Juicer
Encyclopedia
A juicer is a tool for extracting juice from fruits, vegetables, or wheatgrass
. This is known as juicing
.
fruit
s (grapefruit
s, lemon
s, lime
s, orange
s). It has a conical ridged center. Centering the halves of fruit with their cut-side down over the juicer, a user presses the fruit down and turns the fruit back and forth to extract juice, discarding the fruit afterwards. An early citrus juicer was invented in 1928 by Isaac Zaksenberg in Jaffa
, Palestine (today's Israel) (see picture). Patent 968344 was issued in 1910 for a citrus juicer that inventor Leslie Hackney described as "having a corrugated center similar to the squeezers now in general use".
A hand-held kitchen utensil version is known as a "lemon reamer
", "citrus reamer", or simply a "reamer". Electric versions exist.
) of most fruits, herbs, leafy greens, and vegetables. The pulp is usually discarded, but can also be used in muffins and breads or composting.
Most juice extractors are electric, and require less effort than their manual counterparts. A juicer differs from a blender
; a juicer separates the juice from the pulp, rather than blending them.
There are three main types of juicer: centrifugal juicers use blades and a sieve
to separate juice from pulp, masticating juicers "chew" fruit to a pulp before squeezing out the juice, and triturating juicers have twin gears to first crush fruit and then press it.
Masticating and triturating juicers can also juice wheatgrass
, unlike centrifugal juicers that cannot break the fibers of the grass
.
The single auger masticating juicer uses a profiled screw style moulding to compact and crush fruit and vegetable matter against a static screen, allowing juice to flow through the screen while pulp is expelled through a separate outlet.
Twin gear triturating machines are usually the most expensive juicers, offering the best juice yield. Twin gear juicers employ two metal counter-rotating gears to crush the juicing fodder. The precise tolerance of the gears allows the juice to flow through the gap between the gears, while the large pulpy matter passes along the top of the gears and is discharged.
Wheatgrass
Wheatgrass is a food prepared from the cotyledons of the common wheat plant, Triticum aestivum. It is sold either as a juice or powder concentrate. Wheatgrass differs from wheat malt in that it is served freeze-dried or fresh, while wheat malt is convectively dried. Wheatgrass is also allowed to...
. This is known as juicing
Juicing
Juicing is the process of extracting juice from plant tissues such as fruit or vegetables. There are many methods of juicing, from squeezing fruit by hand to widescale extraction via industrial equipment...
.
Citrus juicer
A citrus juicer is used for squeezing juice from soft-centered, citrusCitrus
Citrus is a common term and genus of flowering plants in the rue family, Rutaceae. Citrus is believed to have originated in the part of Southeast Asia bordered by Northeastern India, Myanmar and the Yunnan province of China...
fruit
Fruit
In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...
s (grapefruit
Grapefruit
The grapefruit , is a subtropical citrus tree known for its sour fruit, an 18th-century hybrid first bred in Barbados. When found, it was named the "forbidden fruit"; it has also been misidentified with the pomelo or shaddock , one of the parents of this hybrid, the other being sweet orange The...
s, lemon
Lemon
The lemon is both a small evergreen tree native to Asia, and the tree's ellipsoidal yellow fruit. The fruit is used for culinary and non-culinary purposes throughout the world – primarily for its juice, though the pulp and rind are also used, mainly in cooking and baking...
s, lime
Lime (fruit)
Lime is a term referring to a number of different citrus fruits, both species and hybrids, which are typically round, green to yellow in color, 3–6 cm in diameter, and containing sour and acidic pulp. Limes are a good source of vitamin C. Limes are often used to accent the flavors of foods and...
s, orange
Orange (fruit)
An orange—specifically, the sweet orange—is the citrus Citrus × sinensis and its fruit. It is the most commonly grown tree fruit in the world....
s). It has a conical ridged center. Centering the halves of fruit with their cut-side down over the juicer, a user presses the fruit down and turns the fruit back and forth to extract juice, discarding the fruit afterwards. An early citrus juicer was invented in 1928 by Isaac Zaksenberg in Jaffa
Jaffa
Jaffa is an ancient port city believed to be one of the oldest in the world. Jaffa was incorporated with Tel Aviv creating the city of Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel. Jaffa is famous for its association with the biblical story of the prophet Jonah.-Etymology:...
, Palestine (today's Israel) (see picture). Patent 968344 was issued in 1910 for a citrus juicer that inventor Leslie Hackney described as "having a corrugated center similar to the squeezers now in general use".
A hand-held kitchen utensil version is known as a "lemon reamer
Lemon reamer
A lemon reamer is a small kitchen utensil used to extract the juice from a lemon or other small citrus fruit....
", "citrus reamer", or simply a "reamer". Electric versions exist.
Juice extractor
A juice extractor is a machine that mechanically separates juice from the solid part (pulpJuice vesicles
The juice vesicles of a citrus fruit are the membranous content of the fruit’s endocarp. The vesicles contain the juice of the fruit. The pulp is usually removed from the juice by filtering it out...
) of most fruits, herbs, leafy greens, and vegetables. The pulp is usually discarded, but can also be used in muffins and breads or composting.
Most juice extractors are electric, and require less effort than their manual counterparts. A juicer differs from a blender
Blender (device)
A blender is a kitchen and laboratory appliance used to mix, puree, or emulsify food and other substances. A stationary blender consists of a blender jar with blade at the bottom, rotated by a motor in the base...
; a juicer separates the juice from the pulp, rather than blending them.
There are three main types of juicer: centrifugal juicers use blades and a sieve
Sieve
A sieve, or sifter, separates wanted elements from unwanted material using a woven screen such as a mesh or net. However, in cooking, especially with flour, a sifter is used to aerate the substance, among other things. A strainer is a type of sieve typically used to separate a solid from a liquid...
to separate juice from pulp, masticating juicers "chew" fruit to a pulp before squeezing out the juice, and triturating juicers have twin gears to first crush fruit and then press it.
Masticating and triturating juicers can also juice wheatgrass
Wheatgrass
Wheatgrass is a food prepared from the cotyledons of the common wheat plant, Triticum aestivum. It is sold either as a juice or powder concentrate. Wheatgrass differs from wheat malt in that it is served freeze-dried or fresh, while wheat malt is convectively dried. Wheatgrass is also allowed to...
, unlike centrifugal juicers that cannot break the fibers of the grass
Grass
Grasses, or more technically graminoids, are monocotyledonous, usually herbaceous plants with narrow leaves growing from the base. They include the "true grasses", of the Poaceae family, as well as the sedges and the rushes . The true grasses include cereals, bamboo and the grasses of lawns ...
.
The single auger masticating juicer uses a profiled screw style moulding to compact and crush fruit and vegetable matter against a static screen, allowing juice to flow through the screen while pulp is expelled through a separate outlet.
Twin gear triturating machines are usually the most expensive juicers, offering the best juice yield. Twin gear juicers employ two metal counter-rotating gears to crush the juicing fodder. The precise tolerance of the gears allows the juice to flow through the gap between the gears, while the large pulpy matter passes along the top of the gears and is discharged.
Centrifugal juicer
A centrifugal juicer cuts up the fruit or vegetable with a flat cutting blade. It then spins the produce at a high speed (3,000-14,000 RPMs) to separate the juice from the pulp.Nutrition
Juicers make it possible to consume more raw, uncooked produce than conventional eating would allow. A juicer concentrates the nutrition provided by the fruits and vegetables by removing the fiber from the juice. This allows the body to absorb the nutrition more easily than digesting the solid produce. Using a juicer safeguards against the damage cooking and heat can do to some essential vitamins. A juicer also allows the enzymes present in raw produce to stay alive. However, available scientific evidence does not support claims that the enzymes from raw foods have any special, health-giving properties, since they are broken down during digestion.
The American Caner Society states that a diet high in fruits and vegetables has been shown to reduce cancer risk and to improve overall health, but there is no convincing scientific evidence that extracted juices are healthier than whole foods.
See also
- JuicingJuicingJuicing is the process of extracting juice from plant tissues such as fruit or vegetables. There are many methods of juicing, from squeezing fruit by hand to widescale extraction via industrial equipment...
- Lemon squeezerLemon squeezerA lemon squeezer is a small kitchen utensil designed to extract juice from lemons or other citrus fruits such as oranges, grapefruit, or lime. It is designed to separate and crush the pulp of the fruit in a way that is easy to operate...
- WheatgrassWheatgrassWheatgrass is a food prepared from the cotyledons of the common wheat plant, Triticum aestivum. It is sold either as a juice or powder concentrate. Wheatgrass differs from wheat malt in that it is served freeze-dried or fresh, while wheat malt is convectively dried. Wheatgrass is also allowed to...
- Vegetable juiceVegetable juiceVegetable juice is a drink made primarily of blended vegetables. Vegetable juice is often mixed with fruits such as tomatoes or grapes to improve flavor...
- BlenderBlenderA blender is a kitchen appliance for chopping or liquefying food.Blender may also refer to:Media:* Blender , a music-themed magazine* Blender , a free and open-source software program for 3D modeling, animation, and rendering...
- SmoothieSmoothieA smoothie is a blended and sometimes sweetened beverage made from fresh fruit and in special cases can contain chocolate or peanut butter. In addition to fruit, many smoothies include crushed ice, frozen fruit, honey or contain syrup and ice ingredients...