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The 5 best juicers: Make your own juice at home
There's nothing like a fine glass of juice in the morning. Whether your preference is orange, apple, grapefruit, celery, cucumber or any other type of fruit or vegetable, that sweet drink can get your morning off to a good start.
And the only thing better than a glass of juice is one that comes from fresh-squeezed fruits and vegetables. In the past, that meant squeezing your fruits by hand or going to a juice bar and paying a premium price.
Now, it's easy to make your own fresh juice at home. There are home juicers of all types -- citrus, centrifugal and masticating. This can make choosing the best home juicer a bit challenging.
But a few questions will help you decide which type is right for you. For example, do you need your juice quickly or can it take some time to produce? Do you want to get every drop out of your fruit? Do you mind prepping the food before you use it? What level of nutrients do you want in your juice? Are you going to use celery a lot? Do you want to take your juicer with you when you travel? Once you answer these questions, it will help you narrow the choices.
So, what's the best juicer? Read on for ZDNet's top five.
Specs:
- Color: White
- Material: Stainless Steel
- Weight: 9.48 lbs
The AMZCHEF Slow Masticating Juicer Extractor uses a low-speed motor for fine grinding of fruits and vegetables. With its seven-spiral auger, it can retain up to 90% more nutrition. It contains intelligent protection chips, which automatically stops its operation every 20 minutes.
It has a reverse function to avoid foods getting stuck and for help in cleaning. Your freshly squeezed juice can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 72 hours. You can also purchase optional slicer shredder or meat grinder attachments.
Pros:
- Low-speed motor
- Fine-grinding mode
- Runs quietly
- Lifetime warranty
Cons:
- Cannot use for nuts
- Juice can get foamy
Specs:
- Color: Silver
- Material: Plastic
- Weight: 11 lbs
- Wattage: 850W
- Speeds: 2
The Breville BJE430SIL Juice Fountain Cold Centrifugal Juicer uses cold spin technology so the vitamins and minerals within your fruits and vegetables can be extracted with the juice without being damaged by heat processing. It has a three-inch-wide chute, which enables you to put fruits in whole without having to precut them.
The juice is collected in an extra-large, 70 oz jug, which you can use to store your juice in the refrigerator for up to three days. Or you can produce your juice straight into your glass. The Breville BJE430SIL Juice Fountain Cold Centrifugal Juicer has an 850W motor and two-speed settings. The low, 6,500-RPM setting is for leafy vegetables and soft fruit, while the high, 13,000-RPM setting is for high-density fruits and harder vegetables.
Pros:
- A powerful motor makes it fast
- High-capacity juice jug
- Juice has a long refrigerator shelf life
- Extra-wide chute
Cons:
- Not efficient for leafy greens or nuts
- Noisy
- Bulky
- Short, one-year warranty
Specs:
- Color: Black/Stainless
- Material: Stainless Steel
- Weight: 4 lbs
The Cuisinart CCJ-500 Pulp Control Citrus Juicer is an electric citrus juicer that gives you three pulp control settings -- low, medium and high. It has a final spin feature that extracts more juice from the pulp. It can be used for small fruits like limes, all the way up to large fruit, like grapefruit. It has a long spout that helps prevent dripping and comes with a three-year warranty.
Pros:
- Three pulp control settings
- Optimized spout reduces dripping
- Three-year warranty
Cons:
- A pulp filter can clog
- Noisy
- Not as efficient for juicing large quantities of citrus fruit
Specs:
- Color: Grey
- Material: Plastic
- Wattage: 150
- Weight: 9.39 lbs
- Speed: 2
Celery is one of the most difficult vegetables to juice. It contains so much fiber, that it can cause blockage in the blades for many juicers. But that's not an issue with Aeitto Celery Juicer. This slow, masticating juicer comes with two-speed settings -- soft mode, at 85 to 100 RPMs, or hard mode, 98 to 110 RPMs. The hard mode works well for celery. The motor stops automatically after 20 minutes of operation.
Pros:
- Does a good job with celery
- Operates quietly
- Two-speed modes
Cons:
- One-year warranty
Specs:
- Color: Aqua
- Wattage: 120W
- Weight: 3.4 lbs
When you're on the go and still want to be able to make your own juice, the DASH Deluxe Compact Masticating Slow Juicer is the way to go. With its small dimensions, approximately 5 x 4 x 14 inches, it's easy to pack this in your bag and take it from place to place.
However, you will need to cut your fruits and vegetables into about one-inch pieces before putting them in the juicer due to its small size. It also comes with a frozen attachment, which allows you to make frozen treats and cocktails.
Pros:
- Small, lightweight and portable
- Uses little counter space
- You can also make frozen treats
Cons:
- Must cut fruits and vegetables into small pieces
- One-year warranty
What is the best juicer?
The AMZCHEF Slow Masticating Juicer Extractor is the best juicer overall on our list. People who like to make their own juice typically have a preference between masticating and centrifugal juicers. Many people think masticating juicers produce a better quality of juice, while centrifugal juicers produce the juice faster. However, based on price, value and the type of juice, I've chosen the AMZCHEF Slow Masticating Juicer Extractor.
