What Is A Masticating Juicer

The Best Masticating Juicer

A Masticating Juicer is designed to chew or squeeze the juice from leafy greens and fruits. This is why it is called a masticating juicer. Masticate means to chew. They are different from regular juicers that use a tiny cutting blades to separate the juice from the fruit or vegetables.

I personally use the Omega Juicer. I consider it the best masticating juicer on the market. I like the fact that it is easy to clean. Easy to put together. And also very simple to operate.

Let’s take a further look at just what a masticating juicer is:

What is a Masticating Juicer?

There are two main styles of juicers: Centrifugal Juicers and Masticating Juicers.

Centrifugal Juicers have a disc that looks like a shredder. There are very tiny blades. These blades spin around super fast. When you put vegetables or fruit in through the opening shute, and then push them down with a plunger, the blades essentially chop them up into very tiny bits. In doing so, juice is extracted. The juice is then filtered through a screen. The pulp is separated, and you are left with only juice.

There is a problem with centrifugal juicers, especially when it comes to making green leafy vegetable juices such as kale and spinach. They are really not very efficient. The blades do not get all of the juice out of the bits of vegetable and fruit.

I used a centrifugal juicer for many years and one thing I noticed was that the pulp often times had lots of tiny bits that were not really juiced. This was a waste.

A Masticating Juicer uses an auger. The Omega uses a single auger. The Greenstar uses a dual auger. The auger slowly squeezes the juice from out of the vegetables and fruits. It is similar to the cold press method that many of the high quality olive oil producers use.

There are a few benefits to the auger design. An auger juicer is going to be “cold process”. This is very important. You don’t want expose your fresh juice to heat. When you use a centrifugal juice it can create a great deal of heat. This is not great for the juice. Heat destroys enzymes. It can also destroy some of the vitamins.

Are there any downsides to a Masticating Juicer?

The only downside is that you have to chop up the fruit and vegetables before you juice them. For example, suppose you wanted to make an spinach, apple and celery juice: you would have to chop the celery up into about half inch size pieces. You would also have to chop the apple into slices about the slice of what you would serve at a party.

The spinach could be put in as is.

The reason you have to cop up the vegetables is because the auger needs to grab it and squeeze it. It cannot grab a whole stalk of celery.

It does not take much time and luckily most things can be done in advance. For example, you can dice up a whole lot of celery and carrots. Then you can store them for when you are ready to juice. The apple and cucumbers you would have to do on the spot. The spinach can be put in as is and doesn’t need to be cut up.

 

Benefits Of A Masticating Juicer

So, what’s the big deal about the masticating juicer? You can break it down into a few key points:

  • Quiet
  • Nutrients Don’t Get Destroyed
  • The Most Juice Extraction – Much More Than Centrifugal Juicers
  • Best Style Of Juicer If You’re Juicing Leafy Greens

 

 

What makes Omega the Best Masticating Juicer?

I have used the Omega for sever years. It is very durable. Prior to my Omega I was using a centrifugal juicer. I had to replace it after only two years because the motor broke. The omega has a super powerful motor.

I also like the fact that it is very simply to put together and clean. It only takes a few minutes to disassemble and clean. This is much faster than a centrifugal juicer. When you use a centrifugal juicer you have to clean the blades with a tiny brush. This can take a while.

Vertical Masticating Juicers

If you do like the design of a masticating juicer, but prefer a vertical design, then that’s cool. You can find vertical models There are a few brands that make vertical auger juicers, including Omega and Tribest. The Tribest is actually my favorite of the slow press masticating juicers because it is so slow. It has an rpm of only 47 RPM’s, which ensures that you don’t lose powerful enzymes and antioxidants. It’s powerful enough to handle all the leafy greens and hard vegetables you plan on juicing.