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We tested a range of masticating machines by juicing carrots, kale, and strawberries. sunflower shucking machine
Cold press juice is hot. (Sorry, we had to.) This method of extracting juice from fruits and veggies makes for an incredibly fresh taste, and places are selling it practically everywhere you look. But buying from a cold press juice shop gets very expensive, very quickly. The solution? Juice at home. You could get an inexpensive citrus juicer, but that limits your options to lemons, limes, oranges, and the like. The best cold press juicers can make juice from practically any fresh produce.
Also known as masticating juicers, cold press juicers get pricey, not to mention complicated, but we're here to help. We tested various leading models on carrots, kale, and strawberries, making several different juices and cleaning up afterward. These are the best cold press juicers perfect for a breakfast drink or to keep the nonalcoholic cocktails flowing.
Apart from citrus-specific models, there are two types of all-purpose juicers: centrifugal and masticating. Centrifugal juicers extract juice quickly and efficiently by chopping produce into tiny bits with a high-speed blade. But this heats the juice, which can damage both nutrition and flavor. Masticating juicers, also known as cold press juicers, crush fruits and vegetables more gently to make juice without sacrificing freshness. The negative is that they tend to be less efficient and more expensive than centrifugal models.
Our recommendations take into account the results of two sets of testing: one of just cold press juicers, and another of both centrifugal and masticating models for our overall best juicers roundup. In total, we tested 27 cold press juicers. Following the included directions, we set up each juicer and made notes on any difficulties with assembly or other design flaws. We then put the machines through a series of juicing tests.
After completing all of our performance tests and evaluations, we revealed the retail prices of the machines and rated them on value for money. At the time of testing, the cold press juicers ranged in price from $50 to $600, with an average of $227.
This heavy-duty machine made the best-tasting, best-textured juice in our tests, and it did so quickly and efficiently.
It's expensive, and its narrow feed chute means you have to pre-cut ingredients before juicing.
Thanks to amazing results in all four of our tests, this Omega model tops our list. Our juices tasted vibrant and were almost perfectly smooth. The pulp came out driest of all the machines, and we got the second-highest quantity of juice. This machine efficiently extracted juice, and it was still among the fastest-working.
The Omega juicer is solidly built, with parts that fit together cleanly and enough weight to stay firmly in place while running. The vertical orientation gives it a fairly small countertop footprint, though the tall chute might not fit inside a cabinet. This juicer has plenty of power to take on tough ingredients, but you'll have to manually cut up most whole items before they'll fit into the narrow chute. If you're a juice fan who's ready to invest in making cold press at home, it's a great choice.
Dimensions: 9.1 x 15.7 x 9.5 inches | Weight: 11.5 pounds | Power: 150 watts | Speed: 43 RPM | Includes: Juice bowl with lid, pulp bowl, cleaning brush
This simple, lightweight juicer works beautifully for its low price.
It takes longer than and doesn't extract as much juice as more expensive counterparts.
Cold press juicers are fairly pricey compared to the centrifugal kind, but Ninja's NeverClog offers great performance at a surprisingly low cost. It was powerful enough to crush carrots, kale, ginger, and apples with no issues in testing, and we were impressed with how easy it was to feed everything in. Juice yields were good with everything except carrots, where the NeverClog left a lot of liquid in the pulp. It's extremely lightweight, which makes moving and storing it easier than the more cumbersome machines on our list.
The NeverClog name is indeed accurate: We didn't have to stop or reverse the motor mid-juicing, and a trip through the dishwasher was sufficient to remove any bits of pulp from all the parts (except the motor base, which you can wipe off with a sponge). For fans of chunkier orange or pineapple juices, there are separate high- and low-pulp inserts that let you choose your texture, too.
This machine is just slow. It took twice as long as luxury cold press models, to extract slightly less juice. But if you don't want to pay an arm and a leg for a heavy-duty machine, the Ninja would be a great choice.
Dimensions: 12.1 x 7.2 x 15.9 inches | Weight: 7.9 pounds | Power: 150 watts | Includes: 24-ounce juice jug, 36-ounce pulp container, 2 pulp filters
This powerful machine's large feeding chute and huge capacity make it ideal for prepping big batches all at once.
