Juicers are used to make fresh juices from fruits and vegetables. These machines are very easy to clean and maintain.
However, it is important to understand how to prepare foods before using them.
What Foods Can You Juice?
The first step to understanding the juicer process is knowing what you can put in it. The most common items that go into juice recipes are fruits and vegetables.
Fruits and vegetables tend to contain a large amount of water. Because of this, they are ideal for juicing, and you can easily extract their goodness.
Fruit
Fruits are bursting with nutrients, water, and juice. Citrus fruits like lemon and orange are tangy and have an intense taste.
Other fruits like apples and grapes are milder tasting. You can use fruits like mango and pineapple for making smoothies or refresh yourself by drinking them as juice.
Juicing fruits gives you a healthy dose of vitamins and minerals. For example, apples contain lots of potassium, while oranges have vitamin C.
Extracting all these goodies and drinking them in a concentrated juice is a great way to improve your health.
Vegetables
Juices made from vegetables are very healthy. They offer a completely different taste than fruit juices. Green juices are full of vitamins and minerals, especially potassium.
They are easy to make, and you can use any vegetables you want.
You can combine several types of vegetables together to create tasty juice tailored to your health goals and needs.
Carrots and kale are both popular and delicious vegetable options, but they’re very different. Carrots contain lots of vitamin A, potassium, and Biotin.
Kale is more nutritious with less sugar and calories. Mix them together to get the best of both worlds!
The Juicing Process
Now that you’ve learned about juicers, let’s get started! Below is a step-by-step guide on how you can juice fruits and vegetables using a juicer.
Learning Your Machine
You must familiarize yourself with your juicer before you prepare or add any ingredients. The process will be much more difficult if you don’t understand how it works or where the different features are.
Start by reading the instruction manual carefully. You will find a lot of important information there. You may also find information about what fruits and vegetables you can use.
Take some time to study the juicer after you have read the manual.
The feed chute and the output pipe are two parts that you will need to locate. With a bit of knowledge, you should have an easier time juicing.
Prepare Your Ingredients
The next step is to prepare the ingredients! You should rinse them in water before cutting them to ensure they are clean, although organic produce should be free from nasty things like pesticides.
Cut the food into sensible pieces or chunks next. Except for smaller items such as berries, you shouldn’t put whole fruits into a juicer.
Fruits such as pineapples and bananas will also need to be peeled.
A thin-skinned fruit like an apple, however, doesn’t need to be peeled first. The juicing mechanism can also be clogged by seeds, stems, and pits that are exposed on the outside.
Rolling or compressing vegetables into small balls is the best method for storing them. They will juice faster this way.
The juicer will also be able to extract the nutrients and goodness from the leafy greens and vegetables.
Turn On Your Juicer
Plug it in, and place the collection container under the exit chute. Place the glass under the chute if you want to collect the juice.
Make sure you can quickly access the exit chute, and that you can easily replace the glass in case of an overflow.
Some juicers allow you to place the ingredients into the input area first and power the juicer after. If so, simply place the ingredients in the correct place, replace the lid, and power up the juicer.
Alternatively, many juicers require that you power the device first. Once the device is switched on and the setting selected, you can then push the ingredients into the feed chute.
If you have to push the ingredients in, be careful not to push too hard. You can risk damaging the motor and overworking the machine.
Start Juicing
With the ingredients fed into the feeding area, you can now replace your lid and turn on the machine. Depending on the model and design, you may be able to adjust the speed of the juicer.
You may also need to push the fruit and vegetables into the feeding area manually.
This is why it is important for you to read the instructions because you need to know how to set your machine up correctly before you juice.
You also need to be careful when you juice, as you could get injured if you don’t follow the directions properly.
Juicers often require manual adjustments. Periodically check the process. Once the juice flow begins drying up, you know that your process is almost done.
Have extra glasses or containers ready in case of an overflow.
Enjoy!
When you are certain the juicer has extracted as much as possible, turn it off. Remove the juicer from the power outlet and turn it off.
Any safety risks can be avoided. You should also be careful about catching the power cord or tripping over it.
You are almost ready to enjoy your fresh juice packed with healthy nutrients! Your juice may have been poured directly into a glass depending on the model.
If so, you can enjoy it right away! Otherwise, It can be poured into a fresh glass if it has been juiced into a collection glass.
Remember To Clean Up
The process of juicing is generally messy, no matter if you use a cold press or centrifugal juicer. When you work with fruit and vegetables, a heap of pulp, seeds, and food debris is inevitable.
As a result, you should always wash the machine after you have finished juicing.
Food debris in the machine could become moldy if the machine isn’t cleaned properly. The first step in cleaning the machine is to inspect the pulp collection unit.
The pulp from the juicer can often be re-used to create more juice. But if it cannot be reused, empty the unit, and wash it well.
Removable parts are next to be removed. You can place these parts in your dishwasher to thoroughly clean them if they are dishwasher-safe.
If they are not, wash them thoroughly with warm soapy water. Make sure the parts are completely dry before replacing them.
Maintaining Your Juicer
We’ve given you some tips to make your juicer experience as enjoyable as possible. There’s nothing complicated about juicing.
It is possible, however, to make the process easier and faster by following a few simple tips.
Don’t Use Dry Foods
Juicers are designed to extract juice and nutrients from fruits and vegetables. If there’s little moisture content to eke out of a food item, you’re just going to end up with lots of useless pulp.
Examples of such items are sugar cane, grain, and coconut. When you juice low water content foods, the outcome could be disastrous.
To begin with, no juice will be extracted. To further complicate matters, the juicer could be damaged.
Use A Strainer
It is common for homemade juice to contain pulp and seeds. If you want to avoid excess pulp or lumps, you should use a strainer.
Add the juice to the glass using the strainer. The pulp and impurities should be effectively removed. After that, you should only have juice without bits!
Frequently Asked Questions
What Are The Benefits Of Juicing?
By juicing fruits, you can gain a healthy dose of nutrients and minerals that your body needs, and you get it quickly, in a tasty package, no less.
What Vegetables Are Used To Create Green Juice?
The following are the most common vegetables to create green juice: broccoli, carrots, celery, kale, spinach, tomatoes, cucumber, beetroot, and cabbage.
Some vegetables, like cabbage and spinach, have a far-stronger taste.
How Often Should I Clean My Juicer?
It’s important to clean your juicer after every use to prevent bacteria from building up and juices left behind from drying to the parts. If this isn’t done, the juicer may not function properly.
It is a good idea to clean it every few days if you do not have the time to do it every time you use it.
Final Thoughts
And there you have it, folks — now you know how to use that juicer of yours, you can enjoy super colorful, insanely healthy treats whenever you want.
My final piece of advice is to get crazy with it! Experiment with all kinds of different fruits and veggies, and you’ll stumble across tons of exciting flavor combinations — yum!
