Juicer Reviews

Comparing reviews of juicers

Juicers use a variety of mechanisms to separate juice from pulp, but they are easily sorted according to their primary purpose: Citrus-only juicers for oranges, lemons, limes, etc.; masticating juicers meant for leafy greens; and all-purpose juice extractors that are expected to handle every type of fruit and vegetable.

No single model juices everything perfectly, but some all-purpose juice extractors come pretty close, with leafy greens as their biggest weakness. The best all-purpose juicers can handle soft greens like spinach fairly well (and some have a lower speed option to help extract juice from greens more efficiently), but the resulting pulp is still moist, signaling juice that could have been extracted but wasn't.

Masticating juicers, which use a single- or twin-gear system to slowly crush juice out, do very well with leafy greens -- but are also very slow. Some masticating juicers are capable of performing other food-processing tasks, like mincing vegetables or making nut butter.

Last but not least, citrus-only juicers use a reamer to press or scour both pulp and juice out of the citrus rind.

Triple-digit prices are the norm for masticating and all-purpose juicers; expect to spend at least $100 if you want an efficient, long-lasting model. And some deluxe juicers will cost much more than that. If you're just looking for a glass of fresh-squeezed orange juice in the morning, you can get a basic handheld or electric citrus juicer for $20 or less.

As a general rule, both expert testers and user reviewers are looking for the same three characteristics in a juicer: the ability to efficiently extract juice from their preferred produce; a machine that's quick and easy to set up, use and clean; and a juicer that will provide years of trouble-free use.