Top positive review
5.0 out of 5 starsInstant Love Affair
Reviewed in the United States on September 29, 2012
Buying a juicer can be a leap of faith. Unless you've seen one in action, you never know what to expect. You can put faith in reviews and roll the dice, but even the highest-rated juicer might not be the best juicer for you. Well, I rolled the dice, and I came up a winner.
The biggest considerations for me were price, size, and ease of clean up. I didn't want to pay hundreds of dollars on my first juicer, and the $99 price from Amazon was acceptable. Anything less and I would have questioned the quality of the item. Anything more and I would have been reluctant to make the commitment. After unpacking the item, I was impressed. It's a solid machine. I was expecting a light and flimsy machine, but this had some weight to it, which keeps it stationary when in use.
Before I bought the juicer, I viewed some videos of it on YouTube. It seemed like there might be some splatter from the feed chute. However, I tried two different recipes the first day I used it, and I didn't have any splatter. Some bits of veggies stuck to the food pusher when I used it, but I didn't have any splatter on the walls, counter or ceiling.
I have a small kitchen in my apartment, so space is an issue. This juicer is a relatively compact size, with a footprint perhaps as much as a large coffee or home espresso maker. It fits on my counter along with my food canisters and toaster. I'm glad because I want to keep it out to encourage me to use it often.
Because it's not too large, there is only so much pulp that can be stored before it fills up. Depending on the fruits and veggies you use, you can get about 24 ounces of juice before the pulp fills the reservoir. Fortunately, the pulp is stored internally, so you don't have pulp spewing out the back into a bowl or on your counter. The cleaning brush serves double-duty as a tool to scrape out the pulp. Even the most colorful and staining vegetable (i.e., beets) rinsed cleanly from the plastic. Also, the juicer seems to extract most of the juice from veggies. The pulp is fine and mildly moist. It has a consistency similar to Play Dough.
It's a lot quieter than I thought it would be. I expected something louder than my vacuum cleaner, but this is much quieter. I would feel comfortable using this early in the morning in my apartment without fear of bothering the neighbors.
I'm very pleased with this juicer. If you take a chance, you might be pleased, too. Good luck.
Review Update 11 October 2012:
I used this juicer intensively for a week during a juice fast, and I wanted to update my review. I'm keeping my original 5-star review, but I wanted to share some observations. I used the juicer 3-4 times a day with all types of fruits, veggies, and roots. In addition to the popular apples, carrots, celery, pineapple, and cucumbers, I also tried leafy greens, ginger, burdock root, parsnips, peppers, and potatoes.
The juicer didn't extract all of the juice out of leafy greens, but this is expected with centrifugal juicers. (Masticating juicers work best with greens.) The juicer turned most foods into a fine pulp. However, sometimes pieces of food (such as an apple rind or piece of celery) would end up in the pulp container. I mitigated this a little by making sure not to apply too much pressure when using the food pusher.
I commented in my original review that the juicer doesn't splatter, which is true. However, since the filter basket spins so fast, leafy greens and broccoli sometimes get caught in the whirlwind because they are so light. When you remove the food pusher to add more food to the feed chute, some bits of food can float out.
Since this is a centrifugal juicer, the juice will be aerated, and it will be foamy. I actually prefer some of the juices foamy. The foam seems to cut the sweetness a little, and it has a good mouth feel. If you let the juice sit for a few minutes, it will separate. Stirring the juice will blend everything back together.
I enjoy juicing, and I might go ahead and get a more expensive masticating juicer for juicing leafy greens and making nut butters. However, I'm still going to keep and use this Breville. It's definitely great for a quick juice. It's compact enough to keep it on my counter, and it cleans in less than 10 minutes. It handled roots and root vegetables very well, and I really enjoyed my frothy pear juice.
