Conference turris::cooks

    Almost forgot.z
    
    If you happen to know of a good brand that's made in U.S.A. I would
    appreciate it.
    
    Kate

There is a variety of juicer (more like a pulverizer) that looks like a tall
stainless steel blender with a reversible motor, and a spigot (like the ones
on party sized coffee pots) at the bottom of the container.  They are always 
advertised in the Old Farmer's Almanac, by the way.

These do not extract the pulp, but blend it along with seeds, peels, and 
anything else you put in.  They also claim to be able to make flour from 
wheat grains, and so on.

I don't have either, but if you are concerned about tossing the fiber in the
pulp, I thought you'd want to know about the alternative.

re: .0

Hi,
   I recently bought a juicer similar in technology to the ones currently
being advertised on the 30-minute infomercials (e.g. like the Juice Tiger
that Jack LeLanne (sp?) is pushing).
   Basicially these things consist of a horizontal stainless steel disk with
some "teeth" in it, mounted at the base of a conical or cylindrical gizmo
which is motorized to spin at about a billion RPM (apologies to Dave Berry -
it doesn't _really_ spin that fast but it's probably in the order of a
thousand RPM or so). The sides of the cylinder or cone are perforated. This
spinning thing sits in an enclosed area and under the disk is a lttle
"drain hole" which leads to a collection chamber. At the top of the
enclosed area above the spinning gizmo is a hopper or chute where you
feed in the fruits or veggies.
   The idea is you feed in the produce and gravity or other force causes
it to hit the toothed plate which rips the cells of the fruit/veggie
apart and allows the moisture to escape the cell walls. All of the
skin/pulp/fiber/stem/seed/etc. stuff gets flung to the sides of the
cone/cylinder and centrifugal force "spins" the liquid out of it so that
the juice can fall down through the drain to the collecting reservoir
while the lighter, drying pulp etc. gets spun out into the enclosure
separately (some models have a separate container that the pulp and stuff
will go into somehow).

   To answer your questions -
    Yes, all of the pulp/fiber is separated from the juice. If you've left
   in the seeds/peels/stems etc., it's kinda all mushed up with that and
   it may not be too appetizing (or even edible, depending upon your
   sensitivities.) If you've peeled/cored/trimmed before hand, the fiber is
   simply separated from the juice and useable for whatever.
    No, this particular type of juicer doesn't use any heat of any sort.

   Comments on mine -
    It's a Hamilton-Beach and it's a relatively inexpensive one. I don't
   think you'd want to do 10 pounds of produce a day in it but for a pint
   of carrot/apple/pear juice every few days it works pretty good for me.
    It occasionally will go "off-balance" when a piece of skin or pulp
   gets hung up on one side of the cone/cylinder rather than being spun
   out (like a washing machine going off balance when the load isn't
   distributed right.) Easy to deal with, but you do have to stop it and
   diasassemble a bit to get to the offending item.

   I've seen this type of juicer range from around $30 (usually on sale)
   to around $200, depending on the features you may be looking for.

-Jack

core and peel before hand...and the resulting fiber can be added to any
muffin mix, quickbread mix, etc. to add extra fiber.

Buy a good juicer and then to get the goodness of veggies down the kids,
try mixing carrot juice with apple (as mentioned)....you can also hide
cabbage juice behind other fruit flavors...and the fiber goes well in
carrot muffins/bread, etc.

    
    I have discovered and used three types of *powered* juicers. The kind I
    like the best is one that looks like a sausage stuffer with a big motor
    attached. You put the food in the top and it is *chewed* by a rotating
    shaft. The pulp comes out (quite dry) where the sausage skin would be
    placed and the juice comes out the bottom.  I have one of these and I
    save the pulp as filler for bread. You can push an unlimited amount of
    food through these things stopping only to change the containers of
    juice or pulp. ($150 plus/minus)
    
    The next kind is built a little like a garbage disposal. You put food
    into the top and in the bottom there is a rotating plate with teeth on
    it. The juice is strained through holes in the sides. In some cases
    filter paper is used to line the inside so as to stop smaller pieces of
    pulp. The reason I don't like these is because the pulp fills up the
    cavity and it has to be emptied before you can continue. If you use the
    filter papers they add a little expense. But if you use the filter papers
    you can get a product that is almost as clear as commercial apple
    juice. ($150 plus/minus)
    
    The last kind is only for citrus juice. It looks like an old hand
    juicer. The old glass hand juicer my mother had was a dish with a
    fluted cone in the middle of it. You pressed half the fruit onto the
    cone and tristed it back and forth. The people at Daymark were selling
    one of these with a motor big enough for a washing machine to twist the
    cone for $89 (marked down from a couple hundred if I remember). 
    in the middle of it. 
    
