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People have been juicing for health benefits for many years, but it’s only been more recently that masticating juicers have become more affordable. With the latest juicers, you get far more juice and nutrients, but it’s important to pick the juicer that provides the most value. If you are looking to get the most nutrients out of your juice, then there are some juicers that are higher quality. However, other juicers are more convenient and easier to clean with a lower price tag.
Here is a break down of what to look for and things to think about when purchasing a masticating juicer for your lifestyle.
How to Choose a Masticating Juicer
Masticating juicers are different than centrifugal juicers, blenders, and average juicers that you can buy under $50. These juicers are made for keeping nutrients in the juice and providing a higher-quality intake of enzymes from fruits and vegetables.
These are some factors to think about when looking at masticating juicers to purchase.
Single vs Double Auger Juicers
Augers are the gears that rotate the blades in your juicer. Single auger juicers are more powerful than centrifugal juicers, but they are not as powerful as double auger or double gear juicers. In fact, many masticating juicers that are single auger often break sooner than tough double auger juicers. In addition, single auger machines can’t juice large quantities of vegetables and fruits. However, you may not want to juice 2-liters of juice every time, which you can do with a double auger juicer.
There are two gears working together in a double auger juicer. This means that you can easily juice any type of vegetable or fruit, even tougher vegetables like wheatgrass, leafy greens, and a variety of other vegetables that typically don’t produce a lot of juice.
Double auger juicers can also handle much more juicing at one time, so you can juice large amounts of apples, celery, carrots, kale, and so forth without having to worry that large chunks will get stuck in the chute.
Force and Speed in Juicers
Masticating juicers are already top-of-the-line when it comes to force and speed. However, it works differently than other juicers because it actually juices at a slower speed. This seems like it’s not accurate, but actually, the faster a juicer spins, the lesser nutrients you gain from the vegetables and fruits due to heat generated by the rotating blades.
With a masticating juicer, you never want to go over 100 RPM. However, you may want a higher speed for certain fruits. This is why some masticating juicers have multiple speed modes, which can go higher than 100 RPM.
The speed doesn’t factor into the force or power of the juicer either. The motor is actually based on torque, so there is ample force to juice each item. You typically want to buy the juicer that has the most torque output.
Easy Cleaning and Maintenance Juicers
There are a lot of parts that make the juicer work correctly. Cleaning each part is necessary for maintaining its function and the freshness of your juice. There are some juicers that are made to be taken apart with easy-to-clean parts. You should look at the description for cleaning and maintenance instructions to see how difficult it will be to take apart the juicer. Oftentimes, users will leave reviews on how difficult it was to clean a juicer as well.
One thing you can look for in some of the higher-quality juicers is a reverse motion function that prevents clogging and pushes out any dregs of vegetables and fruits left behind after a juicing. This takes a lot of time and effort off the maintenance and cleaning stage.
Size and Style of the Juicer
One reason that juicers get the masticating juicer is that it produces the most juice with the optimal amount of enzymes. Masticating juicers can produce juice from almost anything. However, it’s difficult to push some of these fruits and vegetables down the chute. You have to do this very slowly and methodically in order to get the best juice from your produce.
In some cases, juicers are built in a way that produce can get stuck in the gears. You have to be able to quickly take apart the juicer, remove the stuck item, and put it together again. In this way, smaller masticating juicers are better equipped for handling a part breakdown.
However, larger masticating juicers can handle more juice and exert more power. It’s important to pick a juicer with a larger chute as well. You don’t want any type of produce to get stuck in the chute as you push it into the blades.
There are also horizontal- and vertical-masticating juicers. This is really a preference on how you want to insert produce into your blades. Some prefer vertical because it’s easier to push in produce without getting stuck in the chute.
Yield
Masticating juicers have a higher yield than any other juicer on the market. You also get lesser waste with these types of juicers. You should read through reviews to see how good the yield is for that particular juicer. If you see reviews where the pulp is exceedingly wet, then that means it’s not the best. The pulp should be extremely dry if you are getting a high-quality yield from a masticating juicer.
Oxidation Numbers
You don’t want any oxidation, so the lowest amount of oxidation is highly desirable. Most of the powerful masticating juicers will have low-to-zero oxidation. You can look in the description to see what the juicer says is the oxidation number or shelf life of the juice. In most cases, you want a juice that can last up to 72 hours or more. This means that the juice has very low oxidation.
