Getting Started Juicing Part 2

To make fresh juices at home, you will need a juicer. However, in order to select the juicer that best suits your family's needs, it will  help to know a little about how the various category of juicers differ from one another. Juicers are expressly designed to extract fluid from the fiber of fruits and vegetables. It does this by separating the liquid from the pulp which is usually discarded.
The best or perfect juicer is the one that suits your needs and that you will enjoy using. It helps to know what type of produce, you will be juicing most often. To help you make your decision, the following list offers a brief definition of the different categories of juicers on the market.

High speed juicers:

• Centrifugal juicers: These juicers extracts the juice from fruits and vegetables by chopping the produce and spinning it a stainless steel basket at high speed (3600 rpms) to separate the juice from the pulp. The pulp has to be removed as the basket becomes full. A plastic bag of filter can be placed inside the basket to help with the cleanup. This is not a continuous juicing appliance as you must stop the machine to empty the basket when it is full. Works well for extracting juice from most fruits and vegetables, but it cannot extract juice from wheatgrass or leafy greens.
• Pulp ejection: These are also centrifugal juicers, but the difference is that this version automatically ejects the pulp through a side opening. The pulp ejection system makes this a continuous juicing appliance. It is not necessary to continually stop and empty the basket. You will be able to juice most fruits and vegetables, but these juicers cannot extract juice from wheatgrass or leafy greens.
• Citrus juicers: These are dedicated juicing machines that are specifically designed to extract juice from oranges, limes, lemons and grapefruits.

Masticating Juicers:
This category of juicer masticates (chews and grinds) the fruits and vegetables into a paste and squeezes the juice through a screen. These juicers rotates at a low speed (approx. 80 rpms) with the exception of the Champion which rotates at approximately 1000 rpms. These juicers are great for juicing most fruits and vegetables, wheatgrass and leafy greens. However, the Champion requires an attachment for juicing wheatgrass and leafy greens.

The single auger juicers, uses an auger to crush the produce against the screen or wall of the juicer to extract the juice. These juicers rotate at a low rpm (approx. 80 rpms) minimizing oxidation of the juice. They are great for extracting juice from most fruits and vegetables, wheatgrass, leafy greens, barley grass, sprouts etc.

The dual-stage single auger juicers function much like the single auger juicers above, but after the initial crushing, the juice extraction is done in two stages through two fine hole screens. These juicers are also great for juicing most fruits and vegetables, wheatgrass, leafy greens, barley grass, sprouts etc. They come in both upright and horizontal versions. Because of the dual stage extracting process these juicers produce more juice than the single auger machines.

The twin gear press also known as triturating juicers utilize two augers (interlocking gears) to press out the juice from the produce. The twin gear press rotates at a low rpm (approx. 80 - 110 rpms) minimizing oxidation of the juice. You can extract juice from most fruits and vegetables, wheatgrass, leafy greens, barley grass, sprouts etc.

If you are only interested in juicing wheatgrass and leafy greens then you can purchase a dedicated wheatgrass juicer. These juicers are single auger juicers that are specifically designed to extract juice from the delicate wheatgrass leaves. They come in both electric and manuals versions. The manual wheatgrass juicer is great as a backup because it is portable and does not require power. You can take it with you when you travel.