Centrifugal Juicers vs Masticating Juicers

You may not think that choosing a juicer is a complicated process, but you’d be surprised: Choosing a juicer is as difficult of a process as selecting a new smartphone or possibly even a brand new vehicle. A failure to understand the basics of the core styles of juicers, such as the differences between masticating juicers and centrifugal juicers, can lead to a colossal waste of money; for example, you could choose a juicer that can’t juice the items you’re looking to put into it. Before committing to a juicer, make sure you educate yourself on what exactly these two styles of juicers bring to the table.

 

What is a Centrifugal Juicer?

If you’ve spent even a little bit of time researching juicers, you’ve likely already come across an array of centrifugal juicers. Centrifugal juicers are a frequently billed as an entry-level juicer and use a combination of a blade and a mesh chamber to extract juice from your fruits and vegetables. On the average centrifugal juicer, you place the ingredients into a chamber at the top of the juicer, at which point the juicer rapidly spins the ingredients in a circle to extract liquid. The excess waste, called pulp, is filtered into a separate container for easy disposal, leaving you with nothing but a delicious glass of pulp-free juice.

One of the benefits of centrifugal juicers is that they work incredibly fast; in fact, these juicers are so quick that they can make a fresh cup of juice in under 10 seconds. If that isn’t fast enough for you, most centrifugal juicers pride themselves on not requiring any prep work before you start making juice. While other juicers require you to prepare your ingredients before juicing, you can easily shove an entire apple, orange or banana into your centrifugal juicer and let it do all the work. With a centrifugal juicer, you’ll be enjoying a cold glass of juice while someone with a masticating juicer is still cutting their ingredients!

Centrifugal juicers also make a great entry to the world of homemade juice due to their price. On the low end, centrifugal juicers can cost as little as $50, with even high-end models only costing between $200 to $300. If you’re unsure if you’re going to stick to making fresh juice on a regular basis, a centrifugal juicer is an excellent way of testing the ice.

However, that’s not to say that centrifugal juicers are devoid of any cons; in fact, some nutrition experts say that centrifugal juicers are an ineffective way of making your juice. Due to how the centrifugal process works, it creates a significant amount of oxidation and breaks down the enzymes in your ingredients. In other words, centrifugal juicers rob you of essential vitamins and nutrients, leaving you with a cup of juice that isn’t as healthy as what you’d get with a masticating juicer. Also, due to the high-speed motors found in centrifugal juicers, the juicer itself can reach extremely high temperatures, which will have an adverse effect on the taste of your juice. Many users who switch from centrifugal juicers to masticating juicers often state that their juice tastes better when using a masticating juicer as it isn’t affected by these issues.

Lastly, many centrifugal juicers opt for low-quality parts to keep the overall cost of the juicer down. While your centrifugal juicer likely won’t break the first week that you own it, many users find that they need to replace their centrifugal juicer more often than a masticating juicer. Typically, when centrifugal juicers break it’s usually due to overheating, especially when using your juicer for an extended amount of time. To ensure that your centrifugal juicer can last the test of time, don’t place it in direct sunlight and take breaks every five minutes when using it.

 

What is a Masticating Juicer?

In almost every way, a masticating juicer is the polar opposite of a centrifugal juicer. While a centrifugal juicer operates by rapidly spinning and cutting your fruits and vegetables, a masticating juicer slowly squeezes, grinds and pulls the nutrients out of its ingredients. As you might have already suspected, masticating juicers aren’t for folks who are looking to make glasses of juice quickly; due to their slow motor speeds and the process by which these juicers extract nutrients, it takes two to three times longer to make juice on one of these machines.

Due to the way they extract juice, masticating juicers provide not only more juice than a centrifugal juicer but also more vitamins and nutrients as well. In fact, many juice aficionados claim that juice made using a masticating juicer tastes far superior to juice made using any other juicer, including a centrifugal one. In addition, the pulp that a masticating juicer creates is also much drier, making disposal of it a much easier process.