Other Factors
Noise control is another issue for juicers. You do not want a super noisy juicer because if it has the lower speed and higher torque, then it wouldn’t be as noisy. You should pick a juicer that also has additional functions and a design that is easy to clean.
Design and Style
There are a lot of juicers out there that have different arms, spinning parts, extraction cups, and colors. There are lightweight body styles and heavyweight juicers. The type of juicer that you pick depends on how often the juicer will be used as well as if it will match the style of your kitchen.
Horizontal juicers are pretty typical for the masticating juicer brands. These juicers have a chute that sticks out about a foot or so from the body of the juicer. The chute allows you to push in fruits and vegetables at a rather slow speed, getting the most juice from the extractor. Vertical masticating juicers are just as powerful, but you need a smart cap to lock in the pulp so that it doesn’t create a mess when it goes down into the juicer.
There are masticating juicers with multiple blades and higher wattage that are able to juice much faster than others. You should note that some of these models might get hotter than others, so if you are looking for the best slow juicer with high enzyme output, you should stick to a single auger, slower masticating juicer.
Myths About Masticating Juicers
There are always some issues with masticating juicers that people seem to point out, but a lot of it comes from bogus claims. Most of the hype around juicing is deserved, as it is one of the best ways to consume fruits and vegetables for nutrients. However, these are some common myths that you’ll find in your search for a good juicer.
Higher Speed Juicers Always Destroy Enzymes
The truth is that you still get enzymes from centrifugal juicers, but it’s not as much as you get with masticating juicers. This is because slower extraction and low heat lead to greater nutrients in the juice. While you still get enzymes in centrifugal and higher-speed juicers, it’s just not the same as if you use a masticating juicer.
Juicers Have the Same Yield, It’s Just Marketing
Masticating juicers actually do produce more juice than centrifugal juicers. Double and single auger masticating juicers work the best out of any juicer to get the most yield from produce.
Juicers with Bio-Magnets are Better
Bio-magnetic technology is unproven at the moment and does seem to be a marketing ploy. You should read into reviews for these products to see if the customers feel the quality is any better than a regular masticating juicer. There are no scientific studies at the moment that prove bio-magnets in juicing leads to a higher quality of life.
As always, you should read the description of the product and look for features mentioned in this guide to help guide your buying decision on what the best juicer will be for your home.
Differences in Price of Juicers
Most of the time, the quality of the juicer is equal to the expense. However, there are some newer models that are under $100 and claim to do just about everything you want in a juicer. It has low RPMs, BPA-free design, high wattage, and easy cleanup. However, the warranty is very significant with the newest juicers.
Ideally, you want a warranty that is over 5 years. If you have a year or even two-year warranty, your juicer may need replacement parts, or the motor may run out quite a bit sooner than juicers with longer warranties. That’s why it’s important to read reviews and see what customers have said about the longevity of the product.
You will pay a bit of a higher price for juicers that have more than one auger as well. These masticating juicers are slow extractors that use double augers and high-powered motors to swiftly extract juice. However, some of these juicers may cheapen the product by turning up the RPMs. If you plan to pay over $200 for a juicer, you should make sure that it has high- and low-speed settings so that you can extract juice from all fruits and vegetables while decreasing the amount of oxidation.
Advantages of Buying Masticating Juicer vs Regular Juicers
Masticating juicers are known for their high yield and zero-to-low oxidation numbers. This means that you get the most juice from the vegetables and fruits without any waste. You also get a longer shelf life. There are some other reasons why masticating juicers are valued beyond centrifugal juicers and other “juicemakers.”
- Little to No Noise: With a low speed masticating juicer, you can make juice without having to deal with the high-pitched whirring and churning of a centrifugal juicer or blender. You won’t worry about waking anyone up or disturbing someone’s program in the other room.
- Zero Oxidation: Oxidation is definitely a problem for other juicers. You won’t get nearly the same yield or nutrients with other juicers as you will with a masticating juicer. The way that masticating juicers operate, you don’t get the same heat production that causes problems for centrifugal juicers.
- Bigger Yield and Little Waste: You simply get more juice from a masticating juicer. You’ll notice that the pulp by-product is typically very dry. There shouldn’t be any wetness or juice in your bin after a good juicing.
- Warranty: For the price, you’ll get a great warranty that protects your juicer for 10 to 30 years. You can always replace a juicer that starts to malfunction.