It takes up a lot of space on the countertop and doesn't do a great job with small amounts of produce.
Juicing takes some time-consuming setup, so if you're going to do it, why not do a lot of it at once? The extra-large and super-powerful Juice Fountain Cold is ideal for someone looking to make juice in bulk. Its pitcher, sealable for storage, holds 70 ounces — enough for several days for the whole family. We love how the extra-large feeding chute lets you add whole or mostly whole ingredients, and the 850-watt motor is far more powerful than competitors. We were impressed by how quickly it produced juice. The construction feels sturdy and stable, and we found it particularly easy to assemble.
This is not the best choice, however, for making one glass at a time. The Juice Fountain did poorly with small batches: The bottom of the juicing bowl sits slightly below the spout and won't let the first few ounces of liquid separate.
Dimensions: 8 x 13.6 x 16.7 inches | Weight: 11 pounds | Power: 850 watts | Includes: 70-ounce juice container with lid, 115-ounce pulp container, cleaning brush
This simple, inexpensive machine produces excellent juice with a small countertop footprint.
Its juice yields aren't great, and its drippy spout can make a mess.
The AMZCHEF might be no-frills, but it's a solid choice for the money, especially if you're only looking to make a glass or two of juice at a time and don't have a lot of kitchen space to spare. It could take down all the ingredients we threw at it — we did have to push down pretty hard on carrots, but even they made it through.
Although this juicer lacks extra features, it performs its basic functionalities well. Our test juices all had fresh flavor and excellent texture. Very little pulp was made through the filter, but the downside is that a lot of juice stayed in the pulp. AMZCHEF's yields were lower than the more expensive competition. We also lamented its lack of a drip-free spout, as we got sticky dribbles on the counter and base of the machine.
Dimensions: 10.6 x 10.6 x 7 inches | Weight: 9.2 pounds | Power: 150 watts | Speed: 90 RPM | Includes: Juice bowl, pulp bowl, cleaning brush
This versatile gadget produced the most consistent, smooth juice that was free of pulp — even with leafy kale.
It's expensive, and it got fairly loud when dealing with tough ingredients.
Green juice is amazingly healthy, but greens like kale and wheatgrass are the hardest thing for a masticating juicer to deal with: They're tough, fibrous, and too thin for the auger to grip and crush effectively. The Nama J1 is an exception, a very well-designed machine that had no trouble making smooth green juice in testing, and quickly. No unpleasant solid bits made their way to the finished product, but it still had a lovely jade color and vegetal flavor. In our other tests, we got consistently smooth juices with the J1, too. The pulp came out among the driest of all the machines, indicating great yields and very effective filtration.
The J1 also includes three different strainers that add layers of versatility, allowing you to make nut milk, sorbet, and smoothies in addition to plain ol' juice. It scored high for cleanup, thanks to well-fitting parts that don't let any bits escape from the easy-to-wash containers and screens. The only place anything stuck was in the pulp chute, and the included cleaning brush/shovel tool did a great job clearing it out. We appreciated that the parts are clearly labeled for simple assembly and disassembly.
Nama makes good juicers, and they're priced to match. The J1 isn't cheap. (It did, however, perform equally to its even-more-expensive cousin, the Nama J2.) Our only other real complaint is that the machine can get rather noisy when it's taking down tough items like kale or whole apples. But for lovers of green juice, you won't find a better option.
Dimensions: 8.8 x 7.1 x 16 inches | Weight: 14.1 pounds | Power: 150 watts | Speed: 43 RPM | Includes: Juice container with lid, pulp container, 3 strainers, cleaning brush
This powerful and intuitive juicer made quick work of even tough-to-juice carrots and ginger.
It's the single most expensive machine we tested.
All of the juicers from Kuvings are powerful, versatile, and technologically advanced. The REVO830 has clever features that make it even more effective. Its large main chute can handle apples or other whole produce without chopping, but it has a second "Auto-Cut Chute" for long or fibrous items. There's a rotating knife at the bottom to slice things like whole carrots, celery, and ginger into small pieces that are easier to crush and juice. Further expanding its capabilities, the machine includes attachments for smoothies, sorbets, and nut milk.
