Reviews You Can Rely On

How We Tested Juicers

Friday November 15, 2024

In order to find the best juicer on the market, we researched over 50 models and settled on only the very best and most popular to purchase and test side-by-side. Our team spent over 60 hours examining these products, conducting a series of 15 tests to objectively score each product's performance. It is important to mention that our comparative testing ranks products relative to one another. Therefore, a low-scoring product doesn't mean it is a bad product; it simply means that it did not work as well for a particular purpose as some of the other top models on the market.

juicer - our test panel drank tens of gallons of juice in order to assess...
Our test panel drank tens of gallons of juice in order to assess each juicer's quality, and answered questionnaires to collect this data.
Credit: Genaveve Bradshaw

Our team developed a set of comprehensive rating metrics to directly compare these kitchen appliances side-by-side. These metrics are Juice Quality, Hard Produce, Soft Produce, Leafy Greens, and Cleaning. We use these mutually exclusive criteria to help identify particular strengths and weaknesses of each product — when combined, they help us pick out the best overall models, the best values based on price and performance, and the best products for specific uses. For more information on what to look for when buying a new juicer, take a look at our comprehensive Buying Advice article.

juicer - juice quality is the most important metric of our review.
Juice Quality is the most important metric of our review.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman

Juice Quality


Ultimately, the best option is the one that produces the best quality glass of juice, so this metric makes up 25% of a product's overall score. We chose to test with three different juice recipes to gauge how these products might differ depending on the types of produce you plan to juice — each of these juice blends contained a variety of fruits, vegetables, and greens. A good quality juice has a smooth texture with minimal pulp, has not heated up during processing, and tastes like the produce you put in.

Masticating juicers are generally considered more effective than other types of juicers for extracting juice from leafy greens, due to the challenging nature of juicing these vegetables.
Credit: Abriah Wofford

The biggest factor in texture is pulp content — essentially how much solid matter finds its way into the juice. Pulp content can be the difference between a smooth and palatable juice or one that is chunky and off-putting. We have a panel taste each drink and award points based on their preferences. We also ask them to comment on thickness: the best juice is not watery, nor is it a high-viscosity blend that closely resembles a smoothie, but rather some happy medium.

juicer - our green juice recipe is named "rao" for its ingredients - romaine...
Our green juice recipe is named “RAO” for its ingredients - romaine lettuce, apples, and oranges - put the quality of your blender to the test. Green juices tend to separate quickly, so a successfully blended “RAO” juice signifies a good blender.
Credit: Austin Palmer

We then aggregate the results from our panel of testers and adjust scores based on any additional comments related to overall juice quality. The test juice batches combine a variety of hard and soft produce, as well as leafy greens. Particular models are actually better at processing certain types of fruits and vegetables than others, so we further examine each type of produce to better understand how each component relates back to juice quality.

juicer - the "sunset blend" recipe combines apples, oranges, beets, carrots...
The “Sunset Blend” recipe combines apples, oranges, beets, carrots and sweet potatoes; essentially all of the non-green fruits and vegetables later tested in the Hard and Soft Produce tests.
Credit: Austin Palmer

Soft Produce


We start our individual assessment of produce types with soft produce. These are fruits and vegetables that have a high water content and are easily squeezed — examples include cucumbers, apples, celery, and oranges. Soft produce juicing makes up 20% of the overall score. Although we are still concerned about quality assessments, we focus a large part of this metric on juice yield.

We also note key components of the quality of each type of juice, including pulp content, amount of foam, color, temperature, and rate of separation. An ideal juice has low pulp, little to no foam, a color that is representative of what is being juiced, separates slowly, and is not heated up during processing.

juicer - the hurom h-aa is a slow juicer that is particularly good at drawing...
The Hurom H-AA is a slow juicer that is particularly good at drawing out every last drop from soft produce.
Credit: Laura Casner

Juice Yields


We measured yields for each type of produce tested, which is essentially a ratio of juice amount to produce weight. To determine the yield, we marked the weight of produce before juicing in ounces. After juicing, we measured the yield in milliliters, solids and all. We then strained the juice and measured the yield again.

From there, we averaged those two yield measurements and divided them by pre-juice weight to get the yield ratio. This creates a standard value so that we can directly compare products side-by-side. A high yield ratio means that you will get more juice out of the same amount of produce.

juicer - the breville juice fountain elite is one of the best at juicing soft...
The Breville Juice Fountain Elite is one of the best at juicing soft produce.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman

Hard Produce


This metric is judged similarly to Soft Produce and also makes up 20% of the overall score. Hard produce is fruits and vegetables that have a low water content and could not be easily squeezed in your hand — examples include carrots, beets, and sweet potatoes.

juicer - centrifugal juicers excel at quickly processing hard produce like...
Centrifugal juicers excel at quickly processing hard produce like carrots.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman

Although the tests are directly comparable to Soft Produce, the results can vary significantly because this type of produce tends to be more difficult to juice. The types of vegetables we tested with tend to be very pulpy and can be a serious test of power and durability for a juicer. Like before, we also make notes of pulp content, amount of foam, color, temperature, and separation rate.

juicer - most masticating juicers, like the omega nutrition center, struggle...
Most masticating juicers, like the Omega Nutrition Center, struggle a little with harder fruits and veggies.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman

Leafy Greens


To keep things balanced, our Leafy Greens metric is also responsible for 20% of the overall score. Leafy greens are a common addition to juices to add fiber and boost nutrient content — familiar examples include spinach, kale, and wheatgrass. Like the other metrics, we also note pulp content, amount of foam, color, temperature, and rate of separation.

Wheatgrass is full of micro-nutrients, but it is particularly...
Wheatgrass is full of micro-nutrients, but it is particularly difficult to effectively juice with most models available to a home kitchen.
It may not look like much... but this is one of the most successful...
It may not look like much... but this is one of the most successful wheatgrass juicings of any model we tested.

Juicing leafy greens tends to be the most difficult task when it comes to juice extraction and acts as a great indicator of overall juice yields. It is not uncommon for even high-quality options to draw out very small amounts of juice from greens — particularly wheatgrass. However, many folks are drawn to juicing for this very purpose, so it is important to examine this aspect specifically.

juicer - juicing leafy greens is one of the harder tasks for these products...
Juicing leafy greens is one of the harder tasks for these products, with the masticating model having a clear edge over the centrifugal ones.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman

Cleaning


Our final metric is important because ease of use and overall convenience are directly tied to ease of cleaning. Even though this metric only accounts for the remaining 15% of the overall score, the difficulty in cleaning can make or break your experience. After each of the previous tests, we cleaned each product — this resulted in a lot of time disassembling, scrubbing, and re-assembling these products.

juicer - you can't use a dishwasher to clean all the various parts of the...
You can't use a dishwasher to clean all the various parts of the Omega Nutrition Center, but it is so easy to clean by hand that you won't even want to.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman

We use our own hands-on experience to score each product in terms of cleaning. We individually score the difficulty of cleaning the discs or auger, the filter, food pusher, lid, strainer bowl, pulp container, and the juice cup, as well as rating the effectiveness of the included cleaning tool. We also award points if the components are dishwasher safe or if a model is especially easy and intuitive to assemble.

juicer - even though the parts are dishwasher safe, rounded corners on the...
Even though the parts are dishwasher safe, rounded corners on the Hamilton Beach Big Mouth Premium also make them particularly easy to wash by hand.
Credit: Laura Casner