Centrifugal juicers

Centrifugal juicers are based around a spinning basket that has fine holes in its side walls like a very fine sieve. This basket is spun round at a high speed creating a centrifugal force which causes anything within the basket to be forced against the basket sides. This centrifugal force can be compared to a washing machine spin cycle.

Centrifugal juicers work by feeding the chopped up fruit and vegetables through a chute onto a spinning basket that grates / chops the fruit / vegetable when it comes into contact with the baskets grating base. This grating process releases juice from the plant cells. The spinning action of the basket creates a centrifugal force and the pulp is collects against the basket walls. The juice is also forced to the walls of the basket by the centrifugal force but it passes through the tiny holes in the basket walls and out of the juice ejection spout of the juicer.

Centrifugal juicers as described above will need their basket emptying for about every half pint of juice extracted (the exact amount will depend on what type of ingredient is being passed through the juicer). This can be seen as an inconvenience to the overall juice preparation process as it means we cannot have continuous juicing.

Pulp ejecting centrifugal juicers
Centrifugal juicers that eject the pulp are also available. These differ from standard centrifugal juicers in the fact that instead of being 90 degrees to the base, the side walls are slanted which enables the machine to eject the pulp into a collection bin. This collection bin can be lined with a plastic bag to enable easy removal of the pulp from the collection bin. Due to the fact that the pulp is not kept in the basket as long as standard centrifugal juicers the pulp ejecting centrifugal juicers must spin at a much higher speed to create a greater centrifugal force. This higher centrifugal force ensures that as much juice is extracted from the pulp as possible and is forced through the basket wall before the pulp is ejected into the collection bin. It is important to note that the added convenience of pulp ejection comes at a cost of higher motor noise levels caused by the increase in the basket rpm needed.

Centrifugal juicer citrus press attachments
Many centrifugal juicers come with citrus press attachments which enable citrus fruits to be chopped in half and pressed without the need to remove the outer peel. Some people find this speeds up their juice preparation time although you may get more solids in your juice than if you used the basket.