Choosing the Right Juicer

There is no easier way to get your fruit and vegetable nutrition than by drinking fresh juice, but choosing the right juicer makes a huge difference in how much juice you get from your veggies and fruits and how much time it takes to get it. This article will tell you everything you need to know to make choosing the right juicer for your budget and lifestyle as easy as 1-2-3.

1. Decide what kind of juicer you need.

Juicers come in a price range of $30 to $2000. You shouldn't buy a $2000 juicer if all you are going to do is to make juice from oranges, grapefruits, tangerines, and lemons.

Citrus juicers are the most basic of all juicing equipment. To use a citrus juicer, you just slice a piece of fruit in half and hold it on a motor-driven reamer that extracts the juice. A circular trough around the reamer collects the juice, which flows into a container.

Cleaning citrus juicers is a snap. They don't have crooks or corners that collect fiber. It's easy to get the maximum amount of juice from your citrus fruit, too. Just press harder against the reamer so more juice flows.

If all you want is a glass of fresh-squeezed orange juice, a citrus juicer is ideal. But for other fruits and juicers, you will need a juice extractor.

Juice extractors use a spinning disk to slice vegetables and fruit into tiny pieces that are then spun to separate the juice from the pulp. The juice is sent through a strainer and then caught in a container.

A lot more work is involved in using an extractor than a citrus juicer. Most extractors can't handle rinds or peels (and rough rinds and peels such as those of melons, pineapples, and grapefruit harbor potentially pathogenic bacteria). Vegetables that are waxed, such as cucumbers, have to have peels removed both for the quality of the juice and to keep from gumming up the machine. Many extractors have to be completely taken apart to be cleaned. For making the full range of fruit and vegetable juices, however, an extractor is a must.

It is still possible to find manual versions of both kinds of juicers that do not require electricity. They are a great way to build up your forearm strength, but they don't do a very good job of extracting the maximum amount of juice. And there are also juicers for special applications:

Centrifugal juicers are fast. They're great for fruit but not so great for greens and grasses. An excellent all round centrifugal juicer is the highly rated Breville 800JEXL Juice Fountain Elite.

Masticating juicers crush the produce and squeezes the juice out. This is the juicer you need if you want to avoid too much foam.

Twin gear juicers release fiber into the juicer.

Wheatgrass juicers are specially designed for juicing wheatgrass. Ordinary juicers tend to clog.

2. Choose the features you want.

Some consumers are happy with a very basic machine. Others want every possible convenience. Here are some features to consider when choosing your juicer or extractor.

The Chute size - a larger chute takes larger chunks of fruits and vegetables and larger fruits of fruits and vegetables take less time to prepare. Larger pieces of produce may not be completely juiced, however.

The Container - most consumers prefer a clear container with measurements on the side.

The power Cord - your juicer has to have an electrical cord long enough to stretch from to the nearest electrical outlet.

Power Cord storage - most units have some way to store long cords out of the way when the juicer is not being used.

Is it Dishwasher safe - you don't want to put an electrical motor in the dishwasher, but it can be very convenient to wash other parts of the machine, if they are dishwasher proof.

Dust cover - you don't want dust in your juice. A dust cover protects the chute through which you insert fruits and vegetables for juicing.

How much Power - Your juicer needs a motor with at least 1/4 horsepower so you don't wind up with a lot of juice left in the pulp, and so the unit will last longer.

The pulp regulator - You can't get pulp-free juice, but you may be able to reduce the amount of pulp in your juice with a pulp regulator.

3. Choose the brand of juicer you want.

Different brands of juicers come at different prices and with different warranties. If you are happy with other products in a brand, however, there brand may be the place to start when looking for the kind of juicer you want.

Black and Decker is better known for making power tools, but they also make citrus juicers and extractors that are best known for their easy cleaning. You can find Black and Decker products at Sears, Walmart, and Target as well as other discount chains.

Cuisinart is known for making mid-market to high-end kitchen appliances. You're more likely to find a juicer attachment than a juicer you want under the Cuisinart name. Cuisinart is sold in department stores and online.

Hamilton Beach is known for making low-price citrus extractors and juice extractors. Their Big Mouth juice extractor is touted for juicing whole apples.

Jack LaLanne was a fitness expert who died in 2011 at the age of 96. At the age of 54, LaLanne beat a then 21-year-old Arnold Schwarzenegger in a power lifting contest. Jack LaLanne juicers are beautiful machines, but the less expensive models with plastic parts are easily stained by berries and carrots, and plastic parts may warp in the dishwasher.

Juiceman is now promoted Juicewoman Martina Navratilova. A favorite of juicers since the early 1990's, Juiceman juicers are available online and at Target.

Oster makes low-price extractors and juicers that tend not to get rave reviews.

Many people who take up juicing start with a less expensive machine and explore the features they like. When you start juicing every day, it's a good idea to have a juicer and a backup for those inevitable times something falls into the machine or you accidentally juice something you really shouldn't.