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mpukas

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Anyone have a juicer that they really like and recommend?

I want/need a new one, and I'm not sure which. There's a lot more to juicers than I ever imagined.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DpWheBnxXTk&feature=plcp
(WARNING - this guy will suck you in!)

I do know that I do not want a centrifugal type juicer - they are fast, but they loud and are not efficient at some things like leafy greens, and because of their high speed they aerate the juice and it separates. Single auger - either vertical or horizontal - process produce at a slower speed (80 rpms), but the juice they produce is uniform, but tends to have more pulp.

Just curious to see what other members here have expereinced. Cheers! mpp
 
Ya that guy is good, he is about to review a vertical auger juicer so if you think you want the juices as you have already outlined then you should check out the augers or the breville cent type. I'd prob go with an auger if I were to buy one right now so I could do kale and such things if I wanted.
 
Having used a number of juicers over the years, found that the Omega 2004+6(same model, different color-silver is more expensive) are the most cost effective out there for quality juice that you can make at home. It will juice all day as long as you let it rest, it has a 15 year warranty from Omega, and it is very quiet. The juice will come out the temperature of the vegetables/fruits you put into it; compared to say the Champion which dramatically heats up the juice. The juice does have more pulp but they include a filter screen with the juicer; personally have found that buying your own fine-meshed screen works best-preferably one that fits into the cup you pour it in.

The one issue with the juicer is that it's more "delicate" than other juicers but the 15 year warranty backs that up--juice heavily periodically and the juicing filter/screen broke but they did refund it albeit with some wait time.

Have heard good things about the VRT but personally will wait the small amount of extra time it takes to juice certain objects in the 2004/2006 to avoid the extra foam--watch the Wheatgrass video...
 
I've been comsumed with looking at juicers, and here's where I'm at... a centrifugal type is not what I want.

The Mac Daddy is the Tribest Green Star Elite GSE-5000 Juicer. It produces the best juice and has the highest yield. It's best for veggies, especially leafy greens, and has an attachment to do fruit. It can also be a homogenizer and do things like nut butters. It cost $530 so it's out of my budget ATM.

The Omega 8004/8006 is the next best option for a lot less. It can do all of the same things as the GSE, but is not quite as slick and may not do quite as well at juicing. This is the one I'm going with.

The Omega VRT350HD was also a strong consideration. It will juice slightly faster than the 8004/8006 and it'll do fruits maybe slightly better. But it's strictly a juicer, has more moving parts, is more complicated, takes more time to clean, and it costs more.

The site I listed sells them at the same price as everyone else, so he's really not a discount dealer. BB&B carries the 8006 in-stock, and I can get a 20% coupon.

On another note, I'd love to have this Breville citrus juicer. I use a lot of citrus juice (mainly lemons and limes) not only for cooking but for cocktails. I'd put this machine to good use!
 
interesting timing.. America's Test Kitchen just released results of their test on juicers, in case anyone in interested. They prefered a Breville centrifugal model.

Frankly, I think these guys are morons most of the time, especially when it comes to testing kitchen equipment (just look at their favorite chef's knife). But I have learned a lot from them over the years, mainly in food science, and have used some of their recipes with great results.
 
I have the provious model breville and it has worked very well... Heavy construction..takes whole oranges (peeled of course) and it even does beets..

I believe they have improved their design a bit since then...

:wink:
 
I have owned a few brevilles, from low to high end. They are fast and somewhat efficient, but do aerate the juice, something I dislike in a pro environment. My only other experience is with champion which I loved other than how damn slow it is. Never have had the opportunity to use any of the attachments but always loved the idea of being able to mill my own grains.
 
I don't use any at home, because they always seem to take a ton of time to clean and I don't grow beets or carrots. But among the people who work at the co-op everyone recommends Champion juicers. They argue that its the cheapest you can go while getting a durable machine. The comercial one we used when I worked there had a metal auger, and I've heard stories about the plastic ones breaking chipping and flaking into juice...supposedly the champion ones use pressed nylon....which is more resistant.

