The Juiceman Jr. ($69.99 at Amazon.com )
Move over Juiceman Sr. you have some competition now. During a recent breakfast party hosted for my friends at my place I decided to test out the Juiceman Jr. Here is some marketing blah blah from the site "The Juiceman Jr. is available in two models, the JM300 and JM400. Each model is ideal for the aspiring health-conscious who are ready to juice up their daily nutritional plan with a new flavor. With viable features such as a 2 speed control switch, 700 watt motor and large feed chute, the concentration taken from whole fruits and vegetables are sure to energize the new juicer and take their health to a higher intensity. The dishwasher safe features makes for easy clean up. A brushed chrome finish is available on the JM400."
What I Made:
We tried out a few things that day. Oranges and grapefruits
were juiced into some tasty mimosas. Apples gave us tasty apple
juice for the little kiddies at the party and carrots, of course,
gave us carrot juice - DUH.
How It Rated:
For the most part the product worked well when I finally figured
out that the pulp comes out the front and the juice comes out the
back. I started juicing and when I realized that my orange juice
was streaming down my kitchen table I immediately stopped what I
was doing to investigate. My bad for not reading the directions,
but it seemed to me that the solids would come out the back and the
liquid out the front (kind of like people, but that is icky).
Once the mess was cleaned up and I reviewed the directions we were in business. We could hardly hear one another however, because the machine is very loud and as I anticipated, not the easiest appliance to clean.
On the bright side of things the resulting juices were amazing. So if you are a hardcore juice drinker (you can juice just about anything with this machine) then you may want to consider picking one of these up, but make sure you read the directions well and avoid juicing when people are asleep.
Michael Volpatt is a self proclaimed foodie and part-time food writer. You can read more of his musings on food and all things epicurean at www.recipephile.org. You can also sign up for the RecipePhile newsletter here.