The Best Juicing Machines Showdown
So you want to get on the juicing bandwagon, but are confused about which is the best juicing machines to buy to extract the maximum juice at best quality from your fruit and veg. Let us help you to explore the different juicer types. The three different juicing machines you can select from are centrifugal, masticating and slow juicer, and each kind comes with its pros and cons. Enjoy our best juicing machines showdown.
Centrifugal Juicers
These are probably the most common kind of juicer and are also the most affordable, ranging in
price from as little as £30 to a few hundred pounds depending on the brand. The way these juicers work is the fruit and vegetables are pushed into a mesh chamber that spins. This shreds the ingredients into a pulp which is then filtered through the mesh and funnelled out of the juicer.
With centrifugal juicers, you end up with a pulp that is ejected into a separate chamber. You will notice the pulp is still quite wet when it is ejected, meaning these juicers don’t extract the maximum amount of juice from the ingredients. Also, while centrifugal juicers work well with most fruits and vegetables, they are not so great for juicing leafy greens such as kale or wheatgrass.
Another factor to consider is that the quality of the juice can be affected by the high speed of the mesh chamber as it spins. As it is juicing, heat is generated that oxidises the nutrients and destroys some of the enzymes, making the juice not as nutritious.
A centrifugal juicer is for you if you are on a tight budget and want to give juicing a try, but are not yet ready to commit huge amounts of money on a new piece of kitchen equipment. Check out one of the most popular centrifugal juicers, the Breville BJE200XL Compact Juice Fountain which is affordable at under £70 and is easy to use when starting out on the juicing train.
Masticating Juicers
With masticating juicers, the fruits and vegetables are slowly crushed and squeezed to extract the juice from the food rather than by spinning as with a centrifugal juicer. The cut up pieces of fruit and veg are pushed into a tube before being squeezed slowly to extract the juice which drains 
from the bottom, while the pulp is pushed out another end of the tube. The pulp is usually very dry, indicating that maximum liquid is extracted.
Because of the slower crushing and squeezing action, masticating juicers can process leafy greens and wheatgrass, and the juice that is produced will last much longer than juice made in a centrifugal juicer because there is less chances of oxidation causing damage to the juice. This means you can store the juice for several hours if you cannot consume everything immediately, without losing its nutrient value.
Juice that has been masticated tends to taste better and have more texture as well as more vitamins and enzymes. This is because of the way the ingredients are crushed breaks down the cell membranes to release nutrients along with the juice. You will also get a high yield of juice from the fruit and veg you are juicing.
Masticating juicers are pricier than centrifugal models, starting at around £150 for most models. They are also quite slow in extracting the juice which can be frustrating for people who are busy, and they are also quite a big piece of equipment to have to store on your benchtop.
Buy a masticating juicer if you want to go pro with your juicing and are ready to make the investment in a piece of equipment that will give you excellent quality juice full of vitamins and nutrients.
Some of the best brands of masticating juicer to look for are the Omega 8003, Champion 2000, and Tribest Green Star GS-1000.
Slow Juicer
Slow juicers are a form of masticating juicer in the way they extract the juice and pulp, but look similar in style and size to the centrifugal variety. Slow juicers are still quite expensive in terms of price, but it is said that they extract even more of the powerful nutrients and quantities of juice than regular masticating varieties. Like masticating juicers, slow juicers don’t produce much heat and the juice can be kept fresh and nutritious for several hours. The type of juicing machine can also juice all kinds of ingredients including leafy greens. They are also designed to be easy to clean.
Invest in a slow juicer if you want to make a lot of juice that is of highest quality and you are ready to invest the money in a good quality juicing machine. Look out for the two most popular brands which we love here at Fresh Start the Hurom Slow Juicer and Kuvings Whole Fruit Slow Juicer.
Louise and Richard Thomas founders of Fresh Start
If you want to find out more about juicers and juicing for wellness, you can participate in our Bootcamp Wellness programme where we do juicing demonstrations using the Hurom slow juicer. You will understand exactly how the slow juicers works and get to experience the health benefits of juicing first hand!
If you want to learn more about the benefits of jucing read our ‘benefits of juicing’ blog.
