In Search For The Best Masticating Juicer For 2022

As more and more people are adhering to a healthy lifestyle and trying to adapt their nutrition to it, the value of various juicers has rapidly increased. There are many types of juicers on the market following the trend these days, but health-wise, it is better to avoid the cheaper versions such as centrifugal juices, and pay more money for the better quality. It will pay off in the long run, believe me!

Masticating juicers fall into the category of the more expensive ones, and I fully understand the concerns many people have when they opt for buying this machines. No one wants to spend that much money (the high-quality ones cost more than $200), and end up having some problems with it.

However, fear no more, as I have tried the top 5 masticating juicers on the market and reviewed them for you!

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Top 5 Best Masticating Juicers

Masticating Juicer: What Is That?

Health conscious individuals who want to do juicing in their homes can expect the best results from masticating juicers. For those who are not sure what the verb “to masticate” means, it literally translates to chew, grind, crush; and that is precisely what these juicers do.

The process is very slow, unlike with centrifugal juicers, and every last drop of liquid is squeezed out of dense fruit and vegetables. The heat generated is significantly reduced by the slow process and, in that way, all the nutrients and enzymes that are so healthy for us are preserved.

Unlike the cheaper juicers that cannot squeeze the juice out of very dehydrated, hard or leafy vegetables, such as wheat grass or cabbage, masticating juicers have the ability to chew through all the greens, soft vegetables, and fruits without any exceptions.

Centrifugal vs. Masticating

If you look into the prices, you are sure to notice a big difference, and I guess that anyone would be interested to know what are the reasons for such a discrepancy.

First of all, the amount of juice you get from the masticating juicers is far greater. I have personally tested this and used the pulp that remained after the juicing process in my centrifugal juicer. I must add that I, like everyone else, usually throw this pulp away as the unnecessary by-product. On my amazement, when I ran this pulp through the auger of the masticating juicer, I got quite a lot of juice.

If you buy expensive products or organic fruit and vegetables which are usually not large, the advantage mentioned above is vital as it can save you money in the long run. In fact, you can get as much as 1/3 of the original juice more!

On the other hand, if you want to squeeze much juice in short time, without plenty of time lost on preparation and cleaning, centrifugal juicers might be a better option for you. You will be getting your juice in a matter of minutes, and it will be much easier to clean after yourself. However, do mind that your juice will have fewer nutrients such as vitamins and minerals that are destroyed by the heat that is generated by that speedy process.

Oxidation? No!

The most crucial difference for those who want to invest in their health and understand what it takes is that masticating juicers, unlike centrifugal ones, do not oxidize your juices much.

For those of you who do not know what the oxidation is, I will try to explain briefly. To oxidize means to give up electrons, as when the material combines with oxygen. For example, burning is rapid oxidation, and you do not want all the nutrients in your juice scorched by oxidation.

The process happens naturally, and we cannot stop it altogether, but we can slow it down. While centrifugal juicers actually speed oxidation up, the auger in the masticating juicers squeezes fruits and vegetables very slowly and, thus, there is almost no oxidation.

How Can We Tell If Our Juice Has Been Oxidized?

If you have ever juiced with centrifugal juicers before, you have surely noticed a large amount of foam on top of your juice. The foam is quite tasteless and unenjoyable to drink; but, more importantly, it is the evidence that your juice has been oxidized.

Less oxidation means that you have more time to enjoy your juice too. Slow juicing allows for your juice to be stored up to 72 hours, in your fridge of course, without changing color or degradation.

• Extra Tip:  Drink your juices right away to reduce the amount of oxidation and infuse the most of the antioxidants into your body!

The Advantages Summary

1. More nutrients.
2. Up to 1/3 more juice.
3. Can juice wheatgrass, leafy greens, and rooty vegetables.
4. Almost no oxidation.
5. Longer storage.

Types Of Masticating Juicers

• Horizontal.
• Vertical – Their benefit is that can just drop the produce in the chute, and it does the rest, it is not necessary to use plungers to push it all down.

