Cookaholics Bulletin Board

I just had to purchase 2 cups of carrot juice for Fine Cooking's carrot cake recipe. The girl behind the counter gave my son some apple/strawberry/banana juice. He loved it. This all convinced me that I want a juicer. I cannot find any reviews on CI. So...what should I look for in a juicer? Thank you all.

Becca
It depends on how you are going to use it. I have a small Jack laLanne one (Target has them on sale for $99) and I have had larger more powerful ones, but I don't juice that much any more so it is sufficient. I think you want to make sure that the mesh basket blades are stainless and that there is a "tank" that holds the pulp when the juice is extracted (some of them require that you put a bowl there and it gets messy). A trick I learned is to line the holding tank with a plastic bag to catch the pulp (which you can use for baking certain items)...it makes clean up much easier.
If you are going to juice daily using lots of dense fruits and vegetables, you will need a powerful motor. For my needs, the LaLanne one works just fine.
ilene

Becca,

If you wanted purees rather than clear juice, I'd recommend a Vitamix, which is also useful for a bunch of other cooking: http://www.vitamix.com/household/Health/juice.asp

I once had a "Juiceman" brand juicer, and was pretty happy with it.

Thanks alot fuzzy... for renewing my interest in $400 vitamixes. Now a juicer doesn't really seem good enough. On a related note, can I borrow $400?

Okay, those of you who read my blog know that I am participating in the Fine Cooking Cook the Issue contest. The prize is $200 at cooking.com. If I win this contest I am going to put my own $200 in and buy a vitamix. This will be the most guilt-free way to buy this. I am so excited now!

I hope you win cause a Vitamix would be great top have.
ilene

Becca,

I hope you win the contest. But regardless what you have to pay, you will never regret getting a vitamix. I absolutely love mine. It was a huge splurge for me, but I don't buy LC or AC or many of the other kitchen tool goodies, so it was a bit easier to take the leap. I only wish I had bought one years ago instead of fighting with those cheap old low power blenders.

Good luck on the contest and the VM!

Becca,

Good luck! I'm always happy to push others toward high-priced appliances I don't have room for.

If you don't win, like I said, the Juiceman really did work pretty well. I used it for about 2 years, and the gave it to a ballet dancer who used it for another 2 years before dropping it onto a hot stove. The good thing about rotary juicers is that they produce "clear" juice, with all the pulp removed. The bad thing about them is that they can only do "hard" foods, like carrots, apples, celery, broccoli, etc. Citrus requires still using your citrus juicer, and bananas are completely out.

Still, carrot-orange-ginger juice got me through my senior art show back in school.

I figure if I do get the Vita Mix and I get a hankering for clear juice, I will run the mixture through cheesecloth or something. However, it would be much healthier to eat the whole fruit/vegetable anyway.

In case you don't win, Costco has the Jack La Lanne for $89 and it works just fine ( much less function than the Vitamix)
ilene