Juicer | Price | Type | Weight |
AMZCHEF Slow Masticating Juicer Extractor | $120 | Masticating | 9.48 lbs |
Breville BJE430SIL Juice Fountain Cold Centrifugal Juicer | $200 | Centrifugal | 11 lbs |
Cuisinart CCJ-500 Pulp Control Citrus Juicer | $30 | Citrus | 4 lbs |
Aeitto Celery Juicer | $99 | Masticating | 9.39 lbs |
DASH Deluxe Compact Masticating Slow Juicer | $100 | Masticating | 3.4 lbs |
Which is the right juicer for you?
The choice of the right juicer is very dependent on your tastes, the types of foods you'll be using, the speed with which you need to make the juice and if you want to travel with it.
Centrifugal juicers are more popular and easier to use. It usually doesn't take as much time to make your juice. They're easy to assemble and disassemble and take up little space on your counter. However, they can be noisy, and the quality of the juice may not be as high as from a masticating juicer. A centrifugal juicer is a great selection if you're new to juicing at home.
Masticating juicers typically produce a high quality of juice, and you can extract more juice from each fruit and vegetable. With different attachments, they may be able to also serve as a food processor or grinder. However, there's usually more food prep involved as you need to cut your food into smaller pieces. They can also take up more space on your counter. A masticating juicer is a good choice for someone who is not new to producing their own juice.
Citrus juicers can be less expensive than the other two types but are limited to use with citrus fruits. If you want to be able to produce juice from vegetables or other types of fruit, this would not be the right choice for you.
Choose this juicer… | If you want or are … |
AMZCHEF Slow Masticating Juicer Extractor | The highest quality of juice with the most nutrients |
Breville BJE430SIL Juice Fountain Cold Centrifugal Juicer | Prefer the speed and ease of making juice |
Cuisinart CCJ-500 Pulp Control Citrus Juicer | Only planning to make your juice out of citrus fruits |
Aeitto Celery Juicer | Planning to use a lot of celery in your juice |
DASH Deluxe Compact Masticating Slow Juicer | Planning to take your juicer with you when you travel |
How did we choose these juicers?
In selecting the best juicers, I looked at the different types of juicers on the market. Some people prefer centrifugal juicers, while others want masticating ones, and still others only need a citrus juicer. I wanted to find the best of each type.
I then looked at their price in relation to their value and their reviews. I wasn't looking for the highest-priced juicer or the cheapest. I did, however, look at how the features and benefits aligned with prices.
What is a juicer and what are the different types?
I should explain what each type of juicer is and how they work.
A masticating juicer is also called a slow juicer. It uses an auger or a drill-like device. Once fruits and vegetables are placed in the juicer, the auger crushes them as they advance through the chute. It then squeezes them and pushes them through a mesh screen to separate the juice from the pulp. Food must be cut into small pieces in order to go into the masticating juicer. This requires more preparation time.
A centrifugal juicer is fast and can extract the juice from your fruits within a matter of minutes. A cutting blade shreds your fruits or vegetables into small pieces, while the chamber spins at a high speed to separate the juice from the fiber in a mesh chamber. This occurs because the disk inside the chamber operates at speeds of 6,000 to 14,000 rounds per minute (RPM) or more. To achieve this speed, the juicer needs a strong motor, in the range of 700 watts or more. However, the motor's speed could make this a loud device when in operation.
Unlike the other two types of juicers, which can be used for most types of fruits and vegetables, a citrus juicer is only used for citrus fruits. This would include lemons, oranges, tangerines, limes, grapefruit and others. Citrus juicers come in both hand-operated and electric versions.
Which juicer should a beginner buy?
A centrifugal juicer is the best for beginners if you've never used a juicer before. They're easy to use and produce your juice quickly. However, many people think the masticating juicers produce a better quality of juice and extract more juice from your fruits and vegetables.
Is there a juicer best suited for home use?
There are three types of juicers you'll want to consider -- masticating, centrifugal and citrus. We rate the AMZCHEF Slow Masticating Juicer Extractor as the best overall and the best masticating juicer. However, we'd recommend the Breville BJE430SIL Juice Fountain Cold Centrifugal Juicer for those who prefer centrifugal juicers.
Which juicer should you get for celery?
Many juicers have a problem with celery. It is a very fibrous vegetable and the fiber can get caught in the machine. However, the Aeitto Celery Juicer is designed specifically to handle this challenging vegetable.
We recommend the DASH Deluxe Compact Masticating Slow Juicer.
Can you take a juicer with you when you travel?
Some juicers are big and bulky. It would be hard to take these with you when you travel. But there are some smaller, more compact juicers that can easily be carried in your bag.
However, since they're so small, you would need to do more food prep, so your fruits and vegetables are small enough to fit in the juicer.
Are there alternative juicers worth considering?
A search on Amazon for "juicer" returns more than 600 possibilities. These range in price from $8 to $6,629. Plus, you can readily find juicers at most other stores, such as Walmart, Target, Best Buy, Home Depot, Lowes, Bed Bath & Beyond, eBay and other online stores.
Here are a few other juicers you may want to consider: