In a slow juicer, also known as a masticating or cold juicer, the fruits and vegetables are mechanically extracted by crushing the pressed product with a powerful wave. This is done, for example, by a rotary cutting machine that processes the ingredients into a pulp and then presses them through a sieve. Other machines squeeze the juice from the fruits and vegetables with slowly rotating screw presses. Other machines are equipped with counter-rotating press rolls that crush the pressed product.
This process also produces pulp that is drier than in a centrifuge. The number of revolutions of a good slow juicer is usually between forty and eighty revolutions per minute. You can speak of a cold press juice extractor up to a maximum of two hundred revolutions per minute. There is hardly any heat and, therefore, oxidation so that valuable vitamins and vital substances are better preserved. The danger of oxidation is lowest with press rolls because they have the lowest oxygen content with their smooth surface. If the press rollers also have built-in magnets, the mineral content of the juice remains particularly high.
We recommend you to read: Why choose a cold juicer?
Another advantage of the slow juicer is that it can also process products that are difficult to squeeze, such as herbs (parsley, nettles, mint…), berries, and leafy vegetables (e.g., cabbage or spinach), grasses, wild herbs, and sprouts. Even soft and hard products can be pressed almost effortlessly with a good cold press. The only important thing is that you alternate between adding soft and hard ingredients. There are different types of slow juicers. For example, there are devices where the ingredients are added horizontally or vertically.
Advantages of a slow juicer
- The pressed material is gently pressed; that is why the juice still contains many vitamins and enzymes from the healthy ingredients.
- You can also juice long-fiber ingredients such as wheatgrass with a juicer to obtain healthy green juices with valuable chlorophyll (e.g., from wild herbs).
- The juice produced has a finer consistency and is more homogeneous; in addition, hardly any foam is formed during production.
- A slow juicer usually produces a greater juice yield than a centrifugal press.
- In addition, these types of machines operate at a lower sound volume.
- With a slow juicer, you can vary more; for example, you can use it to make ice cream or pasta.
Disadvantages of a slow juicer
- Slow juicers partly have a smaller supply, although there are now also some devices with an XXL opening.
- Therefore you have to take into account a longer preparation time with some models because you have to cut the ingredients smaller.
- In addition, if you add too many ingredients at once, you are more likely to get clogged when pressing.
- All these factors cause juicing with a slow juicer to take longer.