    Of course you could put the fruit in a garbage bag and drive over it
    in your car and then strain it I suppose. Which is the lowest cost high
    volume method I can think of.
    
    /doug
    

    Just FYI, I have a Braun, the very same model my mother bought
    32 years ago when she was making home-made juices for me as a 
    baby. She still has it, and it works just as well as my new one
    (which I got as a wedding gift).
    As a previous note suggested, the pulp can be used if those parts
    you do not want to ingest are removed before stuffing in the juicer.
    Then, you may use the pulp (accumulates on the sides) as you wish.
    We once tried to make potato pancakes by putting potatoes through
    the Braun, and discarding the juice, using the pulp. Worked out okay,
    except it was a little hard on the machine.
    
    Monica
    
    

    Forgot to add that a family favourite for juice is to make it
    from carrots, apples, celery and a small lemon. Great stuff.
    
    Monica

    Does anyone have any favorite juice "recipes" they'd like 
    to post.
    Thanks,
    Nancy

        I just bought a Moulinex (spelling) juicer.  It was inexpensive
    (under $50) and works great for what I wanted it to do.   
    
        I too would like some favorite "recipes" of you other noters.
    
    thanks

	I've been having a glass of carrot, celery, and lemon juice just
	about every day for a while now.  I use about 4 large carrots, 3
	stalks of celery, and a squirt of lemon juice.  It's pretty yummy
	once you get used to it. 

	I also tried making apple juice w/Macintosh apples.  It was awesome!
	It tasted more like cider than juice.  Also, it was slightly pink
	from the skins.  

	Has anyone tried other veggies in their juicer?

	Sue

    
    try Sue's recipe in .10 and throw in some apples!
    
    Monica

    I had a glass of juice recently that had in it:
    
    carrots
    celery
    green peppers
    red cabbage
    spinach
    swiss chard
    and
    parsely.
    
    It was pretty wild.  :)  My friend says to add a raw potato if you
    like it thick, like a shake.  I thought that a handful or two of fresh
    dill would have gone well in there.  I guess if you're adventurous
    enough you can juice about any edible plant!  Garlic tends to overwhelm
    the rest of the flavors, though.  
    
    chacun a son gout!
    
    P.

    Use four apples and quarter of a lemon (rind and all) for the best
    lemonade, and all natural.
    
    Sasha

My most frequently used recipe is four to six carrots and two to three apples
(quantities depend on size - I gauge it based on what will run through the
 juicer without requiring removal of pulp and juice for a "batch").

It's delicious.

Some that I've tried and not liked too much included:

Beets (Maybe lower concentrations would have been better)

Ripe tomatoes (Guess I'm just spoiled on V8)

-Jack

I happened to recall the other day, as I was contemplating all the stuff
that's going to be sprouting and blooming soon, that I've always been
thwarted by the wild blackberries (thimbleberies?) up here in New
Hampshire.

They're absolutely delicious in taste and juicy as can be in late July or
early August, but they're so miserably seedy that they tend to be unusable
for my tastes.

Has anyone ever tried juicing them? I wonder if you could get all the
"good stuff" out of 'em and easily toss away the seeds with the juicer.

-Jack

    I don't know about blackberries, but I juiced a bunch of raspberries
    (in the blender; I don't have a juicer) and sieved them for a sauce for
    some polenta cake for company last weekend - tasted wonderful!  There
    are so many seeds that the puree is a nuisance to sieve, though.  I
    expect that balckberries are even worse since the wild kind tend to have
    even bigger seeds than raspberries do, but it sounds like it would be
    worth a taste.
    
    /Charlotte

    In the N.E. area Bradlee's has a juicer on sale for 39.99.  It's made
    by Singer (as in Sewing Machines).
    
    Has anyone used it?  If so, is it worth the $$?
    
    thanks ****andrea****

    Yes, I bought the Singer Juicer and I really like it.  I had been
    checking them out for several months and I really can't see why I
    should pay more than $39.99 for one
    
    I have been juicing twice a day now, fruits in the morning and vegies
    in the evening for several week and it's great.
    
    Anne

        Does anyone have the cook book (or should I say juice book) that
    comes with the Juice Man called the "Joy of Juicing" by Gary Null.
    Do they sell this in book stores, or do you have to buy a Juice Man to
    get it.  
    
        I was watching one of those paid advertisments for this and the 
    book sounds like a good reference.  It also had recipes for things to
    do with the pulp.
    
    Can anyone help!

    I know you can order the books seprately from Trillium (Juiceman).  I
    do not have the number with me I may have it at home I will check
    tonight.  
    
