Buying guide for best juicers

Everyone needs multiple servings of fruits and vegetables daily, but this can be difficult to manage with a demanding schedule. Luckily, juicers are an easy way to get your filling of fruit; for some people, it’s way less effort to drink fruit and vegetables than eat them, and juicers are a great tool for young, picky eaters.

While there are many models to choose from, you don’t want just any juicer, of course. Key considerations you should keep in mind are capacity, additional features such as mincing or chopping, ability to juice different fruits and vegetables, and juicing speeds. We’ll cover all of these features in our reviews, along with pricing.

We’ve compiled the best juicers available, so take a look at our recommendations once you’re ready to make a purchase. Keep reading to learn about all the important features to consider before adding a juicer to your shopping cart.

Types of juicers

There are two basic types of juicers: masticating and extracting. Both have pros and cons.

Masticating juicers

These are also called cold-press or auger-style juicers. These devices have an auger that grinds the produce, breaking down cell walls and releasing the juice, which is then squeezed through a steel screen. Masticating juicers take longer than extractors to produce your cup of juice, but yield more juice and leave more of the nutrients intact. If you like green juices with plenty of leafy, tough greens like kale, you’ll be happiest with this type of juicer. Many can also be used to make nut milk. You’ll pay quite a bit more for a cold-press juicer, however.

Pros: Quieter than extracting machines, produce more juice, leave drier pulp, good for juicing kale, spinach, and other green vegetables.
Cons: Expensive, take longer to produce the juice, prone to jamming when used on tough greens, produce needs to be cut into small pieces before juicing.
Price: Expect to spend $100 to $300 for an auger-style juicer.

Extracting juicers

These are also called centrifugal juicers, have a spinning mesh basket with a grated bottom. Produce is whirled against the grate, shredding it and releasing the juice. Pulp spins into a separate basket, while the juice runs out the device’s spout. Centrifugal juicers work much faster than masticating juicers, but are also quite a bit louder and yield less juice. They work very well on the fruits and veggies most likely to be juiced, such as apples, oranges, and carrots, but tend to struggle with leafy greens like kale. These juicers are the less expensive choice.

Pros: Juice quickly, suitable for most fruits and vegetables, no need to cut produce into small pieces before juicing, less expensive.
Cons: Noisy, not good with leafy greens, juice has less fiber and nutrients than juice from an auger juicer.
Price: Expect to spend $50 to $100 for a centrifugal juicer.

Features to look for in a juicer

Juicers tend to be fairly simple, but there are a few features that add extra convenience.

Large chute

This makes it easier to push produce into the machine.

Clear juice container

Most juicers have this, but you might find a few models with opaque containers.

Large pulp collector

If the pulp collector is small, you’ll have to stop frequently and empty it.

Variable speeds

While masticating juicers typically only have one speed, some centrifugal juicers offer variable speeds, so you can juice soft fruit slowly and harder fruits or vegetables at higher speeds.

Reverse function

This common feature of masticating juicers lets you reverse the auger direction to release clogged produce.

Power

The more motor power, the better your juicer can handle tough produce.

Multipurpose functions

Many masticating juicers have settings to do more than just juice; they can also grind coffee, make nut milk, puree baby food, and chop herbs.

Noise

In general, masticating juicers are quieter than centrifugal juicers, but some centrifugal juicers are louder than others.

Dishwasher-safe

It’s convenient to be able to wash your juicer’s collecting cups in the dishwasher.

External pulp collector

Juicing leaves behind pulp, and lots of it. Most masticating juicers have an external collection cup for pulp, but the pulp cup on some centrifugal juicers is inside the machine. That’s less convenient to clean. Look for a juicer with an external pulp collector.

Tips for using your juicer

You’ve chosen your juicer. You’ve got a pile of fresh produce ready to go. Now it’s time to get juicing!

Here are some tips to help you squeeze the healthiest and tastiest juice possible.

Not only should you start with fresh produce, you should drink your juice as soon as possible after extracting it. Oxidation quickly breaks down nutrients in the juice, so consume your juice within a day if possible. Immediately is even better.
If your juicer has two speeds, use the lower speed for soft fruit like berries, and the higher speed for greens and harder fruit like apples.
Extra juice? Store it in an airtight glass container in the fridge. It will stay good for up to 48 hours.
Save yourself precious morning time by washing and cutting up produce the night before you’re going to juice.
For the tastiest brew, limit your juicing ingredients to two or three types of produce and perhaps one herb or spice. Too many flavors makes a muddled, unappealing – perhaps even brown – juice.
While you can juice almost any fruit or vegetable, there are a few exceptions. You’ll have a hard time juicing bananas, avocados, rhubarb, mangoes, and peaches. These are all exceptional ingredients for blending smoothies, however.
If you have a garden, add the pulp from your juicer to a compost pile. You’ll soon have rich fertilizer to feed your plants. Leftover pulp can also be used in smoothies, sauces, soups, stews, and desserts.
Wash all produce thoroughly before juicing to remove pesticide residue, dirt, bacteria, and other potentially harmful organisms. That includes organically grown produce – just because it is grown without chemical fertilizers and pesticides doesn’t mean it can’t have stomach-upsetting germs on the surface.
Consider color when choosing your ingredients. Mix red and green produce, and you’ll end up with a brownish juice, which might be healthy, but won’t look too appetizing.
If the pulp is still fairly wet, run it through the juicer again to extract as much juice as possible.
Don’t force produce into your juicer or overfill the basket. You’ll end up with a mess.
Remember to remove all pits from your fruit before juicing; it’s easy to overlook small seeds in citrus.
Some produce should be peeled before juicing, and some is fine to leave unpeeled. Generally, peel if the produce is not organic. If it is organic, go ahead and leave the peel on apples, beets, cucumbers, grapes, and carrots.
If a significant portion of your calories are going to come from juice each day, mix up your produce. Go with veggie-heavy juices, using just a bit of fruit for sweetness. Alternate types of produce, and try something entirely new periodically. Farmers markets and ethnic grocery stores are great spots to find fruits and vegetables you’ve never tasted before.