When I recently decided it was time to start living a healthier lifestyle I realized getting myself a juicer was a great idea. So I started searching for juicer reviews online and discovered there are several diffenct types of juicers available, one of them being the masticating juicer. To tell you the truth I didn’t even know what the word masticating meant so I had a bit of research to do. It turns out “masticating” is basically the same thing as “chewing”.
Masticating type juicers work by slowly squeezing and crushing the food to extract the juice instead of using the high speeds like centrifugal style juicers do. Masticating juicers are also sometimes called single auger or single gear juicers. The single auger slowly rotates (usually 80 to 100 RPM) and crushes the food up against a screen which lets the juice flow through it. The rest of the pulp is then forced out at the end of the auger and into a seperate pulp container. This chewing process actually rips apart the structure of the food cells, removing the cell wall which releases all the vitamins, enzymes, fibre and other trace elements. These types of juicers are also capable of juicing leafy greens such as wheatgrass, kale and spinach. Centrifugal juicers always struggle with leafy greens and usually give poor results.
Advantages of Masticating Juicers
There are several advantages masticating juicers have over other types of juicers. For starters the low speed doesn’t produce any heat so you wont get any heat damage to your fresh juice. This means your juice can be stored longer and you will get the most nutritional value from it. In fact some manufacturers say the juice from their slow speed masticating juicers can last up to 72 hours if stored in the fridge in a container with most of the air space removed. Although this may be true I always recommend making and drinking your juice fresh (within 20 minutes) to get the most out of it.
Masticating juicers are extremely efficient which means you get very good yield. The squeezing process gets the maximum amount of juice leaving your pulp very dry. This is important if you are buying expensive organic fruits and vegetables and can’t afford any waste.
The low speed also helps to reduce the production of foam which can be a big issue with centrifugal juicers. Nothing is worse than your glass being 70 percent foam before you try and drink it. Some centrifugal juicer manufactures include a foam separator device build into their juice jug to try and avoid this problem which can help but they will always have more foam compared to a masticating juicer. Because of the high speed and centrifugal forces involve in their juicing process foam is always a byproduct.
One more bonus you get with a masticating juicer is the ability to make nut milks such as almond milk or soy milk. All you have to do is soak the nuts in water over night and then put them in the juicer the next day and watch the fresh milk start pouring out, what could be better than that.
Are there are negatives to masticating juicers ?
Although I believe an upright masticating juicer like the Aicok Juicer makes a great choice for a first time purchase there are a couple of negatives compared to centrifugal juicers. The main one is speed. With a centrifugal juicer you can make juicer very fast because the machine operates at high RMP. Simply push all the food into the feeder and in seconds you will have a glass of fresh made juice. With a masticating style juicer you need to take your time and slowly insert piece by piece into the machine waiting while it does the work. You must have patiences and it could take you five to ten minutes before your glass of juice is ready to drink.
Most masticating juicers also have smaller feed chutes than centrigugal juicers so you will have to do more prep work before juicing. With some centrifigual juicers you can put in whole apples at a time and force then down with the plunger but this won’t work with most masticating types.