There are some things that are difficult about purchasing a masticating juicer over centrifugal juicers, however. For one, they are higher-priced. While most feel the results are worth the cost, you will definitely pay more for a high-yielding masticating juicer.
You may have to chop up produce before you push them into a masticating juicer, especially if you pick the horizontal chute design. However, this is an issue with most high-powered juicers, even centrifugal types.
Since masticating juicers have very low speed, you don’t want to make juice on a time crunch. You should set aside some time to make juice with a masticating juicer as it will typically take about an hour if you want to obtain a large quantity of juice with different fruits and vegetables.
If We Had to Pick the Perfect Profile of a Masticating Juicer
Does the perfect masticating juicer exist? Yes! There are a variety of masticating juicers out there, but if you are looking for one that meets your needs for juice and price, then you are in good shape. Here are some of the features that we cannot live without when using a masticating juicer:
- Vertical chutes: It’s just easier.
- Different Speed Settings: Sometimes, you want to juice faster.
- High Customer Ratings: Reviews can tell you a lot about how the juicer works with different vegetables and settings.
- Zero Oxidation: Masticating juicers should have very little oxidation, so you can simply enjoy the juice and store it for an extended period of time.
- BPA-Free: This is just a no-brainer. You don’t want any BPA chemicals. You should look for juicers that specifically state that they are BPA-free.
- Under 50 RPM: Lower speed masticating juicers are going to provide better juice. While it may have different speed settings, you definitely want the lowest speed to be somewhere between 40 and 60 RPM.
- High-Powered Motor: Juicers should have between 140-Watt and 240-Watt power capacity. This allows you to get the most torque out of your juicer.
- Smart Cap and Easy Maintenance: Just because you’re juicing doesn’t mean you have to get messy. You want to pick a juicer that will make it easy to clean up and not create a mess with vegetable juice spitting up out of the chute.
- WIDE FEEDING CHUTE: This is an absolute must whether you pick a horizontal or vertical juicer. You should be able to chop less and fit more vegetables in your juicer at the same time for convenience.
- 15-Year+ Warranty: It’s important to only buy juicers that are covered by warranties. You never know what will happen in transit or if a juicer will malfunction after a couple of months of use.
- Double Auger: You definitely want to get the highest-powered machine with multiple gears to create the best juice fast.
The best juicer for your diet is going to produce the most nutrients and drier pulp. You want a juicer that has high wattage, big yield, and low speeds. This is the perfect combination to ensure that you get the most out of every juice.
What’s the Best Way to Use Masticating Juicers
There are a lot of health benefits when it comes to using a masticating juicer. You are able to ingest the purest juice with the most vitamins and enzymes, making it better for you than any supplement or chewable.
These are some of the best tips for using masticating juicers:
- Set aside an hour to properly juice. With slow speeds, you will typically have to wait for the juicer to finish each type of vegetable or fruit pushed into the chute.
- Prepare your vegetables beforehand and buy organic. You should wash all vegetables anyway to ensure that chemicals and wax are removed. It’s important to buy produce that is fresh for this reason. You should cut any large vegetables in half that won’t fit into the chute beforehand.
- Set up a large area of counter space for your juicing activities. You’ll want to have all of your vegetables lined up and ready to go as well as ample space for your juicer and any storage jars.
- You can use large mason jars to store juice or pour into a pitcher that has a tight seal.
- Weighing fruits and vegetables can help you cut down on waste as well. If you want to consume just the right amount of juice so that it fits in your fridge, then weighing your vegetables and measuring the output will help you determine the correct amount of vegetables and fruits to juice ratio.
- You should clean the juicer after each use to eliminate reside and goop that will cause your blades to grow dull or damage the juicer in any way. You should always unplug the juicer before cleaning and run it under water. You can take it apart and use normal dish soap and water to clean off each part. Since juicer parts are pretty delicate, it’s not recommended to place any of the inner pieces in the dishwasher.
- Look up juices that provide different types of nutrients and energy. You may want a higher-energy juice for the mornings or you may want to include beets in your juices for oxidant properties.
The best part about juicing is that you get to create your own juices as well. You shouldn’t be afraid to experiment with different vegetable and fruit combinations until you find the one that works for you. Some juices also contain lemon, ginger, wheat grass, and other zesty produce to add an extra punch to the flavor.
Prerequisites to Use Masticating Juicers
Juicing isn’t for everyone. If you plan on adding juice into your life, you should make sure that you can be committed to using the juicer. It is a lot of money to pay if you don’t want to make juice at least three times per week. Here are some more things to consider before purchasing a juicer.
