Juicing is a fantastic and interesting way to stay healthy. Not only that, but it’s also a great way to ingest those fruits and vegetables you’d not otherwise eat. Both fruits and veggies are an excellent source of vitamins and minerals.
Of course, you can buy already made juice at the store but these make more damage than good. They contain a lot of artificial sweeteners, preservatives, and other harmful chemicals. Also, ingredients are squeezed in a way that they lose most, if not all, of their nutritional value.
That’s why it’s best to make juice at home. You’ll also have the satisfaction of preparing something from scratch.
But how to juice? There are appliances that do the job for you but there are thousands of them out there on the market. Regardless of how many they are, most of them fall into 2 types:
- Centrifugal Juicers
- Masticating/Cold-Press/Spiral Juicers
In this article, you will get to know these 2 main types of juicers and the differences between them.
2 Juicer Types And Their Characteristics
You want to have a juicer but you don’t know which to choose? I will help you to find an answer in this article.
Centrifugal VS Masticating Juicer
Centrifugal Juicers
Centrifugal juicers have flat blades that burst fruit or vegetables and throw their particles out of the strainer wall due to the rotation. The pulp stays in the strainer, and the juice flows into the collecting vessel. This way, it separates the fibers from the water and dissolved substances in it.
The disadvantage of such a way of juicing is that the efficiency of this juicer is the smallest among all types of juicers. With a centrifugal juicer, you won’t be able to juice greenery vegetables such as spinach, wheat and barley grass, kale, and mangold.
The juice in the centrifugal juicer is liable to faster oxidation and greater loss of nutrients due to the rapid rotation of the blades or basket. When it begins to heat up, it contributes to nutrient loss.
As the efficiency of this type of juicer is also lower, the proportion of vitamins and minerals remains in the pulp (by the way: don’t throw it away, you can use the pulp in many interesting recipes).
The advantage of a centrifugal juicer is its financial availability since prices range from $50 and up. They can be found in the household appliance store. Juicing with the centrifugal juicer is very fast compared to other juicers.
For example, if your desire is to prepare fruit juices for the whole family breakfast, the centrifugal juicer is an excellent choice. It can drain large quantities of apples, pears, oranges, pineapple, carrots, red beets, and similar fruit in a short period of time.
- Fast juicing
- Affordability
- A lot of options to choose from
- Easy cleaning
- Less efficient
- It doesn’t juice wheat and barley grass and other greenery
- It is quite loud
- This juicer type extracts the least amount of nutrients
Masticating Juicers (AKA Cold-Press Juicers Or Spiral Juicers)
Masticating juicers operate on the principle of cold pressing. Fruit or vegetables are not cut but compressed with one or two screws. In this way, much more fluid is squeezed, the efficiency is bigger, the pulp is drier, and it leaves the juicer through a special opening.
The juicer never begins to overheat due to low RPM. There is also no oxidation because there are no blades present. Therefore, the nutritional value of the juice prepared in a cold-press juicer is considerably higher.
A spiral way of juicing allows juicing of vegetables, but not all of these juicers are effective at this point. It is best to inquire directly from the manufacturer.
In principle, most of them can easily juice wheat and barley grass, nettle, dandelion, red beets and carrots, kale, cabbage, and similar vegetables. If you combine it with some of the fruit; you will get a very nutritious drink.
The big advantage of masticating juicers is that you can use them for more than just juicing. With additional nozzles, you can:
- Grind nuts
- Make almond, hazelnut, sesame or some other spread
- Chop herbs
- Prepare pasta and baby foods
- Make delicious frozen ice cream
Spiral juicers are slightly more expensive, as prices range from $300 and up. You will need to search for them online because they aren’t sold in regular grocery stores.
They are much clumsier, heavier, and less easy to clean. Juicing is slower and more time consuming; because you will have to chop fruit and vegetables into smaller pieces (the inlet is smaller in most of the cold-press juicers).
This type of juicer will be the right choice if you plan to juice regularly. You will be able to prepare fruit and also vegetable juices. They are especially appropriate if you have decided to drink juices because of illness.
- More efficient
- Higher nutritional value of extracted juice
- Green vegetables can be juiced, including wheat and barley grass
- It’s relatively quiet
- Suitable for preparing nuts butter, baby food, ice cream, noodles, …
- Slower juicing
- Higher price
- Longer cleaning
- Clumsier and heavier
Now You Know These 2 Different Types Of Juicers
When it gets to buying a juicer for you and your family, you should consider the characteristics of these 2 types and also your personal needs.
If you are short on time and you want to prepare juice for the entire family; you should get a centrifugal juicer. It will juice fast but you won’t be able to juice vegetables. It is more affordable than a spiral juicer.
The other option is a spiral juicer that will give you a nutritious drink. It is slower and more expensive than a centrifugal juicer but it will enable you to juice veggies. It is more appropriate for those who want to live healthily and consume as many vitamins and minerals as possible in one glass.
A spiral juicer is a better option if you are sick often or suffer from a disease. This is because this type of juicer will save more nutrients from fruits and vegetables due to low functioning temperature.
So, choose the best and benefit from making fresh juices each day.
What is your budget for a juicer?
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