There are several different types of juicing machines on the market today and if you haven’t purchased a juicing machine in the past is could be a little confusing.
They obviously vary in type and pricing but remember you usually get what you pay for.
The Centrifugal Juicer
This juicer is at the lower end pricing-wise and is a good starting point if budget is tight. Centrifugal juicers are the most common types of juicers and are the ones you see advertised on TV and in stores.
Centrifugal means “(from Latin centrum, meaning “center”, and fugere, meaning “to flee”) is the apparent force that draws a rotating body away from the center of rotation” Wikipedia)
The “Centrifugal Juicer” will chomp your already sliced vegetables and fruit into much smaller pieces and then toss them onto a fast spinning grated disc. This causes a great deal of friction and produces massive heat. When juicing fresh produce it’s not advisable to produce heat or friction. This destroys precious enzymes and \itamins and so defeats the purpose of the fresh raw juicing. If your budget can cope I would recommend by-passing the Centrifugal style.
Some of the pros, and cons, of the centrifugal juicers are:
Pros:
They are usually quite affordable
They can be reasonably easy to clean
Cons:
They causes friction and heat when juicing
They tend to be a noisy.
They may have a shorter life span than some of the heavier duty machines They may not extract as much juice as the heavier models therefore producing more pulp and less juice.
Masticating Juicers
Masticating is the process by which food is crushed and ground to a pulp. It is the first step of digestion and it increases the surface area of foods to allow more efficient break down by enzymes.
When you chew your food this is an example of masticating your food. When you swallow your food your digestive system starts the process of breaking your food down and extracting the juice, nutrients and fibre.
The masticating juicers grind the fruit and vegetables into a pulp, extracting the juice and fibre. This is done at a slow speed and there’s no spinning action to create heat. This is also known as a “cold press process”.
We know that food is much better for you when eaten raw and that the heating up of food that tends to lose its nutrients and goodness.
Some of the pros, and cons, of masticating juicers are:
Pros:
Usually has a long life span with high quality parts available if needed
Usually has a long guarantee
Relatively easy to clean
Will make nut and seed butters
They will usually be more efficient at juicing green leafy vegetables such as wheatgrass, spinach, parsley, cilantro, kale etc.
Requires less vegetables and fruit to produce more juice therefore you will spend less money on fruit and vegetables
Can make diary free “ice-cream” from frozen fruits
Will tend to produce more juice and the pulp is drier
Will make fresh creamed baby foods – no need for commercial processed baby food.
They are more efficient at juicing your fruit and vegetables
They tend to be quieter in operation.
Cons:
Are usually a heavier machine and will take up valuable bench space.