A Quick Guide to Juicers – Centrifugal, Slow Press and Twin Gear

October 10th, 2013

Appliance Talk Small Appliances

Everyone loves juice, right?  It’s got all the nutrition of fruit and veg, but in liquid form!

And if you choose to make your juice at home using a juicer from Appliances Online, you’ll always know precisely what’s going into your body, which isn’t always possible with store-bought juices (which can be packed with sugars, preservatives and other artificial ingredients).

This man (Jason Vale) loves juice, AND SO COULD YOU!

So what’s stopping you from getting stuck right into the wonderful world of juicing?  Could it be that this “wonderful world” can sound a bit confusing, what with the loads of different juicer types, all with jargon-filled names?

To try and make things a little easier, here’s our brief guide to the differences between types of juicers – they’re actually much simpler than you might think!

What is a Centrifugal Juicer?

What do you think of when you hear the word “juicer”?

If it’s not one of those ridged juicing cups where you manually squash half a lemon on top to get the juice out, it’s more than likely a Centrifugal Juicer, also known as a Conventional Juicer or Traditional Juicer.

Breville Juice Fountain Plus Juicer BJE410

Essentially, these babies work by using sharp blades to annihilate any fruit or veg placed inside them to a pulp (literally!), then spinning rapidly to separate the liquid juice from the solid pulp, just like a scientific centrifuge (and not the kind that makes trainee astronauts lose their lunch).

These are good juicers.  They’re simple to operate, they do the job, and they’re usually quite affordable.  Used properly, they can do wonders for your diet and your health – Joe Cross (seen above) of Fat Sick And Nearly Dead quite successfully managed to use a Breville Juicer to prepare his meals for a 60-day detox, which led to the loss of 37 kilos!

The downside is that while Centrifugal Juicers do a good job of making juice, they don’t always do a great job of preserving the nutrients of the fruit and veg.  The combination of sharp blades, a hot motor running at high speed, and intense vibration can annihilate a sizable percentage of your fruit and veg’s nutritional content.  The juice will certainly be tasty, but you may lose some of its goodness.

What is a Cold Press Juicer?

We’ve talked about Cold Press Juicers before, but we haven’t talked about Masticating Juicers, Slow Juicers, or Silent Juicers.  That’s because when you get right down to it, they’re all different names for the same type of juicer – one with a slow-running motor that gently squeezes juice out of fruits and veggies using an auger (think of a blunt screw or drill bit, and not an ancient Roman fortune-telling priest – that’s an augur).

Oscar Neo DA 1000 Ultem Tough Juicer JU-OS-1000-UL-AU-BU

Each of the different names refers to a different aspect of the juicer’s function:

• Cold Press Juicer – Refers to the way the juicer’s slow-running motor doesn’t get hot during operation, and how the juicer’s augur gently presses fruit to squash it rather than slice it.  Both of these help to preserve the level of nutrients in your juice.
• Masticating Juicer – Fun fact: “masticate” is another word for “chew”.  Thus, this term refers to how these juicers squash and crush fruit and veggies like teeth rather than slicing and mincing them, which extracts their juice more gently, preserving more nutrients.
• Slow Juicer – This term is something of a misnomer, as these juicers don’t do their job significantly slower than a Centrifugal Juicer.  Instead, it refers to how the motor only runs at around 75-160 RPM rather than the up to 30,000 RPM (!) found in some Traditional Juicers, which helps extract juice much more gently, and thus preserve more nutrients.
• Silent Juicer – Refers to how the slowly-spinning motors of these juicers run much more quietly than those of other juicers, meaning you can get juice without it sounding like you’ve turned on a power tool in your kitchen.

So if you see any of these names being tossed around, remember that they’re all referring to one broad variety of juicer – one that’s often slightly more pricey than a conventional Centrifugal Juicer, but also produces a more nutritious juice thanks to its gentler juicing action.

What is a Twin Gear Juicer?

Sometimes also called a Triturating Juicer, this is the high-powered version of the masticating cold press juicer.  Rather than using a single auger to crush the juice out of fruit and veg, a Twin Gear Juicer uses two intersecting augers to grind and squeeze the juice from plant matter.

Greenpower Hippocrates Juicer JU-HP-PL-AU-BL

With twice the power of a Slow Juicer, Twin Gear machines are some of the best juicers available, but they do have a matching price tag.  Still, it’s worth it if you want juice that’s just about as nutritious as the raw fruit and veg itself (and if you’ve mixed up a nice combination, it should be tasty as well!).

Got more juicer questions?

We hope that we’ve managed to clear up a bit of the confusion that sometimes surrounds the wonderful world of juicers, and that you’ll be able to put this knowledge to work when you’re picking out the right machine to suit your needs.

If you need any more information regarding any of the juicers available at Appliances Online, our team is available 24/7 to answer your questions.

Happy juicing!