January ushers in a flood of folks keen on keeping their New Year’s resolutions, and a juicer may be just what the healthy lifestyle hopefuls are seeking. Helping such a customer will boil down to their price range, preferred ingredients and time constraints.

Electric juicers can be categorized into citrus juicers, centrifugal juicers and masticating juicers. Citrus juicers will fall on the more inexpensive side of the spectrum and feature a traditional cone reamer that is motorized to maximize efficiency. Obviously, they are only appropriate for citrus and may be best suited for the customer with access to fresh oranges, grapefruits, lemons or limes. Otherwise the amount of citrus needed for larger batches, and the cost to purchase it may negate the citrus juicer since they are only suitable for one task. However, if a customer is only looking for a fresh glass of orange juice every morning, this type of juicer is perfect.

Centrifugal juicers shred, spin and strain produce to extract juice. These machines are the fastest option and are good for harder items like apples, carrots and broccoli but don’t do very well with leafy greens. The spinning action used in this model can only extract so much juice, and there is also concern that the rapid motion causes heat and friction, leading to oxidation. A larger amount of foam is another concern. However, the price range of these types of electric juicers is typically lower to mid range, and there is debate as to whether or not oxidation of juice is actually a problem at all. Also, centrifugal juicers tend to be easy to operate and clean.

Masticating juicers operate at a slow speed and utilize a single gear or an auger with blades that turn the produce into a pulp from which the juice is extracted. The pulp yield is typically drier than with other types of juicers, meaning that more of the actual juice ends up where you want it. Since these models operate at a slow speed, they may not be the best option for a customer who is short on time, but the slow speed also results in minimum oxidation. Great for leafy greens, they also tend to be a quieter juicer. The biggest drawback of masticating juicers may be the price, commonly going for upwards of $300.

Whatever type of juicers you choose to carry in your retail space, knowing the featured benefits and differences among machines is key to helping customers select a model they will be satisfied with.

Pulp Control Citrus Juicer

Cuisinart’s Pulp Control Citrus Juicer (model no. CCJ-500) uses three adjustable pulp control settings – low, medium and high – to ream the smallest lime to the largest grapefruit, all in one handy device. The sleek brushed stainless steel citrus juicer gets out more juice more efficiently with its unique final-spin feature. Its extra-long snap-up spout easily accommodates more glasses and prevents dripping. Dishwasher safe, the citrus juicer also comes with a three-year warranty.

Suggested Retail Price: $29.95

Dash Go Citrus Juicer

Savor the unrivaled freshness of homemade juice with the Dash Go Citrus Juicer. Get the sweet taste of fresh-squeezed juice without additives or preservatives with this electric citrus juicer. The automatic on/off function makes juicing easy – simply press the fruit down to start and release it to stop. With two reamers, you can juice citrus fruits both large and small, from grapefruits to limes. The translucent pitcher is amply sized, holds a full quart of juice, and includes easy-to-read graduated measurements on the side. All the non-electric parts are dishwasher safe.

Suggested Retail Price: $19.99

Hamilton Beach Big Mouth Juice Extractor

The Big Mouth® Juice Extractor delivers on the juicing performance people ask for most, instead of skimping out on the nutrients they need. Equipped with a powerful 800-watt motor and extra-wide 3-inch feed chute that tears through almost anything you put in, it flawlessly performs the task of extracting the juice from whole fruits and vegetables in seconds. And that’s not all. The designers of Hamilton Beach have minimized the fuss of cleanup, making all the removable plastic parts dishwasher safe.

KitchenAid Maximum Extraction Juicer

The Maximum Extraction Juicer from KitchenAid is built with a motor that spins at 80 rpm, and is designed with an extra wide feed tube that can accommodate a variety of fruits and leafy vegetables, ranging from beets and oranges, to kale and whole cucumbers. A stainless steel cutting blade pre-slices food, reducing the amount of force needed to push them into the body of the juicer. The pre-sliced foods are then processed at a low speed, with the finished juice streaming into a separate BPA-free pitcher that sits under the juicer. The Maximum Extraction Juicer comes with a low pulp and a high pulp screen for customizing pulp levels. A third screen offers users the ability to make sauces ranging from applesauce to homemade ketchup; it can also make fruit and vegetable purees.

Suggested Retail Price: $499.99

New Vertical Juicers from Omega

Omega’s new fifth generation vertical masticating style juicing machines, the Omega VSJ843Q and VSJ843R, preserve even more of the natural taste and rich nutrition found in fresh produce. The new motor rotates at 43 RPM, approximately 50 percent the speed of the original vertical masticating (low speed) juicers. The tighter fit tolerance of the new dual-edge auger strains more juice and breaks down fiber to a palatable level for a smoother, nutrient-dense juice. The combination of the lower rotation speed, dual-edge auger design and powerful 250-watt motor gently squeezes juice keeping healthy enzymes intact; reducing heat build-up, delaying the oxidation process, and increasing the juice’s shelf life. Both models offer the enhanced features to yield the maximum amount of juice extraction from the least amount of produce.

Suggested Retail Price: $459.95

Wide Mouth Low Speed Juicer

The Wide Mouth Low Speed Juicer (JE1483) from Salton is a three-in-one juicer, smoothie- and frozen dessert-maker, transforming fresh or frozen fruit into delicious, healthy smoothies, nutrient-rich juice without added preservatives. It turns frozen fruit into healthy soft serve frozen desserts in seconds. Superior cold press technology thoroughly squeezes the juice from fruits and vegetables and reduce oxidation and juice separation, preserving enzymes and the other nutrients for longer lasting and better tasting juice. Operating with low noise volume, the chute guides pulp into a large pulp container for continuous operation. The Wide Mouth Low Speed Juicer produces up to 40 percent more juice than conventional units, and it expels a much drier pulp. That maintains up to 60 percent more nutrients in the juice.

Suggested Retail Price: $299.99

Waring Citrus Juicer – Stainless Steel

Solidly built, quiet and powerful, but without taking up too much valuable counter space, the Waring Citrus Juicer (model no. PCJ218) juices anything from small limes to large grapefruits. The item is stainless steel and easy to clean, the detachable parts are dishwasher safe. Extra-heavy base for quiet operation.

Suggested Retail Price: $99.95

This story was originally published in the January 2015 issue of Kitchenware News, a publication of Oser Communications Group.