Unlike traditional juicers, which extract juice via grinding, slow juicers first crush, then press fruit and veggies to obtain the juice, so more nutrients and flavours are retained. LUCY CLEEVE tests two premium ones.
Unlike traditional juicers, which extract juice via grinding, slow juicers first crush, then press fruit and veggies to obtain the juice, so more nutrients and flavours are retained. LUCY CLEEVE tests two premium ones.
KUVINGS C7000 SLOW JUICER
$988, from major electrical and department stores.
With its sleek design, it looks good on any countertop and takes up less space than the Green Star juicer. It is a tad too heavy though.
HOW WELL IT WORKED
Thanks to its simple design, assembly was as easy as connecting the dots – in fact, it was ready to go within a minute of unboxing. Using the juicer was intuitive, and since the chute is wide enough to fit large pieces of fruit and vegetables, I managed to juice whole apples, core and all, with no blockages. The downside? It was noisy – early morning juice fans may wake up the neighbours!
THE JUICE
A medium-sized apple yielded 84ml of juice – not too bad, although the juice obtained was slightly less smooth and a little more pulpy than that from the Green Star juicer.
CLEANING UP
It was super-easy to clean. I emptied out the pulp, gave the juicer a good rinse and it was ready to be put away.
VERDICT
Noise and the slightly more pulpy juice aside, this machine gets my vote for how easy it was to set up, use and clean.
NATURAWORKS TRIBEST GREEN STAR GOLD TWIN GEAR JUICER
$1,008, from www.naturaworks.com
This retro-looking juicer is super sturdy, but is quite bulky and takes up a lot of bench space.
HOW WELL IT WORKED
Setting up the juicer was slightly tricky, but the powerful machine worked well, pulverising even the stringiest veggies – though it was necessary to chop fruits into chunks before popping them into the juicer. While slow juicers aren’t known for their quiet functioning, this model runs with more of a purr than a roar.
THE JUICE
A medium-sized apple yielded 72ml of beautifully smooth, tasty juice.
CLEANING UP
This required some effort to dismantle, and it can be confusing for a first-time user. The mesh, which trapped pulp, was also hard to rinse out.
VERDICT
It’s great for producing smooth juices, but compared to using the Kuvings C7000, you’ll need to spend more time prepping and washing up.