    You may want to check your local health food stores for the book you
    can probably find it for a much better price.
    
    Sasha

    
    My wife picked up the Juiceman's book at a Walden Bookstore. The cost
    was $15 I believe.  If you're in the Central Ma. area, she bought it
    specifically at the Auburn Mall.
    
    Larry

    Yesterday I got the hardcover The Juiceman's Power of Juicing Book ($15)
    for $9.99 at BJ's in Westboro.  After just scanning through it, I can't
    wait to try some of the recipe's .
    
    Bob
    
    

There's some sort of Juice Man recipe book now available at Costco in
Nashua. I'm sorry I can't give you any other details besides "it's
where all of the books are in the center of the store." I glanced at
it today, but as I wasn't interested in it, and didn't know anyone
else was, I paid little attention to it.

I go there frequently, so if you send a mail request I might be able to
fill you in better later.

-Jack

    The recipe tips are very helpful.  After years of procrastinating
    (sometimes I need a money-extractor) I bought a Moulinex juicing
    machine.
    
    I didn't see anyone mention grapes here.  THEY ARE EXCELLENT!!!  It's
    worth the price of the maching alone (on sale this week at Caldor; $45
    with a $5 rebate).  The resulting juice is NICE AND THICK, much like
    a shake.
    
    There are cheaper models on the market, but be aware; most are only
    140 watts.  That may be adequate to do the job, but I would think
    a higher powered model does a better job.  Mine is 200 watts.
    
    
    						Fred
    

The basenote and early replies are likely referring to the VITA-MIX
appliance made and marketed by Vitamix Corp. of Ohio.

Since I don't eat raw vegetables I bought one of these machines with
the intent of juicing my vegetables, thereby eating more fiber.

Unlike most juicers (apparently) the Vita-Mix doesn't separate juice
from pulp. It juices the entire fruit/vegetable, including the skin or peel.
They do this by running the blades at 24,000 RPM and on occasion going
from full speed forward to full speed reverse almost instantly -- as fast
as you can throw the switch. There's nothing "left over" to throw out.

I've made the following recipes:

- Banana freeze (Bananas, vanilla, sweetner, ice). Comes out like a
  banana slurpee and is quite good.

- Tomato zing (tomatoes, celery, radish, beef bullion, hot water): OK.
  I put too much celery in and overpowered the tomato.

- Carrot/Apple juice (carrots, apple, water). OK. Needs more apple than
  my "4 Carrot : 1 Apple" ratio.

- Orange "Junius" (Oranges, milk, honey, ice). Real good.

- Carrot/pecan cake (standard ingredients). Excellent.

... as well as The Fred Eines Memorial Grape Drink plus I've chopped tomatoes,
peppers and cheese for nachos.

When you want to make a juice you put in the ingredients and ice or water
and turn the machine on High for a minute or two. At the end of that time
you end up with a smooth drink. Any pulp is there in the drink, noticeable
but not a problem.

When you chop stuff or mix batter you combine the ingredients by setting the
machine to Low and use a few very brief "tap" (on-off) strokes. 3-4 strokes are
enough to chop a cup of almost anything edible. 8 sets of 5 strokes (about a
minute total time) will blend all the ingredients in a batter.

The machine comes with a video that shows many of the techniques so you can
get an idea of what to do. The first thing they do is take a bunch of child's
wooden blocks and grind them into sawdust in about a minute, just to show you
how powerful the unit is. There's also two recipe books covering juices,
soups, ices and baked goods. They make an amazing variety of stuff.

Another selling point for me was ease of cleaning. The unit just rinses out.
In the case of thick, gloppy ingredients the unit can be cleaned by putting
one drop of soap in a couple cups of water and turning the mixer on for
60-90 seconds. Empty and rinse the soap out of the container. Done.

You don't have any pulp to throw out. Everything you put in gets combined
(chopped, pureed, whatever). They recommend you remove the orange part of
orange skins (leaving the white) because the orange part is bitter. Also
they suggest you brush off earth vegetables like carrots and potatoes.
Apples, tomatoes, peppers etc. are usually quartered and tossed in.

All in all I'm pretty pleased with this unit. Of course some of this is the
"new toy" syndrome. In a few months we'll see if I'm still happy with it.

The Vita-mix is not sold in stores. The parent company has been around since
1921 or so, so this is not a fly-by-night operation. If you want to order one
you'll have to call 1-800-VITAMIX. I have the Vita-Mix 4000, 7-year warranty,
costing about $350 though I forget the details. If you call at night ask for
Lisa, she was a great help with some shipping problems.

  John