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Not Australian and Not Compact!
It's a real shame that when we plan to purchase a juicer, there isn't a store that has all the major models and brands lined up for comparison. We are fortunate that at least there's the web where we can check out various sites and reviews. When I began juicing roughly 30 years ago there was very, very little information out there. Of course, we also didn't have to put up with silly Juiceman and LaLanne infomercials!
Juicing is a different world now. It's gotten fashionable, even showing up on Martha Stewart. The consequence is that an awful lot of really lousy juicers have come on the market, intended to make a quick buck for someone and then be gone again. We have gone from a very few brands, like the Acme and Champion, to a couple-dozen, and most of them mediocre.
Breville came in on the tide of juicing popularity with home models that have received notice for their quality and capability. This is truly in contrast to other multi-line appliance makers (think Braun, Krups, Oster, GE, Sunbeam, etc) whose juicers are best considered jokes. These juicers appear to appeal to those who want something better than the infomercial juicers but who aren't ready for something as serious as a masticating or twin-gear machine. Additionally, Breville has made a point of marketing huge chutes for their machines, actually taking entire pieces of fruit at a time.
I have owned more juicers than I can remember, and currently own around a dozen in different brands and types. I thought it was time to try a Breville, as they appear to be so popular and I wanted to discover the reason. I had no intention of spending a price on a Breville that would purchase a top-quality serious juicer. After looking at various models I decided on this 'Compact' model with the thought of possibly taking it on the road with me.
First: this ain't no compact. Though it doesn't have a separate pulp container, this machine is fully as large in footprint as the big Acme or Omega centrifugals. Compared to my two other compact machines, the L'Equip Mini and Omega O2, this machine is enormous. It also stands a good 2-3 inches higher on the counter. As I am not familiar with Breville's other models, I can only imagine they are enormous! Any idea that this 'Compact' would travel in a gym bag on the road are gone.
Second: I was curious re the 14,000rpm speed of this machine, roughly twice the average pulp ejector's speed. The little Chinese motor truly flies on this machine! As produce is introduced it is flung more violently than any other ejector I've seen. Perhaps as a consequence of its ultra-high-speed rotation, the basket screen on this machine is interesting. It's much finer than any I've seen before, almost a fabric instead of showing distinct visible holes. This is truly neither an advantage or disadvantage; the pulp left in the juice after finishing is roughly the same as the L'Equip and Omega models. A consequence of this speed of rotation is that much more froth is produced. I've had beers with less head than this!
The true peculiarity of this machine is that it's a pulp ejector that doesn't eject! The pulp is collected in an integral container surrounding the basket. It's what makes the footprint on this machine so large. It also means that, unlike conventional pulp ejectors with their separate receptacle, one has to stop this machine and empty the pulp container. On a conventional model, one can just dump the receptacle and keep going. Therefore, this machine must be compared to a conventional centrifugal juicer like an Acme or Omega, as they also must be used batch-style.
When compared with a conventional centrifugal, this machine comes up short. The big centrifugals rotate at 3600rpm instead of 14,000. The faster rotation not only makes juicing juicy fruits harder, the pulp ejecting design means somewhat less juice is extracted. Obviously, anyone concerned with oxidation of juice wouldn't be buying this machine anyway, would they?
I don't juice fruit in a vegetable juicer, so I can't comment on that. I am from the old school where we learned not to mix fruits and vegetables when juicing. I don't know whether the separation is valid, but I eat fruit and juice vegetables. This machine does a quite acceptable job at the standard carrots, radishes, and beets that I juice daily. It appears to do no better or worse than any other machine of this type on leafy greens. At least Breville is honest enough to note in the owner's manual that this isn't the machine for that.
If one indeed juices the standard vegetables, particularly carrot and beet, expect discoloration of that stylish smoked plastic. This can of course be cleaned off with bleach or Cascade if it's a real issue.
One consequence of a railroad-tunnel-sized feed tube is that produce will certainly try to bounce right out on introduction. A quick hand on the pusher is necessary.
Of course, this is yet another juicer made in Communist China. Rather amusing that their ads always show some Aussie chick touting their juicers. Why not an Asian model instead? The ones made in this country are the old reliables: Champion, Acme and Moline. If that's an issue to you.
In summary, it seems like a nice juicer, but not a standout when compared to the two equivalent juicers: the L'Equip Mini and the Omega O2. All are good juicers for light to moderate juicing, and for people who don't want to juice many dark leafy greens.
[Friday, October 03, 2008]
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Excellent juicer
I will gladly recommend this Juicer to anyone. I use it for everything; soup, sauces, dressings and of course all the awesome juice concoctions you can think of.
This thing is a snap to clean up as well. There are just a few parts you can rinse and throw in the dishwasher. They provide a handy brush for the blade. You will have to empty it in the middle of juicing, if you are making more that three cups of juice, but that is simple enough.
It is really powerful device as well. I have used this and the larger more expensive version and noticed little difference in performance, the only difference seems to be a couple added features. I give this thing a A+++++
[Monday, September 29, 2008]
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