Produce Budget
It takes a lot of vegetables and fruit to create one juice. In addition, you want to buy organic if possible. The issue is with pesticides. If you are trying to juice to be healthy, then drinking highly concentrated juice with pesticides is just bad for your body. Buying organic and in bulk is the best way to shop for produce if you are juicing. This means that you should expect to spend about $400 to $800 on organic product per month, depending on where you live.
Stomach Problems
Do you have ulcers? Are you good with drinking acidic juices? You should make sure that it’s a good idea for your body to ingest juice that isn’t pasteurized as well. Some people also have allergies to certain types of things that are common in juices such as ginger and wheat grass. You want to confirm any food allergies before drinking highly concentrated forms of juice.
Time Considerations
It does take some time to juice vegetables and fruits routinely. You will need about an hour for preparation, juicing, and clean-up if you are an advanced user. It may take you more time in the beginning to get everything set up and learn how to clean your machine.
Things to Know Before You Start Juicing
Bringing juice into your life will have amazing health benefits. People find that they have more energy, and they feel better about their diets when they use juice to consume fruits and vegetables. However, there are a variety of juicers on the market, and some will set you back quite a penny. It’s important to understand that juicing is a bit of a lifestyle change before you start to look at juicing. These are some important points to think about before you jump into the juicing lifestyle.
What will you be juicing?
Most masticating juicers are able to get the juice out of everything, but some juice better than others. You can also create nut butter, pasta, or ground coffee with juicers. Twin gear or double auger juicers are especially great at juicing and blending almost anything.
You should look up juice mixtures that will provide the best nutrients and energy that you need. If you are sure that you want parsley for its benefits, then you want to make sure you pick a juicer that can handle smaller, leafy greens.
How much juice can you consume per day?
Most juicers are going to put out a lot of juice, so you can either drink it that day or the following day. In some cases, you get 72 hours to drink a juice before it starts to taste terrible and not so fresh. The best way to drink juice is right after you finish juicing, but sometimes, it’s just too much juice. You may want to measure your vegetables and fruits to the output, so you know your limits when putting produce through the chute.
How important is the quality of the juice?
Higher-grade juicers will produce more juice with more enzymes. However, some will argue that the difference is minimal in terms of different RPM speeds. If you want to make sure that you are getting the most juice at the highest quality, then you likely will pay a bit more for a slower speed masticating juicer.
Best Masticating Juicers in 2018
Five years ago, masticating juicers were not a common item to find for less than $500. Now, there are numerous brands out there that have made affordable juicers with single and double auger capabilities. These are the top picks for masticating juicers in 2018.
SKG Masticating Juicer – 240W AC Motor, Wide Chute
Reasons to Love This Juicer
- Wide Chute
- Anti-Oxidation Properties
- Vertical Design
- Cold Press Juicer
- 43 RPM
The SKG is a top of the line masticating juicer that provides real anti-oxidation as it juices your produce. This keeps your juice super fresh and long-lasting so that it has the best shelf life. Its ultra-low speed protects vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients from being destroyed.
The juicer produces a high yield for most fruits and vegetables. You will get about 90% juice from orange and 47% from carrots. The wide chute makes it easy to juice bigger fruits and vegetables like apples and lots of leafy greens at once if you are trying to make a kale juice.
The SKG is a bit heavy, but it’s meant to be. You’ll need adequate counter space to fit this Tritan juicer.
Conclusion
The SKG produces a high yield of juice with little oxidation. However, the speeds aren’t the slowest, and the body style is a little heavy.
Willsence Slow Masticating Juicer
Reasons to Love This Juicer
- Slow Cold Press Juicer
- BPA-Free
- Dishwasher Parts
- Reverse Motion
- Multiple Speeds
- 60 RPM Low Speed
The Willsence is a powerful masticating juicer that is rather valuable for the price because it does everything you want without the high price tag. In addition, the design is one of the most advanced in the masticating extractor lineup. It is also the best combination of the best slow juicer and features on this list.
Willsence created a juicer that has a longer spiral design that allows you to get more juice from several different types of fruits and vegetables. The gears automatically adjust based on the hardness of the fruit as well. It also comes with overload protection and reverse functions, making it easy to get fruit through the chute and clean up afterward.
