Juicing at home is convenient and tasty, but there are some pitfalls to avoid and techniques to know before you start. And don’t forget - Breakages caused by misusing your juicer are not covered by Warranty, so best to follow these handy tips!
Prep your produce
You can't just throw in whole fruits and vegetables into your juicer and expect tasty results. You need to prepare them properly first. Many juicers have small food chutes, so you'll have to chop items down to a size that fits (2cm).
The actual juicing process is fast, with foods zipping through the machine in seconds. You can liquefy a complete list of ingredients in minutes, so preparing produce in advance will save you lots of time.
For fruits, especially citrus, that means peeling away tough outer skins, peels and pith. They can add bitter and unpleasant flavors to your juice.
Remove any seeds and hard pits, too, especially those in stone fruits. Not only can these damage your juicer and create a bitter taste in your juice, but most contain toxic chemicals. For example, apricot, cherry, peach and plum pits have cyanogenic compounds, which if crushed and ingested, will turn into cyanide in the body.
Consider a cold-press machine
It’s so important if you haven’t yet bought a juicer, to choose the correct one for your needs. If you plan on juicing fibrous vegetables such as kale and celery, then a cold-press juicer is worth considering. These machines slowly crush all manner of produce and extract lots of liquid from even the toughest items.
Please see our comparison chart on our FAQ page to assist you! https://omegajuicer.com.au/pages/faqs
Line your pulp basket
Even the most efficient juicers create plenty of solid waste. Here's a good way to make cleaning up a snap. Line the pulp collection bin of your juicer with plastic wrap first. After juicing your items, just pull the wrap out and throw it, pulp and all, into the trash.
Soak your parts
It's so important to maintain your juicer by keeping it clean. I really recommend soaking the parts at least once a week in one part vinegar, one part water to remove all that unwanted residue.
Placing whole celery sticks into the chute
Never place whole celery sticks into the chute to juice. Although we see people doing it in photos and videos, it’s really not recommended as it’s likely to place the parts of your juicer under unnecessary pressure and result in breakages. This accounts for large pieces of any produce! See the Do’s list for best produce prep advice!
Using dry items
Avoid trying to juice things with a low water content. For example, stay away from coconut, sugar cane and grains. These ingredients have massive amounts of fiber but barely any liquid. They are likely to break your juicer and invalidate your warranty.
Pushing produce using something other than the plunger
Many juicers come with their own plastic plunger tools. They're designed for use with a particular model and are carefully sized to match. They're to help you push items down the food chute without getting caught in the juicer mechanism. If you try this with any other implement, especially a metal object, you could destroy the machine and injure yourself in the process.
Waiting to clean up
It's tempting, but don't let your juicer sit around dirty for long. All that concentrated pigment, pulp and liquid sets in quickly, especially if left to dry. Make it a habit to clean your juicer parts soon after use. Either that, or rinse it, then toss into the dishwasher with no delay.