While centrifugal juicers struggle with leafy greens, especially wheatgrass, your average masticating juicer can handle those with no difficulty whatsoever. Many users even use their masticating juicer as a makeshift food processor, as some of the higher-end models can also handle foods like nuts and meat without any issues.

Before you rush off to buy a masticating juicer, know that there is one huge disadvantage to this type of juicer: you need to prep what you put into it. Most masticating juicers use a narrow feeding chute, meaning that you’ll need to slice your ingredients manually before placing them into your juicer. If you’re looking for a juicer you can use to make a quick glass of juice before jetting off to work, a masticating juicer is a poor choice. While you get less juice and nutrients with a centrifugal juicer, for some users the ability to make a quick glass of juice outweighs the many positives of a masticating juicer.

 

Are there any other differences between the two?

Before making a decision between purchasing a centrifugal juicer or a masticating juicer, there are three other facets to consider: juice longevity, noise and the amount of space in your kitchen.

When it comes to which juicer creates a longer-lasting juice, masticating juicers win hands down. Due to the process by which masticating juicers extract juice, lower amounts of oxidation are occurring in the process; in other words, your juice can last a few days before losing its nutritional benefits. With a centrifugal juicer, the juice you make needs to be ingested as soon as possible to reap any nutritional benefits from it.

Due to their low-speed motors, masticating juicers are much quieter than centrifugal juicers. If you live in an apartment building, the chances are good that your complex has noise restrictions late at night; a loud centrifugal juicer running at six in the morning will not only annoy your neighbors but could also put you on bad terms with your leasing office!

One area where centrifugal juicers come out ahead is that they require less space than a masticating juicer. The best masticating juicers use a horizontal feed tube, meaning that you’ll need a lot of counter space to use your juicer properly; in comparison, you can configure many centrifugal juicers in even the most tight fitting spot, provided you can still place food in the top-loading feeding chute. In general, even upright masticating juicers are going to require more space than your average centrifugal juicer.

While it seems like masticating juicers are the clear winner when comparing between the two types of juicers, the truth is that they both excel in very different areas. The best type of juicer comes down to what works for you personally. Do you need a juicer for a cramped kitchen that can make you a quick glass of juice before work? Then a centrifugal juicer is the best bet. Do you want a juicer where you’re getting the maximum amount of nutrients and don’t mind doing a little prep work? Then you’ll love masticating juicers.

Now that you know what each type of juicer brings to the table, it’s finally time to select your juicer.

The Top Three Centrifugal Juicers

Centrifugal juicers may be entry level machines, but that doesn’t mean they still won’t make a good pitcher of juice. Below, we’ve selected three of the best centrifugal juicers available on the market today.

Breville BJE200XL Compact Centrifugal Fountain Juicer

Breville has a strong reputation for its line of small appliances such as the BJE200XL juicer. The fountain design features a large fountain on the front that pours juice into your glass and a knife blade assembly in the center. That design allows the blade to scrape the sides of the bowl and get bits and pieces that other juicers might miss. With 14,000 revolutions per minute, the motor runs quickly to cut down on the time that you spend waiting. You get the protection that you need due to the locking arm that you must slide into place before you can use the juicer. Breville also added a mesh filter that sits on top of the stainless steel blade. This filter extracts up to 40% more of the vitamins and minerals from your ingredients than similar juicers do while giving you up to 30% more juice from those ingredients.

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Hilax Centrifugal Juicer Machine

Get the same results at home that you get at juice bars with this Hilax centrifugal juicer. Made with a food-grade stainless steel blade, it runs faster than similar juices do and can work on the hardest of vegetables in seconds. Thanks to multiple speeds, it allows you to adjust the speed based on your ingredients. While the slowest speed is perfect for most fruits, the higher speed can cut through hard vegetables like butter, including ginger and beets. Thanks to the extra-large feed chute, this juicer lets you put whole ingredients inside and skip the tedious task of chopping them. It also has a low sound level of only 60 decibels to help you make juice while your family sleeps. You’ll also like that it features removable parts for convenient cleaning, including the sturdy base and pulp holder.

