Of the many electric juice extractors available on the market there are only two different kinds, the centrifugal and masticating versions. So lets take a look at the differences between them.

Centrifugal Juice Extractors

Centrifugal juice extractors where the first kind of electric juicers that we could buy at the store. The Jack LaLanne power juicer is a great example of a centrifugal juicer which are “upright juicers” that you load your fruits and vegetables into from the top. The fruits and vegetables then come into contact with the centrifugal style blade. This blade, in reality, is a spinning disc with many small sharp blades (usually between 50 -100) that grind down and break open produce – it looks like a round cheese grater!

Once fruits and vegetables are chopped into fine pieces by the blade, the centrifugal force (which means moving away from the center) ‘throws’ them outwards against the a filter which surrounds the blade. This force helps to extract more juice from the small pieces of produce in addition to what the blade has already juiced.

To create this powerful centrifugal force, centrifugal juice extractors need strong motors to rotate the spinning disc blade at high speeds. There are some advantages and disadvantages to this. The main advantage is that you can make juice fast. Some models can even produce a glass of juice in just 5 seconds. On the downside this power creates heat that destroys some of the nutrients (but only some).

Masticating Juice Extractors

Masticating juice extractors, generally speaking, are more horizontal in design compared to the upright centrifugal designs. They extract juice in a very slow way. Instead of using a blade, masticating juice extractors have a “single gear” that rotates inside a tube which looks a lot like a screw. Fruits and veggies, which are first cut into smaller pieces, are sent through this tube and as they pass the slow turning gear they get the juice squeezed out of them.

The advantage of masticating juice extractors is that the slow speed at which they create fresh juice very little heat and preserves all the nutrients. The downside is that the juicing process takes a bit longer compared to a centrifugal juice extractor. The prepping stage takes longer too because produce needs cutting up into smaller pieces than with centrifugal juice extractors which are big enough to fit some produce in whole.