In testing to find the best juicer for 2024, we keyed in on each model's overall functionality and intuitiveness, how easy the juicer is to clean (you'll want to clean them after every use) and most importantly, how much juice you get from a given pile of fresh produce. The best juicer should also have a big enough feed tube for even large chunks of fruits, roots and vegetables. Even if you're only planning to juice citrus fruit for cocktails or launch into a trendy celery juice cleanse, there are a lot of excellent juicer options out there to help you along. Testing juicers means lots of juicing. We gathered up heaps of apples and oranges and bunches of kale to see how these juicers handled produce of varying texture and density.
I tested the juicers with oranges, apples and kale.
Apples
To test the juicer's high-speed function, we cored and quartered three red apples. (We used organic Gala apples in this round of testing.) Next, we weighed the apples, the empty juice receptacle and the empty juicer on a large kitchen scale. Then, we juiced the apples on the juicer's high setting or, if there were multiple speeds, the manual's recommended apple speed.
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The result was a pink juice with a light brown pulp. Once juicing was complete, we measured the filled juice receptacle and the juicer with its apple waste to determine just how much juice came out of the apples and how much of the apple ended up in the pulp container. This is the same method we used for oranges and kale.
Oranges
We peeled three navel oranges and removed the fibrous center pulp. Next, we measured them along with the empty juicer and juice receptacle. Depending on the juicer's chute size, we also trimmed down the oranges into wedges that fit the chute.
Fresh orange juice can be extra-frothy.
For orange juicing, we set the juicer to its low speed, a good setting for soft fruit like oranges. Once the juicer was finished, we weighed everything again and took notes.
Kale
Juicer testing wouldn't be complete without a leafy green element. It's worth noting here that most centrifugal juicers won't do as well as a cold-press juicer (aka a slow-masticating juicer) for extracting juice from greens. Still, it is possible and some centrifugal juicers are up to the task.
Kale juicing is certainly colorful.
As in the apple and orange juice tests, we measured and recorded the weight of the equipment, as well as three large kale leaves. (It's not necessary to trim here; kale stems have plenty of nutritional value and will go through the juicer.) We did see much less volume when it came to kale juice. If you're keen on juicing leafy items, a masticating juicer might be a better bet for you.
| Brand | % orange juice extracted | % apple juice extracted | % kale juice extracted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bagotte | 70.07% | 67.20% | 22.86% |
| Black & Decker | 61.83% | 63.47% | 16.25% |
| Breville | 72.26% | 75.61% | 38.76% |
| Cuisinart | 67.72% | 62.05% | 17.94% |
| Hamilton Beach | 76.55% | 65.31% | 39.19% |
| Hurom | 72.45% | 71.23% | 41.10% |
| Kuvings | 73.46% | 72.25% | 23.83% |
| Mueller Austria | 71.91% | 59.73% | 23.17% |
| Nutribullet | 69.34% | 70.00% | 24.56% |
| Oster | 76.23% | 63.38% | 28.09% |