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Breville JE98XL Juice Fountain Plus 850-Watt Juice Extractor

Hailed by some as the king of centrifugal juicers, the Breville JE98XL Juice Fountain Plus 850-Watt Juice Extractor is one of the best centrifugal juicers that money can buy. While this juicer uses the same extra-wide feeding chute seen on other centrifugal juicers, the powerful 850-watt dual-speed motor in the Breville JE98XL Juice Fountain Plus 850-Watt Juice Extractor can create a cup of juice in just five seconds flat. Not only can this juicer make your juice faster than the competition but it can squeeze out more nutrients and vitamins from your ingredients. This Breville juicer boasts not only a steel cutting disc but also an Italian-made micro mesh filter that is capable of extracting 30 percent more juice and 40 percent more vitamins from every ingredient placed into it.

In addition to features such as a locking arm, an extra-large pulp collector and automatic shutoff switch, the Breville JE98XL Juice Fountain Plus 850-Watt Juice Extractor also features a froth separator, a power cord that wraps around the base of the juicer and a heavy-grade polymer body that can withstand a drop onto your kitchen floor. If you’re serious about making the best juice possible using a centrifugal juicer, then the Breville JE98XL Juice Fountain Plus 850-Watt Juice Extractor is the juicer for you.

 

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The Top Three Masticating Juicers

While all masticating juicers can provide you with some of the best freshly-squeezed juice you’ve ever had the pleasure of drinking, they aren’t all created equal. Below, you’ll find three of the best masticating juicers that go the extra mile by packing in great features you’re sure to love.

 

Big Boss Heavy-Duty Masticating Slow Juicer

The Big Boss Heavy-Duty Masticating Slow Juicer is the perfect entry-level masticating juicer, especially for those who are making the leap from a centrifugal juicer to a masticating juicer. While some prep work is still required to fit most fruits and vegetables into the juicer, the large feeding tube on the Big Boss Heavy-Duty Masticating Slow Juicer means that you don’t need to spend as much time preparing your food. If you’re planning on making large pitchers of juice for your family, you’ll love the fact that this juicer can run continuously for 10 minutes. The included pusher means that you can rest assured you’re getting every last drop of juice from your ingredients.

Cleaning up has never been easier with the Big Boss Heavy-Duty Masticating Slow Juicer’s included brush, letting you easily clean even the most difficult spots. Unfortunately, this juicer is not dishwasher safe, so make sure you budget plenty of time for cleaning after using it. As a smaller juicer, the Big Boss Heavy-Duty Masticating Slow Juicer gives you all of the benefits of a masticating juicer while keeping the smaller size of the centrifugal juicer: it’s the best of both worlds!

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AMZCHEF Cold Press Juicer

If you want an easy way to make fresh juices at home, try this AMZCHEF model. When you put ingredients in the chute, they move through seven spirals that do different things, including cutting and breaking them down to extract more juice. The blade spins quickly to keep the ingredients from clogging. With the SOFT mode, the juicer produces up to 60 RPM and is perfect for soft fruits along with leafy greens. You can easily set it to the HARD mode and increase the speed up to 120 RPM for juicing beets and other hard veggies. Finding and choosing the right mode is easy because this juicer has an LED screen on the side that shows you those settings. As the juicer runs at just 60 decibels, it produces roughly the same amount of noise that you make when chatting with a friend.

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AICOK Quiet Motor Slow Masticating Juicer

You can get all of the vitamins and minerals that you want from your favorite ingredients with this AICOK juicer. It has a one-button design that helps you break it down for cleaning and a reverse button to prevent clogs. If you notice the motor slowing down or see food trapped inside, just hit the reverse button to change the direction of the motor. Made from food-grade materials that are BPA-free, this juicer functions as a masticating appliance that runs at a slow speed to get more out of your fruits and vegetables. AICOK offers 24/7 customer support over the phone and gives you a two-year warranty on the juicer. It can handle any type of fibrous ingredient, including most types of grass and citrus fruits. You’ll like that the juicer produces only 60 decibels and that all parts are dishwasher-safe, too.

 

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