I am looking to start juicing, but I can't decide which juicer to get.
Since I am a beginner, I am thinking of taking a citrus juicer, but yet again maybe it is better to take masticating juicer because I heard it is better and it can juice more than just citrus fruit.
I particularly love this masticating juicer:
And I really like what I read and saw about this citrus juicer:
On another hand maybe citrus fruit is good enough for a beginner.
What I want to know is can I juice citrus fruit in the masticating juicer? And what are the main benefits of owning a masticating juicer?
Also if anyone owns any of the juicers I mentioned, please let me know are they good? Will they suffice for a beginner?
Best Answer
I have owned both a citrus juicer, a masticating juicer, and a traditional centrifugal juicer, for a few years now.
My feedback:
Citrus juicer
I have an industrial strength one (this one: http://www.israel-catalog.com/houseware/hadarit-zaksenberg-citrus-juice-squeezer). It's large and heavy, but it is sturdy, and withstands the weight of a "proper" pull to press oranges. I owned a number of cheaper smaller models like what you linked before, but never used them much because they would tip over, or didn't provide enough leverage to really juice an orange.
Pros: I love my citrus juicer - I use it to make fresh orange juice a few times a week, or anytime anyone in my family is sick. From setup/juice/breakdown time is probably 3-4 minutes without trying - and all I have to do is halve my oranges (or grapefruits, pomegranates, etc), which I can do to 6 oranges in a minute.
Cons: It's only good for juicing citrus! Also, if you are going to store it high up, it requires some strength to move. I would prefer to leave it on my counter all the time, but my wife requires I cabinet it when not using it :)
Masticating Juicer
I use an Omega model (http://www.omegajuicers.com/juicer-8006.html). I use this juicer to make Apple, Carrot, Beet, Celery and many other vegetable variety juices. I also use(d) it to make Almond Milk, before I got a Vitamix, and have used it to make Almond, Peanut and Hazelnut Butter, and Banana/Blueberry "ice cream" by freezing the fruit then running it through the mastication a few times.
Pros: I love that this juicer is quiet. Unlike my centrifugal juicer, which is extremely loud and I was having trouble with using after my kids went to sleep, I can use this juicer while people are watching TV! It also allegedly makes better juice because it doesn't heat the juice as much because it's moving slow? I haven't really seen a quality difference. Also, the pulp comes out quietly and slowly, so it doesn't make a mess on the counter/cabinets of juice pulp spray.
You certainly CAN make orange juice here, but you will need to slice off the outside skin around the whole orange, and then segment into chunks (see Cons), so for each orange you're making 6-8 cuts, instead of 1 for the Citrus juicer
Cons: You have to cut all your veggies into small enough pieces to fit down the chute - which is especially a pain for carrots. It also has a significant number of parts and takes 3-4 minutes to break down, clean and store, IMO.
Centrifugal Juicer
I have used a variety of Breville models from the juice fountain series (here: http://www.brevilleusa.com/beverages/juicers.html) I've burned through 3 of them over about 5 years.
Pros: It makes juice REALLY fast (relatively speaking), and you don't really have to prep veggies and fruit, and just drop whole apples and carrots in there. Also, these can be found on amazon for as little as $59, so a great entry juicer for someone who doesn't want to make a larger financial commitment.
You certainly CAN make orange juice here, but you will need to slice off the outside skin around the whole orange, and then segment into chunks (see Cons), so for each orange you're making 6-8 cuts, instead of 1 for the Citrus juicer
Cons: Oh wow, there's a few: The pulp goes into a canister, but at the high speeds of the juicer, it sneaks out and ends up with a fine pulp-mist everywhere. Also, the juice comes out a bit foamy because of the way the blades are setup, which can be a turn off. Also, these things are very loud, and cleanup is a pain too (multiple parts, and over time the blade/basket assembly will build up sediment).
Summary:
If you just want to own ONE juicer to do it all, and don't have a big budget, get a centrifugal juicer. If you want to own one juicer to do it all and have a bigger budget, get a masticating juicer. If you have budget, a masticating/or/centrifugal + a good citrus juicer provides best of all worlds to juice the right stuff the easiest way.
Don't waste money on a cheap citrus juicer unless you don't plan to use it much, IMO.