The Best Manual Juicers

Buying Guide

If you love the taste of freshly squeezed juice and you don’t want to spend a fortune at the local juice shop, then it’s wise to invest in a juicer for your home. When it comes to juicers, you have two choices: manual or automatic. Both are equally effective, and both have their advantages and disadvantages. It all depends on how much work you like you to do in the kitchen and how much you want to spend.

One of the key benefits of manual juicers is that they are affordable. Unlike their automatic counterparts, most manual juicers don’t require a considerable investment. Plus, manual juicers are compact so they don’t take up a lot of counter space. They are simple to use and even work when you don’t have any electricity. All they require is some elbow grease to get your juice going.

Manual juicers are easy to clean because they are simply constructed. Most of them have three separate parts: the feeder, body and crank. To keep your juicer clean, you just have to rinse each part and wash with warm, soapy water.

One thing to keep in mind is pulp. If you’re the kind of juice drinker that always opts for the no-pulp variety, then a manual juicer is not for you. With most manual juicers, the pulp of the fruit is extracted along with the juice, so it’s difficult to strain and separate. If you want to take out the pulp, you will need to go through the extra step of carefully straining the juice.

Note that with a manual juicer, you will need to do some food prep before you can get that liquid gold. You will need to manually slice and peel your fruit and vegetables before you put them into the juicer, unlike with an automatic machine. This requires a couple of minutes of extra prep time and cleanup in the kitchen.

• Before you buy a manual juicer, take a look at the materials used to make it. These will affect how easy it is to clean your juicer. It will also affect the durability and longevity of your machine. The Healthy Juicer Original Manual Juicer has a base and handle made from polycarbonate, while the end cap, auger and auger tip are all made from BPA free materials. The Zulay Kitchen Manual Citrus Press Juicer is made from sturdy industrial aluminum and non-toxic certified lead-free coating. The Zulay Kitchen Professional Manual Citrus Juicer is constructed from durable, heavy-duty cast iron with an ergonomic design. The Gourmia Commercial Grade Citrus Juicer has a cast iron base and handle, with stainless steel as well.
• When it comes to manual juicing, it’s understood that you’re going to be putting in a little bit of elbow grease to extract the liquid you need. However, just because something is manual doesn’t mean it needs to be difficult. Take a look at the process you need to use to get the juice you need. The Healthy Juicer Original Manual Juicer requires you to place your fruits and vegetables into the top funnel, and then use the hand crank to extract the juice. It’s simple and easy to use. With the Zulay Kitchen Manual Citrus Press Juicer, you just have to slice the fruit, place it in the bowl, and squeeze. It requires such little effort that even a child can do it. The Zulay Kitchen Professional Manual Citrus Juicer uses leverage and gravity to get the job done. The heavy-duty lever requires little effort. The Gourmia Commercial Grade Citrus Juicer just requires you to place your fruit in the device and press down on the handle to extract the juice.
• The kind of juice you want to extract will affect the kind of manual juicer you need. Some juicers are best for leafy vegetables, while others are designed specifically for citrus fruits. Consider what you want to use your juicer for. The Healthy Juicer Original Manual Juicer is best for celery, wheatgrass, kale, spinach, collard greens, chard, parsley, lettuce and other leafy vegetables. While it can also juice harder vegetables like carrots, that’s not what’s primarily designed for. The Zulay Kitchen Manual Citrus Press Juicer works best with Meyer lemons, key limes, limequats, Mexican limes, Eureka or Lisbon lemons, and Rangpur or Tahiti limes. The Zulay Kitchen Professional Manual Citrus Juicer should be used with oranges, lemons, limes and grapefruits. The Gourmia Commercial Grade Citrus Juicer is great for oranges, lemons, pomegranates and some other fruits.
• Do you plan on using your manual juicer often? If you hate doing the dishes, you may want to look for a manual juicer with dishwasher-safe parts. The Zulay Kitchen Manual Citrus Press Juicer can be cleaned in seconds, plus it can go on the upper shelf of your dishwasher.