You’ve heard it before you need at least five servings of fruits and veggies a day! Juicing offers a way to up that number. And Americans are catching on. Sales of juicers are up 25 percent in the past year.
Consumer Reports tested 13 juicers, both augers and extractors. Extractors spin very fast to separate the juice from the pulp. They produce less pulpy, frothier juice. Cold-press juicers, also called auger-style, make juice by slowly crushing and mashing produce. Auger-style juicers tend to be more expensive but in tests they produced more pulp, which can make for a more nutritious juice.
Convenience is also key. A juicer is not going to do you any good if you don’t like using it. So Consumer Reports pays close attention to things like how easy the machine is to assemble, how easy it is to clean, the size of the feed tube, since a wider feed tube means less time spent chopping fruits and vegetables into smaller pieces. For example, it takes a lot of time to scrub out bits of pulp from the Bella NutriPro juicer 13695.
The best of the bunch? The extractor-style juicer from Juiceman JM800S beat out pricier juicers. It costs $70. And the best of the auger-style is the Kuvings Whole Slow B600 that costs $400.
But don’t juice up everything you buy. Eating whole fruits and veggies is even better for you. Consumer Reports says, rather than buying a juicer, you might consider using a blender or food processor. That way you’ll get all the nutrients plus fiber.
