Juicers

June 2004, by Shazzie

Most people in our society are deficient in many nutrients. These nutrients are found in fresh fruit and vegetables, but some are locked into the tough cell walls. If you cook the food, the cell walls break down, but so do most of the nutrients! The answer is to juice your vegetables!

Here we take a look at the history of juicers, which juicers are preferred by professionals, what the difference is between juicers and everything else you always wanted to know about juicers but were afraid to ask!

Why making your own juice is so great

Juice that you buy in the shop has usually been preserved in some way. This preservation alters the structure of the food and makes it harder for your body to recognise it. If you can't use your juicer for the day, and you can't visit a juice bar, the next best juice is store-bought, organic, fresh-pressed and not pasteuristed. This may be difficult, which makes it all the more important that we love and use our juicers regularly. Be aware of "juice drinks" which contain only a fraction of juice, and also be careful of juices made from concentrates. A "Not From Concentrate" product means the fruit is squeezed, the juice is often then pasteurised and packaged. A "From Concentrate" product means the fruit is squeezed, the water is extracted which produces a concentrated form, then at a later time the water is added back in, the juice is then pasteurised or ultra-violet heat treated and packaged. All you really need to remember about this is that with processed juices, most of the nutrients you would get from fresh fruits and vegetables have long gone.

When you make your own juice, you can select the best organic fresh produce, that's not battered or bruised. You'll end up with something bursting full of nutrients and vitamins. You'll leave behind the ubiquitous added artificial flavours, preservatives, sugar etc that is in many of today's foods.

So why go to the "expense" of buying a juicer?

First, let's talk about the "expense". What does a TV cost? What does a DVD player cost? What about a PlayStation, X-Box or other gadget cost? How about a couple of nights out or a weekend away? Let's get the cost of juicers into perspective! The juicers we sell are made of the best materials, are thoroughly tested, and are loved by their owners. These juicers extract more juice than the juicers you can buy in the shops. That means, over a short period of time your juicer has made its extra expense up to you in giving you more juice out of your fruit and vegetables!

Types of juicers

To clarify the above point, let's have a look at what types of juicers exist.

Centrifugal

This is the most common, and it's the type you'll often see in the shops. You put the food down the chute, and the spinning grater (which spins at a very high RPM) finely grinds the food, spinning the juice out through the holes in the grater, and throwing the pulp to a compartment in the machine. It's hard to juice greens, and you can't juice wheatgrass in one of these juicers.

There are many inexpensive juicers available, yet their small (often less than 450 watts motors) aren't built for daily juicing. The most common complaint is that these motors are overstrained and they burn out within 6 months -- right after your warranty runs out.

Masticating

These operates at a much slower speed to the centrifugal juicers. They chew the food fibers which breaks up the cells. The juice may appear slightly thicker than centrifugal juice, because you get more fibre. Because of the slowness and thoroughness of the machine, you also get more enzymes, vitamins and trace minerals. You could get up to 40% more juice from a masticating juicer than a centrifugal -- think about the long-term food cost savings involved in that. In addition to extracting juices, these juicers often make baby foods, sauces, nut butters, banana ice creams and fruit sorbets. These juicers are great for juicing greens, wheatgrass and hard vegetables. These juicers often have a long warranty.

If you plan to juice regularly, buying a good juicer from the start is well worth it. It could last you 20 or more years -- a worthwhile investment.

What about the washing up???

This is everyone's number one question! My honest answer is that if you have washing up issues, and allow your juicer to dry with caked on food, it's going to be hard to clean. The best thing to do is use it and clean it immediately. I feel very virtuous when I use my juicer, and the juice gives me so much energy, that I clean the juicer as I'm enjoying my juice! Really, if you clean it immediately, it just needs rinsing and prodding a bit. It's just a quick habit to get into!

Drink right up

Your homemade juices are so fresh, that you want to drink them straight away. If you leave them, they'll begin to oxidise and lose nutrients. The Green Power Kempo has a magnetic jug. In tests, wheatgrass has been kept fresh (in the fridge) for 48 hours when kept in this jug. You can also freeze fresh juice into cubes, and add a few to a smoothie each day. If you have an abundance of edible weeds in the garden, a mammoth juice-and-freeze-fest could be just what you want. It can see you through the dark winter times with ease! Researchers have found that wheatgrass doesn't lose much more than 5% of its nutrients when frozen, so you could bulk buy wheatgrass trays, juice it all, and freeze it. "A wheatgrass ice cube a day keeps the doctor away!"

The difference between a juicer and a blender

Blenders are not juicers. Juicing separates the pulp from the juice so that your body can immediately take in the nutrients and not spend energy trying to breakdown the fibre. Blenders don't separate the pulp from the juice resulting in the juice being very thick and usually not drinkable, especially carrot juice. However, most people who are into creating a healthy lifestyle own a juicer and a blender. The Vita-Mix TNC is a blender, but it's a slight hybrid, as it does break down the cell walls of food, making even total carrot "juice" drinkable.

Much love

Our juicers and blenders
	Vita-Mix TNC The all-in-one wholefood juicer, blender and much much more.		Vita-Mix TNC Super The all-in-one wholefood juicer, blender, grain grinder and much much more.
	Champion juicer One of the biggest helping hands your kitchen will ever have		Green Power/Kempo juicer Can we put it into words how much we love this juicer? A beast of a machine, will get all the goodness from your greens in an easy to absorb way.
	L'Equip 110.5 Mini Pulp Ejector (grey) Awarded overall Best Buy in the Independent's "Top 10" Juicers, April 30th 2003.		L'Equip 110.5 Mini Pulp Ejector (white) Awarded overall Best Buy in the Independent's "Top 10" Juicers, April 30th 2003.
	L'Equip Model 509 Visor Natural Food Processor (grey juicer) Very stylish -- works on wheatgrass, leaves and fruits.		L'Equip Model 509 Visor Natural Food Processor (white juicer) Very stylish -- works on wheatgrass, leaves and fruits.
	Green Star GS1000 Juicer Awarded Best Luxury Buy in The Independent's "Top 10" Juicers, April 30th 2003		Green Star GS3000 Juicer Awarded Best Luxury Buy in The Independent's "Top 10" Juicers, April 30th 2003. Same as the GS1000 with some extra bits...
	Back to basics Manual Wheatgrass Juicer A very popular, high quality, affordable stainless-steel manual wheatgrass juicer.

Suggested reading: Power Juices, Super Drinks by Steve Meyerowitz