What is a cold press juicer?

Omega juicer
(Image credit: Future)

If you’ve been wondering what is a cold press juicer and should you buy one then we’ve got all the answers you need. Making healthy and nutritious drinks is a lot easier if you’ve got one of the best juicers around, but with so many models on the market, it’s easy to get mixed up in the different types of juicer. 

Juicers work by extracting the liquid from fruits and vegetables which is different from the best blenders, as the latter breaks down all of its contents into a smooth mixture. Making your own juice can have great health benefits as it provides a quick way to ingest lots of fruits and veggies, but it’s also a good way to save money if you buy juice, which can be pretty expensive.

If you’ve been looking at investing in a new juicer or just want to find out more about whether they’re worth the money or not, you might have come across the different types of models on offer - one of which is a cold press juicer. 

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What is a cold press juicer? 

Cold press juicers don’t require any heat to extract the liquid from your ingredients and instead use a press to squash the fruit or vegetables to release liquid. This process is more time-consuming than centrifugal juicers (we’ll explain those in a minute) but what it does is keep all the nutrients and vitamins packed into the juice. 

Using heat to press ingredients will reduce the number of nutrients in them and so a cold press juicer offers a nice alternative. It’s also worth keeping in mind that cold press juicers might retain more nutrients than other methods, however, you often end up with slightly less juice. 

There are other benefits to using a cold press juicer too and they include how long the juice lasts. You can expect cold-pressed juice to last a few days if stored properly, whereas juice made using other methods is best if you drink it straight away. The other benefit of a cold press machine is that juice typically comes out a lot smoother and has less foam. 

If you’re pressing vegetables to make fresh juice, there are some factors that make things even more confusing and these include that some vegetables, such as carrots, actually increase in nutrients when you heat them. In that case, a cold press juicer isn’t actually the best option. 

Smeg SJF01 Slow Juicer

(Image credit: Future)

What is a centrifugal juicer?  

Centrifugal juicers work quickly to create fresh juice and they do this by using spinning blades that slice up the fruit or vegetables to create a liquid. When you place ingredients in a centrifugal juicer, they will pass through a spinning blade and a screen until the liquid leaves the machine - normally via a drip spout. 

Centrifugal juicers use forces to break down whatever you place inside them and that means that the juice is actually produced quicker than if you use a cold press juicer, however, the juice won’t be as nutritious as when you use a cold-press.

The good news is that centrifugal juicers are normally cheaper than cold press models, and they’re often a good place to start if you’re not a serious juice aficionado. 

Sophie Bird

Sophie writes about all things appliance-related and is currently the Home Editor at TechRadar's sister site, Top Ten Reviews. When she's not testing coffee machines and appliances, Sophie is thinking of eating delicious food, and asking people what they're having for dinner.

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