The REVO830 did well on all our tests, yielding the highest amount of apple juice and producing consistent texture and fresh flavor. There's no need to prep fruit or vegetables — you can drop in whole ingredients and let the surprisingly quiet motor do the work. It's fairly easy to clean, too, but we did notice that it doesn't do a great job of pushing the pulp out of its waste chute. You might need some extra brushing and scrubbing. We appreciated the included strainer-cleaning tool, which automates the tedious process of getting all the tiny bits out of the screen.
Just be prepared to drop a lot of money on this versatile luxury juicer: It's the most expensive unit we tested.
Dimensions: 10 x 8 x 19 inches | Weight: 16.5 pounds | Power: 240 watts | Speed: 50 RPM | Includes: Juice cup, pulp cup, 3 strainers, 2 brushes, strainer-cleaning tool
This little powerhouse does a solid job at an entry-level price.
It can't make very much juice at once, and it had a lot of trouble with kale.
You don't have to invest a fortune and a whole corner of your kitchen to get fresh cold press juice at home; the Dash Deluxe is a great way to make a delicious serving or two at a time without dropping a ton of cash. It's a tiny machine that takes up next to no space, but the downside of that is its itty-bitty feed chute, which requires some pre-chopping.
Don't sleep on the Dash Deluxe's power, however. It did a great job in three of our four tests, especially on fibrous ginger, an ingredient even the highest-priced machines struggled with. Its carrot and apple juices came out flavorful and smooth, albeit with some pulp left behind. It also comes with a frozen sorbet attachment, a nice bonus that few low-cost juicers include.
This machine's big weakness was with kale. It took 14 minutes to get through a full test batch, and that yielded one of the smallest amounts of juice, which was rather gritty. If you're a green juice fan, you're better off with something higher-end. It's also not the best choice for making lots of juice at a time, as you'll have to keep stopping to empty the small pulp receptacle.
Dimensions: 3.9 x 4.9 x 14.2 inches | Weight: 3.4 pounds | Power: 130 watts | Includes: Juice cup, pulp cup, frozen-dessert attachment, cleaning brush
The Omega Vertical Masticating Juicer produced consistently high-quality results across all of our tests. We loved the smooth juice that it produced effortlessly, and we had no trouble assembling or cleaning it. This is a great option for people who like to have fresh juice on hand regularly.
Food & Wine / Fred Hardy II
In theory, a juicer will keep putting out juice as long as you keep feeding in produce, but the size of its juice and pulp containers determine how often you'll have to stop and restart. If you're looking to make gallons of juice per batch, you don't want to have to empty the containers over and over again, but if you only need a glass or two at a time, a smaller machine won't be as much of a problem. And, of course, larger-capacity juicers generally cost more money.
The size of the feed chute also helps determine how quickly a juicer works. Larger chutes allow you to throw foods in whole, while smaller ones require time-consuming chopping, peeling, or coring beforehand.
Compared to centrifugal juicers, cold press juicers don't need a lot of power, and they're supposed to work slowly. The Omega juicer that topped our tests offers just 150 watts, compared to 1,000 watts for our favorite centrifugal juicer, the Breville Juice Fountain Elite. Cold press juicers also move slowly, spinning at a few dozen rotations per minute compared to thousands of RPM for centrifugal models. The goal is to remove juice thoroughly while treating it as gently as possible.
Juicing can be messy, and cleaning your machine might take just as much time as actually using it. The most important thing is to read and follow the user manual's cleaning instructions. Lots of juicers have dishwasher-safe parts, but you may only need a quick rinse in the sink, depending on your unit's design. If the parts don't fit together well, you're likely to get splatters and leaks onto the counter, while better-built juicers keep the mess on the inside.
It's important to clean your juicer soon after using it so bits of food don't dry and get stuck — that'll save a lot of labor no matter what model you have. Some machines also come with brushes or other special custom cleaning tools, which can be especially helpful for mesh screens that tend to get clogged with debris.
No matter what you do, don't rinse or submerge the motor base in water! If it gets sticky, you can unplug it and wipe it down with a damp sponge or paper towel.
