Juicers for the home...what’s your opinion? Cold-press or regular press?

Our citrus trees are starting to bear fruit, and there’s nothing more lovely than fresh-squeezed orange juice with breakfast or a fresh-squeezed lemonade made with Meyer lemons. What do you all use at home? Has anyone delved into the cold press world? We’ve picked up the $10 container from Whole Foods a couple of times and it is good, but it’s a steep price to pay for orange juice. Would love to get your suggestions and thoughts.
Thanks!

Which home juicers are not cold-press?

I like Juice-O-Mats. You can get vintage ones cheap on eBay or at thrift stores. I don’t know why that simple design is extinct.

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@robert This is more my husband’s idea than mine. I’ve actually never considered getting a juicer before.

That’s a good looking juicer!

Mine’s not as pretty as that one, but it works fine.

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@robert What are some tips you can offer in selecting one? Are there certain questions or options I should look for?
How should one clean it and maintain it after purchasing?
Sorry for all the questions…this kind of machinery is completely outside of my comfort zone.

I don’t juice citrus specifically, but my parents have a citrus juicer that looks similar to this. Theirs isn’t Braun though – don’t remember the brand, but it basically turns on when you press the citrus half on the top, and it spins around to extract the juice. There’s a pulp filter along the inside rim to strain out any pulp before filtering the juice through the spout. It actually works really well.

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Not speaking for Robert, but if you find an older used citrus juicr, it’s probably been through a lot of juicing. This is probably a good thing in that the parts - particularly the arm/lever that you pull down on - are probably pretty strong.

We got one back in the 90s - from Williams Sonoma - and used it a lot. After about four-five years, the arm broke off while I was cranking it down to squeeze our oranges.

Cleaning is pretty basic. Rinse off, get any citrus debirs out of the various parts (it might have a part or two that disassembles). The cupped part that comes in direct contact with the citrus skin might require some dishwashing soap to remove the residue from the citrus skin and oils. Air dry.

Citrus trees can be a mixed blessing. It’s great to have various citrus fruits on hand and being able to choose the appropriate varieties that you prefer for your zone is a plus.

For me, the negative is the mess and pests. This applies particularly to oranges and tangerines. If your tree is happy, it will produce far more fruit than you can literally handle. You have to constantly check fruit and harvest. If not, the fruit will fall of and more than likely be bruised and rot quickly. The fallen fruit is what you juice first.

Critters love citrus trees. Whitelflies, scale, fruit flies, rats, squirrels, possums, some birds, etc. Be proactive and manage your trees and their productivity. Our orange tree produced two crops a year (winter crop is the best). Rats, squirrels and possums were frequent guests at the peak times twice a year. They will literally clean out the inside of an orange, leaving only the skin.

Also, keep the tree to a manageable size. If you can’t reasonably reach all parts of your tree (aided or unaided), it’s too big. Those parts that you can’t reach will be the areas of potential problems.

We removed our tree because we couldn’t properly maintain it during our remodel. Our concern was pests moving through all of the open walls etc. This remodel coincided with our kids requiring a lot more time (sports, social gatherings etc.). So time (or lack of) was the factor.

Limes and lemons don’t seem to draw critters like the sweeter citrus. Even insect pests don’t seem to be an issue.

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Rotary powered citrus juicers like that don’t work much better than the similar old-fashioned manual ones. I had one years ago, either a Braun or a Krups, that stopped working within two years. I took it apart and found that there it was planned obsolescence, there was a plastic piece designed to wear out.

My Juice-O-Mat’s handle is heavy, solid metal. I think my hand would break before it would.

At least here in Berkeley, Meyer lemon bushes grow like weeds.

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That image of your juicer looks like it was made when phrases like planned obsolescence and maximizing margins weren’t commonplace.

If our juices we’re war machines, your’s is a Panser. Mine was a Type 95 ha-go.

My parents’ juicer is about 34 years old. My mom bought it when I was in Girl Scouts and needed to make fresh orange juice for a troop breakfast (I still remember thinking it was the coolest machine ever at the time). Still works great. I just used it last month to juice a bunch of limes and lemons for marinade and margaritas for a crowd. Sounds like you got a bum one.

I’m sure there are solidly built motorized rotary citrus juicers out there, but they probably cost more than $20.

Some other juicers. I use the red one when I’m just juicing a small amount since it can go in the dishwasher. Got it second-hand in 1984.

I didn’t see that the OP was on a budget of $20… I must be missing that part. Or are you saying you would not spend more than $20?

I have a Breville Juicer for large quantities, but most of the time I use one of these two. I use the cup version for lemons and the squeeze kind for limes. I rarely juice orangesbut I’ll use the cup one if I do need OJ for a marinade.
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Juicers like the crappy motorized rotary one I bought that didn’t last two years cost under $20.

@boogiebaby @robert There currently is no budget until I can get a better handle on the models and options available. I do want something that will last a while…the lure of the Juice-O-Mat is pretty cool in that respect.
Something easy to maintain is ideal, too.
This is a very interesting conversation to get lots of ideas and opinions from the entire spectrum. I feel like I’m learning a lot.

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I’m 70 and one like this was Mother’s. It works great.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Wear-Ever-Hand-Press-Aluminum-Juicer-/132290769179

Image result for vintage juicer

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Elegant design.

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I’ve never thought of that but you’re right, aren’t you? It’s just something that works for me. And of course it has my parents (invisible) fingerprints all over it :slight_smile:

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We also use one of these when I just need a small measure for a recipe.

https://www.ebay.com/i/142650915887?chn=ps

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