult ingredients. The reason a normal juicer can’t process leafy or fiberous ingredients is that the long fibers just end up getting wrapped around the blades of the machine. Also, because there is not as much juice per weight of ingredients, you’re hardly going to extract any liquid at all.
The answer to this problem is to use a masticating juicer. This type of machine (also called a slow press juicer) works by slowly crushing and grinding ingredients rather than shredding them like a blender – so it is able to squeeze juice out of even fairly dry foods.
Another option is to buy a hand juicer for these tougher, drier ingredients. This may sound old fashioned, but there are actually a few good reasons to do so: These juicers work on the same masticating juicer principle of using a crushing action, but unlike electric juices they are very compact. The down side is that they are slower at extracting juice, but if you are juicing things like cabbage, Kale, or even wheat grass then you typically don’t want to make more than a very small glass at a time (due to the very strong taste). For this reason a hand juicer can be just as practical, because it is quicker and easier to clean up than an electric machine.
Your selection of juicer will depend largely on how much juice you want to make of course. If you are a single, living by yourself, then a hand juicer might be just the thing for you. With a larger family, you will probably need an electric juicer.
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