Food & Wine / Fred Hardy II
Many cold press juicers include accessories for doing more than just making juice. This is often as simple as swapping out a filter. Smoothie filters are more coarse than juicing ones, for a thick and chunky result. Machines that can make nut milk use an extra-fine filter for smoothness. (Make sure to soak the nuts ahead of time to soften them for best results.) Accessories for sorbets typically don't have a filter; they crush pre-chopped, pre-frozen fruit into a smooth dessert.
Yes. "Masticating juicer," "slow juicer," and "cold press juicer" are all terms for the same kind of machine. Cold press juicers rely on a slowly rotating auger mechanism to crush (or masticate) ingredients and then separate the juice from the solids.
Unlike the crushing motion in a cold press juicer, a centrifugal juicer uses a high-speed blade to chop produce into tiny bits. (It's a blender combined with a filter.) This method makes juice quickly, but the high-speed motion generates heat that can damage flavor and nutrients. Centrifugal juicers are generally cheaper than cold press models, but their juice might not taste as fresh.
Essentially anything that has juice in it! You can make juice from fruits like apples, oranges, and pears; vegetables like celery, cucumbers, and kale; herbs of virtually any kind; zingy ginger; or whatever delicious combinations you can dream up. It's often tricky to juice ingredients with lower water content like leafy greens or wheatgrass, especially with a lower-end machine. If you feed in the greens at the same time as a juicy fruit like pineapple or citrus, that can help your results.
Cold press juice will last 3 to 5 days if refrigerated properly in a glass storage container. Exposure to oxygen degrades fresh juice, so you should use an airtight lid. You should not use plastic, as the acids in juice can degrade the material. Remember that home-pressed juices will not last as long as store-bought, which are generally pasteurized and sometimes contain preservatives.
When it comes to the best juicers, there are top brands that the juicing community knows and loves, including Omega, Hurom, Nama, and Kuvings. For this test, we wanted to include all of these favorite brands to see how they compared. We also looked for machines at various price points, capacities, and formats, and with and without extra accessories. Our goal in testing is always to consider the full range of options available and ensure there's a pick for everyone, no matter their kitchen or budget constraints.
Nama j2 cold press juicer ($ 550 and nama)
The Nama J2 is popular for many reasons, including its sleek and minimal design, virtually hands-off operation, exceptional performance, and ease of use. We fell in love with all those same features during our testing, and we'd recommend it to anyone. However, the Nama J1 is a slightly cheaper alternative that performs just as well, and that's the one that made it into our top picks.
Cuisinart CSJ-300 Easy Clean Slow Juicer ($160 at Amazon)
This machine has a mesh-free filter setup that is very easy to clean. It's also relatively inexpensive. Its juices, however, came out somewhat thicker than competitors. We didn't consider that a good thing, but you might like your juice more smoothie-like.
Greenstar Elite Jumbo Twin Gear Slow Masticating Juicer ($600 at Amazon)
This juicer is the biggest one we tested, and it's also a complete one-stop shop. In addition to juice, the Greenstar Elite can make pasta, bread, frozen desserts, and more. Added functionality means it's more expensive, takes up more counter space, and is more complicated to use, so we don't recommend this for novice juicers.
Breville The Juice Fountain Cold Plus ($300 at Amazon)
This machine is even more powerful and has a larger feed chute than the standard Juice Fountain Cold above. It's a fantastic machine that can make a ton of juice at a time, but it costs $100 more than its sibling and doesn't add a whole lot in terms of performance.
Omega Cold Press 365 Masticating Juicer ($58 at Amazon)
This budget-priced Omega produced results that were on the thicker side but were flavorful and smooth nonetheless. It's easy to assemble and dishwasher-safe, but we noticed some rocking and swaying in use, and some dripping from seams between parts. It's nowhere near as well-built as the Omega vertical model we named our top overall choice, but it also costs a small fraction of the price.
screen equipment We tested 27 cold press juicers, so there were bound to be a few that didn't make it. Some juicers disappointed us during testing for various reasons, from being unable to crush ingredients and filtering juices poorly, to leaving behind hard-to-clean bits. A few had undeservedly high prices that didn't correspond with their features or performance. Lower-ranked cold press juicers included models from Hurom, Tribest, Hamilton Beach, and Nutribullet.