Cold press juicers: Why you need one and what to buy

Cold press juicers - how to buy them and what to buy

Cold Press Juicers – also known as masticating or slow juicers – extract juice by crushing the fruit or vegetables, using slowly rotating gears (augers) and press the juice out through a perforated screen. The result? A more nutrient-dense juice with it’s digestive enzymes all in tact.That’s opposed to a centrifugal juicer, which uses a high-speed metal blade that chops and spins the pulp against a mesh filter. The heat generated by this process oxidises and destroys nutrients and also allows more air to go into the juicer, leaving you with a warm, frothy juice that deteriorates very quickly and has to be consumed immediately. 

Cold Press Juicers don’t use a spinning blade, like a centrifugal juicer. They run on much slower speeds and produce more juice – especially from leafy greens and wheatgrass. They yield a juice that is healthier because nutrient levels are undamaged, which also means that the deterioration process has not started, so the juices can be stored away in the fridge. The juice is also clearer (no froth) because no air has got in - and the juicers are much quieter. Many cold-press juicers can also process other foods, such as nuts, to make nut butter or nut milk; some also make sorbets and ice-creams.

Cold Press Juicers are the machine of choice for serious juicers, especially because they are best for making green juice and wheatgrass juice – yum!

The top five juicers:

Smeg SJF01 Slow Juicer

This newest addition to Smeg’s 1950’s-style range has been developed to juice fruit and vegetables with the nutrient-rich skinON. It uses state-of-the-art features to retain vital vitamins, minerals,dietary fibre and phytonutrients. Yes, it’s pricey, but it can also make soy milk, ice-cream and sorbets, and can extract high doses of vitamins from grains, roots and pine needles. And it’s a beautiful addition to the kitchen.

£449.99, www.smeguk.com

Omega Vert VRT350OHD Slow Juicer

This is one of the best vertical,single-auger masticating juicers available and has a strong following of raw-fooders and serious juicers. It can juice all fruit and vegetables,including wheatgrass and greens. It also has a self-feeding system and an in-built reverse function that eliminates clogging, so allows continuous juicing.

£299, www.ukjuicers.com

Panasonic Slow Juicer MJ-L500 

This sleek and compact juicer combines functionality with a chic design. Its powerful low-speed motor slowly extracts the juice for maximum yield. It’s dishwasher-friendly – so fuss-free cleaning,too. In addition to slow-press juicing, it also has an easy-to use frozen attachment to create sorbets and ice creams.

£199.99, www.amazon.co.uk

The Retro Cold Press Juicer

Jason Vale the “Juice Master” is a leading authority on juicing. His Retro Cold Press Juicer provides you with the finest cold-pressed juice in a few simple steps. It has a convenient extra-large whole-fruit feeding chute and also handles leafy greens and wheatgrass beautifully, extracting the maximum yield.

£299.99, www.juicemaster.com

BioChef Cold Press Slow Juicer

The BioChef uses low-speed technology to slowly crush fruit and vegetables to extract the juice and ejects the dry pulp out through a separate nozzle. It’s compact – so good for small kitchens – and comes with a recipe book and handy DVD. If you’re a novice, it’s a great little starter cold-press juicer.

£171, qvcuk.com