Anyway...not really a review, but maybe one more name to consider.
 
I have a certifugal breville and comments made here are correct. Its not as efficient and does aerate b ut the pitcher mostly solves that problem. Its very fast, easy to clean (four pieces) rips through hard fruit like nothing. It works for me because I don't juice my greens, they get blended in a blendtec.
 
For anyone who may or may not be interested, here's what I've come up with re: juicers. I bought an Omega 8006 juicer (f/ BB&B w/ a 20% off coupon), which is a horizontal auger style, and it works great for certain things. From what I've researched, it seems Omega makes the best juicers, out-performing competitors such as Breville and Champion by yielding more juice and a better quality juice. In addition, they have by far the longest warranty on the COMPLETE machine (10-15 yrs depending on the model), not just the motor.

Juicers can be broken down into two basic categories - auger style (which has an auger that has concentric spines that get progressively smaller, similar to a meat grinder) and centrifugal style (which spin at high speed and grind produce on a flat plate and force the pulp through a fine mesh screen, separating the pulp from the juice). There are other types and variations on these types, but for most practical purposes, these are the two most common types.

Most produce can be broken down into three categories - soft fruits & veggies, hard fibrous fruits and veggies, and leafy greens. Again, there are variations and other types, but this is a generalization.

Both auger style and centrifugal style juicers do well with fibrous produce. In an auger, the fibrous produce is efficiently crushed and pressed in the auger, and in a centrifugal juicers, things like carrots and hard apples are easily crewed up and spun out.

Auger style juicers (like my Omega 8006) are great for leafy greens and fibrous produce. They SUCK for soft fruits & veggies like pineapple, cucumber, soft pears, plums, citrus, etc. The feed tube on these styles is small, so the produce has to be cut into smaller sizes requiring more prep work. If doing a variety of produce, it should ideally be alternated in the feed tube so that the harder fibrous material is able to push the softer material through the auger without it backing up.

Centrifugal style juicers are great for soft fruits like peaches, plums, pineapple, citrus, etc., do very well with fibrous produce like carrots and celery, but SUCK at leafy greens and do not do well with stalks of leafy greens such as collards and beet greens. Most of these jobs have wide feed tubes, and can take whole apples & pears, 3-5 carrots, etc making prep time and feeding time significantly shorter. No need to alternate produce to keep it from backing up.

Auger style juicers run at a low RPM (80-100) - and are slow to use - and do not create the juice (produce little foam). Centrifugal style juicers run at high RPM (10,000+) and a very fast - especially the wide-mouth feed tube jobs. I've found that all juice will separate if left to sit for even a short amount of time, so my original thought that auger style was better because the juice does not separate was wrong. Centrifugal juicers may aerate the juice more - and produce more foam - but if let to sit the foam will subside.

In the end, there's not one perfect juicer for all applications. I actually now think centrifugal juicers are more practical, since they're faster and do fruits better. Especially in a pro kitchen if you're looking to do large quantity extractions of a single item, a centrifugal is the way to go. I do not think auger style juicer are commercially rated, so they cannot be used for juice bar applications. There are several centrifugal models that are commercially rated, and some specifically designed for such use. I really like the 8006, but someday I'll prolly add an Omega Mega Mouth to my arsenal.
 
I strongly recommend you to buy quality juicer from a quality brand and you should not go for less expensive or cheap brands
 
I have the breville, and I agree it is a fantastic centrifugal juicer. Be aware, however, that the unit leaks where the fibrous waste is ejected, and people have complained about the filter/blades dulling quickly. I still love mine, but mostly juice celery, citrus, carrots and other high water content veggies and fruits.
 
thanks MP, don't worry, after the honeymoon, the juicer will end up idle alongside your High Powered Blender ;) But when you need them, you'll be very happy to have them.

Funny guy ha ha :razz:

I use my juicer and high speed blender several times a week, if not almost daily.

At some point I'm gonna add an Omega VRT 350 fert auger juicer - it does a wider variety of produce, especially soft fruits, than the 8006 horizontal auger job.
 
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