The 5 Best Masticating Juicers On The Market Today: My Reviews

Before I start with the reviews of each of the masticating juicers, I just want to stress the fact that I have personally tested all of them. So here we go:

1. Omega J8006 Nutrition System Masticating Juicer – Horizontal Multifunctional Juicer That Comes In 9 Fun Colors To Choose From

Image from Amazon.com

Omega J8006 is one of the most reviewed masticating juicers at Amazon, and it is highly ranked. After using it, I can see why it is so, as it certainly one of the best slow juicers I have ever tried.

I am quite aware that looks do not matter in life, but when you are spending much money for something they do count some. For that reason, I am quite delighted to tell you that Omega J8006 juicer comes in 9 amazing colors you can choose from. I have gone with traditional white, but you can pick silver, aqua blue, grape purple, chrome, green, pink, or red. If you like a pop of color in your kitchen, or you would like to match it with some detail you already own, this would be a great opportunity.

Furthermore, it is well designed, has a wide feed chute although not very big and it is easy to use, dismantle and clean. What more could you wish for!

Another plus is that it is multifunctional and besides using it as a juicer you can use it mince herbs and garlic or grind coffee and spices. I have not tried this functions yet though because I am afraid that I will not be able to wash off the smell and it would change my juices. What I did try is to make an all natural peanut butter, and it was ok, not exactly like a store bought but delicious, and much more healthy.

As a juicer, it is perfect as it produces the driest pulp possible! The juice takes a bit more time but there is no foam, and it tasted the same when I drink it the next day.

Things I liked

• Comes in variety of colors.
• Easy to use.
• Easy to clean.
• Multifunctional.

Things I didn’t like

• It has a bit of a problem with soft, old or mushy fruit and vegetables (it can be resolved if you follow that produce with something hard and crisp such as a carrot).
• The cup cannot hold enough juice for more than one person.
• The plastic is not BPA-free.

2. Omega VRT350HD Low Speed Juicing System – Vertical Juicer For More Space In Your Kitchen

Image from Amazon.com

In comparison to Omega J8006, Omega VRT350 takes less space in your kitchen due to its small vertical footprint, and there is no need to put it away after the use. It comes in 3 colors though, red, cinnamon and silver, so in that regard, if you are looking for some colorful, bright addition to your kitchen, this juicer might not be the best choice.

Nonetheless, it is as good at squeezing a life out of any fruit or vegetable. I have tried it with spinach, carrots, oranges, cucumber, pineapple, wheatgrass, apples and it performed faultlessly. I think that it even played a bit better with soft produces than J8006. On the other hand, there is a bit more pulp in the juice, and if you are not a fan of that, you might opt for the horizontal model. Remember though that the pulp is a source of fiber!

Also, it is easier to use vertical than the horizontal model as you do not need to push down the produce, the gravity does that for you most of the time.

Cleanup is pretty quick, though some of you might complain that not all parts are dishwasher safe. In my opinion, for something so expensive, it is better to be safe than sorry and clean it yourself. It takes around 10 minutes altogether.

Things I liked

• Takes up very little space in the kitchen.
• Easy to clean.
• No need for pushing down the produce.
• Quiet.

Things I didn’t like

• Juice has more pulp.
• The pulp which comes out as a by-product is not as dry.
• Not all parts are dishwasher safe.

3. SKG Wide Chute Anti-Oxidation Slow Masticating Juicer – Vertical Masticating BPA Free Cold Press Juicer, Great For Baby Food

Image from Amazon.com

SKG Wide Chute juicer is another vertical model that will not take up much space in your kitchen. It has an attractive design, quite unique better to say. It comes in red color, which I personally like, but it might not fit well in every kitchen (Additional color can be found here).

In comparison to Omega juicers’ 80 rpm speed, this juicer is slower with 60 rpm speed, and it creates even less oxidation during the juicing. As a result, there is less foam, but also a fair amount of pulp in the juice.

