Following a healthy diet might seem impossible with our busy lives. We’re trying to finish as much as we can in a day, and not much is left for cooking and getting all the necessary nutrients in. But nowadays, we can get all the help we need from kitchen appliances that make our everyday meal planning a breeze. You don’t have to spend hours to get a delicious meal that’s packed with all the vitamins, minerals, and proteins your body needs to properly function.
One such practical appliance that comes in handy and promotes healthy eating is the juicer. Especially in recent years, with more people trying to exercise and lead a healthier life, you can see this appliance in almost every household and commercial kitchen. But what’s so special about juicers?
Fresh Juice Benefits: Why Choose Juicing?
You Get the Necessary Nutrients in a Glass
Juicing helps you take in all the vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants from fruits and vegetables. Many people find it hard to consume the recommended amount of fresh food in a day. This can be due to the fact that they don’t like the taste and don’t want to consume fruits and vegetables in a fresh form or at all. This is when juicing saves the day. Fresh juice contains most of the nutrients, except for fibre, and provides many health benefits.
It Produces a Flavourful Drink Suited to Your Taste
With juicers, you can experiment and juice all kinds of fruits and vegetables so you can find a flavour that you actually love to drink. Whole foods can have a distinct taste, which some people find repulsive, while in juices you can put your favourite ingredients and mix some others that aren’t as tasty but are healthy and you won’t even notice them.
The Different Types of Juicers
When picking the ideal electric juicer, you will come across various different models, terminologies and ways of functioning that can be confusing. There are three types of juicers that use different methods to extract the juice. They vary in speed, price, and size, which means you can choose the one which works best for your needs.
Centrifugal Force Juicer
This is a commonly used type, especially in households. It’s the fastest one and allows you to juice whole, hard fruits and veggies, such as carrots, because it has a large chute. This also saves prepping time because you don’t have to cut the produce into pieces before juicing it. You’ll have fresh juice in no time. Another thing which makes this type popular is the price. They’re the most affordable ones on the market and aren’t complex to assemble or clean after use. Compared to the other types, these electric juicers are noisier and heat faster because of their speed.
Masticating Juicer
Unlike the centrifugal, this type is a slower one. They feature a smaller chute, which means that you have to cut everything into smaller pieces before juicing it. However, it’s good for processing hard and soft produce and can be used as a food processor and making nut milk. This advantage comes at a price, of course. They’re more expensive than the centrifugal ones and harder to clean because of the many parts, but the taste of the juice they produce is considered to be better.
Twin Gear Juicer
Also known as triturating, this type is considered to extract most nutrients out of fruits and vegetables. As the name suggests, it has two gears that spin, pull, and chew the produce into small pieces, making a very dry pulp. The juice that they extract stays fresh for longer and besides juicing, they usually can perform other functions. This electric juicer is quiet but more expensive and takes more time to clean.
What to Look for When Buying a Juicer?
To make sure that you’re putting your money towards a machine that you’ll get the most out of, you should consider several things:
The type of product you’ll mostly use – Is that hard vegetables or leafy greens? This should affect the type of juicer you choose because not all will give the best results with all kinds of fruits and vegetables;
The level of noise you can take – As mentioned, some types are louder than others, so take this feature into account before purchasing your juicer. It might not seem like a big deal but if you or someone else can’t stand loud noises, such a juicer wouldn’t be the best choice;
Size, storage, and ease of cleaning – Choose the type for which you have space. There’s no point in buying a large juicer if you can’t store it properly or it doesn’t fit anywhere on the kitchen counter. Also, consider how much time you can spend on cleaning it because more parts require more maintenance;
Speed and ease of use – If you don’t have much time for juicing during the day, pick a faster model, like the centrifugal one. In this way, you’ll have no excuse not to make fresh juice every day. Moreover, make sure that the one you pick is easy to use since working with a complex machine can be tiring and time-consuming;
Budget – Determining a budget is very important since the prices range from very affordable to very pricey. If you want to get a high-quality model for a lower price, look for stores that offer discounts or juicers for sale.