Take your morning routine to the next level.
You can only get in so many vitamins, minerals and antioxidants by eating raw fruits and veggies alone. It just isn’t practical to ingest bags upon bags of leafy greens every morning, no matter how committed you are to your health. That’s where juicing comes in. The process extracts, retains and concentrates the nutrients from produce while leaving the bulk behind, making getting in your daily servings a much more reasonable task.
And with all of the fancy models available today—ones that incorporate commercial-grade extraction tech and make assembly and cleanup a breeze—you’ll discover countertop juicers are worth their weight in vitamin C. Some of the most useful ones even double as nut butter-, sorbet- and oat milk-making machines. Here are seven high-end, functional designs that will improve your well-being along with the look of your kitchen counter.
Smeg CJF01 Electric Citrus Juicer
Photo: Courtesy of Smeg
Single-use appliances are almost always a poor investment. Be honest: How often do you really use that waffle iron? When it comes to dedicated citrus squeezers, however, we make an exception. The SMEG CJF01 electric citrus juicer is both stylishly designed and incredibly useful—because sometimes all you want is a simple glass of orange juice, not an intricate, high-tech contraption to grapple with. The 70-watt machine is equipped with a BPA-free dome lid, integrated sensor that activates when pressure is applied, stainless steel and anti-corrosive reamer and strainer, and non-drip spout to deliver breakfast juice or cocktail ingredients directly to your glass in a few seconds flat. SMEG’s line of 1950s-inspired, retro juicers are simple to clean, have die-cast aluminum bodies and come in glossy pastel colors with polished chrome bases. You’ll want to display the appliance right on your counter and use it every day, much to the chagrin of your neglected waffle iron.
Pure Hydraulic Cold-Press Juicer
Photo: Courtesy of Pure
When doctors prescribe juicing as a holistic health therapy, they often recommend two-stage machines, ones that grind and press separately. This way, the juice is super concentrated with live enzymes and soluble fiber and the nutrient-rich, insoluble fiber-packed pulp can be saved, frozen and consumed later in other applications. The PURE hydraulic cold-press juicer supposedly yields more of this type of intense, antioxidant-filled juice than any of its two-stage competitors. Made from food-grade stainless steel, the 65-pound PURE does, as the name suggests, require more steps than a typical centrifugal or masticating juicer. You’ll need to select the right size grind plate for your job (smaller holes for coffee beans, larger holes for fibrous greens), send the juice through a cloth bag and strainer, and then smash the pulp in a hydraulic press to get out every last drop of liquid. The machine is built to maximize its health benefits for decades; it even comes with a 12-year warranty.
Breville 3X Bluicer Pro
Photo: Courtesy of Breville
For those who prefer their juice flavored with a little vodka, Breville’s 3X Bluicer Pro may be the multi-function appliance for you. This “Bluicer” is a juicer and a blender in one. (A juicer separates juice from pulp; a blender combines the two.) A single, brushed stainless steel base acts as the brains for both. When using it as a juicer, an extra-wide feed chute allows you to throw in full-sized fruits and veggies without having to waste time pre-chopping. The juice dispenses into a big, 1.5-liter blender jug, which can then be topped off with ice, frozen fruit, alcohol, or other add-ins. Just remove the juicer assembly from the motor base and replace it with the jug. Then you can utilize it as a blender to make cocktails, slushies, creamy smoothies, acai bowls and more. The five program options and 10 speed controls allow you to use it as a food processor and ice crusher, as well. But truthfully, you may not stretch your mixing skills beyond crafting fruity frozen margaritas and piña coladas from scratch, and that’s perfectly, deliciously OK, too.
Hurom H-AA Slow Juicer
Photo: courtesy Hurom
If you can chew it, Hurom can juice it. That’s the motto of the brand’s flagship model, at least, which gnaws up fruit, veggies, nuts, seeds and beans to create juice, smoothies, nut and grain milk, tofu and even ice cream. The sleek H-AA Slow Juicer incorporates “slow squeeze” tech to mimic the process of juicing by hand. Its auger rotates at a leisurely 43 revolutions per minute, which helps retain the produce’s freshness and natural nutrients, while squeezing out every last bit of juice. And the machine comes with multiple-sized strainers so you can control how much pulp shows up in your finished glass. The compact and quiet machine is easy to assemble and take apart, contains multiple safety sensors and a built-in cooling system to prevent overheating and doesn’t have any sharp blades. Your kids could safely be engaged in the juicing action with you, which may inspire them to get excited about drinking their greens and hopefully, also motivate them to help with the cleanup.
Nama Vitality 5800
Photo: Courtesy of Kava
When a company only makes one thing, it’s usually an indication that it takes its product seriously. Nama—a company with investors who include Joe Cross (the documentarian behind Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead)—makes a single model of a single cold-press juicer: the Vitality 5800. This masticating juicer simulates chewing (“masticate” means “chew”) to gradually crush and press ingredients, as opposed to violently shredding them on a spinning blade like in a centrifugal juicer. Masticating reduces the nutrients’ and enzymes’ exposure to heat and air, keeping them as pure and colorful as possible. The Vitality 5800’s design is versatile as well, so much so that the hopper can be attached in multiple orientations to accommodate right- and left-handed users and the parts stack together for easy storage.
Kuvings Master Chef CS700
Photo: Courtesy of Kuvings
Is your middle name Juice Cleanse? Then you need a workhorse juicer built for business. The Kuvings Master Chef CS700 gets the job done. Designed for cafes, restaurants and juice bars, this pro-quality juicer is equipped with a 200-watt motor that will run for 24 hours straight, is constructed from heavy-duty and rust-resistant stainless steel, and is certified by NSF, the nonprofit tasked with making sure foodservice products don’t leak harmful chemicals or harbor bacteria. Kuvings’ slow juicer was the first commercial model on the market. Its 3.5-inch feed shoot accommodates whole apples and citrus fruits, practically eliminating prep time and its safety flip gate and auto-feed function cut out the need for a pusher. You don’t even have to slow down when the juicing bowl or strainer backs up with debris; this model comes with two full sets of top parts, so you can quickly swap them out and save the scrubbing for later.
Angel Juicer 8500
Photo: Courtesy of Angel
Your first exposure to a juicer was probably a horizontal one at a novelty juice counter in the early 2000s. You probably watched in awe as wheatgrass was stuffed into the chute and neon-green liquid instantly came out the other end. You probably drank the verdant shot and were convinced right then and there that this was the future of health. Congratulations, you were right about juice. Today, using Angel Juicer’s 8500 horizontal juicer replicates that early amazement, but now gives you way more than wheatgrass juice. The 180-watt, twin-gear juicer can also churn out things like baby food, minced herbs and nut butter. Plus, this “Rolls Royce of juicers” is made entirely of surgical-grade stainless steel and has an anti-jamming auto-reverse function to cut out jams. And with a horizontal setup, as opposed to a centrifugal, vertical one, produce experiences less friction and oxidation, fewer moving parts means fewer pieces susceptible to clogs, and the juice doesn’t froth and foam. The future of health really has arrived.