It has a really wide chute, and I could put some relly big chunks through it, which saved me from some chopping and slicing. It also never clogged on me as there is a blade half way down the feed chute that chops up everything. The chute is also very tall, as a matter of fact, I could drop whole celery stalks and carrots in and that did not cause any problems.

When it comes to old and soft vegetables, it performed pretty bad as it basically turns them into mush. I believe that this is the consequence of the low speed, same as the increased pulp creation.

Things I liked

• Low speed – less oxidation.
• Extremely wide and long chute.
• Average price.
• BPA free plastic parts.

Things I didn’t like

• More pulp in the juice.
• Not good for old, soft or mushy produce.

4. Kuvings Whole Slow Juicer ELITE C7000S – The Most Expensive But Not The Overall Best

Image from Amazon.com

As this is the most expensive model of all the 5 I have tried and reviewed, I have braced myself to witnessing some wonders. However, that has not happened yet. It is not that it performs bad, cause it is quite the opposite, but it does not perform better than the other models I have tried and bought for less.

As all vertical models, it is quite easy to store anywhere in the kitchen, as it will not get in the way. The design and Inox surface will fit any modern kitchen, but it is quite unnoticeable.

Upon opening the box I was a bit overwhelmed by all the parts it contained and worried how I would put it all together, but it has proven easy to assemble. It is easy to clean too.

The wide chute allows for the larger pieces of produce to be put in. The pulp is an issue again the same as with the two previous vertical masticating juicers since I am not a big fan. For that reason, I needed to strain the juice, and thankfully the strain had been already included in the package.

The problem I have encountered with this model has been related to celery. I really like it in my juices, but it has kept clogging the Kuvings C7000S juicer, and it annoyed me beyond belief. If you do not love celery, this might not be a problem for you.

On the plus side, I have made myself a delicious smoothie by putting in the blank strainer and adding slightly thawed frozen fruits such as banana and raspberries.

Things I liked

• Easy to assemble.
• Easy to clean too.
• The pulp that is a by-product is so dry that it can be powdered between fingers.
• Large chute can fit a whole apple in.

Things I didn’t like

• The highest price.
• Not so good for leafy vegetables (or celery) as other models.

5. Aicok Slow Masticating Juicer Extractor – The Horizontal Wonder Juicer At The Price That Cannot Be Beaten

Image from Amazon.com

The Aicok Masticating Juicer comes at the lowest price. I was a bit skeptical for that reason, but I have read the many positive reviews and felt compelled to include it in my test.

This juicer is yet another horizontal model, similar to Omega J8006. It comes only in black color, and I do not like that, as it shows watermarks, fingerprints and is hard to clean. If I could, I would suggest the manufacturer to at least make it in one more (preferably lighter) color.

For my first try, I squeezed a half of pineapple, some carrots, oranges, and a Granny Smith apple and have not been able to drink it right away. When I got it out of the fridge the next day, it tasted as fresh as I if I have prepared it that moment.

As far as the dreaded clean up is concerned, it has been super easy! I have twisted a few pieces here and there and cleaned most of the parts with running water. They even included a special brush that helps clean the strainer if something gets stuck.

The only complaint I have is that the feed chute is a bit narrow. For that reason, preparation takes a bit more time, as fruits and vegetables have to be cut into smaller pieces. I have discovered that leafy greens are more efficiently processed if I push them down about halfway with my fingers and then use the provided pushing tool. It works great with celery too!

Things I liked

• Affordable high quality.
• The easiest clean-up so far.

Things I didn’t like

• Only one – a narrow feed chute.

Which Masticating Juicer Is The Best?

After trying them all for some time now, I must say that they all do the juicing part pretty good. Some are more practical than others though, and price-wise there are significant differences as well. When I take all these things into consideration, my heart goes out to Aicok Slow Masticating Juicer Extractor.

Image from Amazon.com

I generally preferred the horizontal models, and out of the two that were both of high quality, this one was a cheaper version.

Whichever model you choose though, you are guaranteed a healthy and tasteful all-natural juice!