Most of the parts in this masticating juicer are also dishwasher safe, and it’s BPA-free. However, there is only a 2-year warranty with this machine.
Conclusion
Willsence has one of the lowest-priced masticating juicers on the market that meets just about all of our favorite requirements. However, the short-term warranty is a bit troublesome for a juicer. However, it comes with 24/7 customer service and FDA certification.
Omega J8006HDS Nutrition Center Masticating Juicer
Reasons to Love This Juicer
- Various Speeds for Different Functions (Juicers, betters, extruding pasta, etc.)
- Dual-Stage Motor
- 200-Watt
- High Yield of Juice
- 15-Year Warranty
Omega has been around for quite some time, and it has always been a favorite for those who love to juice. The company has also the highest warranty length. While the juicer does produce a high yield of fruit and vegetable juice, the 80 RPM minimum speed setting is a bit disappointing. We already know that lower speeds are able to get the most juice.
However, this juicer has a powerful auger system that can do more than juice vegetables and fruits. You can make nut butter, grind coffee, mince herbs, make baby food, and create frozen dessert treats with its different settings.
The juicer has most of the things that you look for in a top-of-the-line machine. With quiet operation and a dual-stage motor, you get a ton of juice out of this model.
Conclusion
You should pick the Omega juicer if you want a high-quality, long-lasting juicer that yields a high amount of juice. However, the price and 80 RPM speed aren’t the greatest. You’ll still get a lot of the nutrients and enzymes from the juice, but it’s not as high-yielding as a juicer with 40 to 60 RPMs.
Champion Juicer G5-PG710 White Heavy Duty Juicer
Reasons to Love This Juicer
- Wide Chute
- Lightweight
- 220 Volt
- Easy-to-Use
The Champion Heavy Duty Juicer is a quiet, stylish juicer that extracts a lot of juice, and it’s one of the everlasting juicers on the market. Most reviews you’ll find will say that they’ve had this juicer for up to 25 years! While many of the newer juicers have different speed settings, lots of attachments, and larger body styles, the Champion is a simple, easy-to-use juicer that lets you feed vegetables and fruits in the wide chute without any need for chopping.
Some produce is difficult to juice with Champion, such as wheatgrass and parsley. You may need to get an attachment sold separately. However, this juicer also can get more juice from pulp if you feed it back through.
Fast and easy to clean, there are no other attachments, bolts, screws, or other parts to really remove for clean up. It’s as simple as removing the chute and cleaning out the extraction bin. In addition, you can make ice creams, sherbets, and butter with this handy juicer as well.
Conclusion
While it’s not as flashy as some of the other juicers on this list, it does have some issues. For example, the price is rather high for the model not changing much in the past 25 years. However, it does exactly what it says, and it’s a long-lasting juicer with customers who continue to rave about its strength nearly 20 years after purchasing.
Tribest Slowstar Vertical Slow Juicer and Mincer
Reasons to Love This Juicer
- Vertical Cold Press
- Slow 47 RPM
- Duo-Blade Auger
- 200-Watt Motor
- 10-Year Warranty
The Tribest Slowstar Vertical Slow Juicer is another favorite on the market, renowned for its “47 RPM” speed setting that offers the optimal speed and power to create juice that is rich in enzymes and nutrients. The duo-blade auger gives this juicer a lot of power, allowing you to create the healthiest juices from all sorts of vegetables and fruits — even difficult items like wheat grass and parsley. This is thanks to the mincing attachment.
The motor has a 3-stage reduction gear that allows you to produce more juice with less jamming. It’s also a pretty quiet juicing machine as well.
You can also create nut butters, juice coconuts, and create frozen desserts like banana cream with this juicer as well.
Conclusion
The Tribest offers the best of everything. Slow RPMs, long-term warranty, lots of speeds, and great power.
Conclusion: Picking the Best Masticating Juicer
Masticating juicers have become a trend for those who want to stay fit and healthy while getting the most nutrients from their produce. The top masticating juicers have low speeds, high wattage, wider chutes, high yields, and longer warranties. It’s also helpful if they are easy to clean afterward.
In our opinion, the best masticating juicer of this matchup is the Omega J8006HDS. You can’t go wrong with this juicer. For the price, warranty, and the number of features it offers, you get a high profile juicer with a relatively perfect balance of functionality and power.
However, if you are looking for something with a lower RPM and are willing to splurge, we would suggest the Tribest Slowstar Vertical Slow Juicer.
