Guide on Choosing the Right Commercial Juicer
Fresh fruit and vegetables are an important component of any balanced diet. Making sure you get the proper number of servings every day can be exceptionally difficult though. Given the number of time constraints on the average person's day, there isn't a lot of time to fix juice before heading off to work.
For these reasons, many health-conscious bakeries, coffee houses and even health and fitness facilities are beginning to offer fresh juice made from fresh ingredients as part of their regular menu. If you run such an operation though, how do you know which commercial juicer is the right one for your business? Let's take a look at the most important considerations for choosing a commercial grade juicer.
Important Considerations
Speed
How fast can you juice and serve a beverage? This is first and foremost on the list of considerations because the speed of operation takes precedence over all other factors. You need a juicer that has sufficient volume to produce lots of juice quickly, and you need a commercial juicer that can handle whole or large pieces of fruits and vegetables to cut down on preparation time. Customers want their healthy morning, afternoon or evening drink quickly, and investing in a commercial-grade juicer is unlikely to yield any return unless you can serve fresh juice fast.
Ease of Operation
Using your commercial grade juicer should not require you to keep the manual in one hand while you process fruits and veggies into the hopper. Load, juice, pour: that's all there should be to the process. Additional features are nice, but if you buy a commercial-grade juicer that makes the process any more complicated than that, you are unlikely to get much use out of it.
Build Quality
If you have customers ordering juice all day every day, there is going to be some wear and tear that goes along with operating your commercial juicer. You need to ensure that it's built sturdily enough to handle that kind of rigorous use, and it's a very good idea to do some research on commercial juicers regarding build quality.
Motor
Check out the technical specifications on the motor before you make a purchase. See what kind of horsepower high-end/top-tier commercial-grade juicers can put out, and shop for a model within your budget accordingly. The more powerful the motor, the less work your juicer has to do with each use and (theoretically) the longer it should last.
Mechanism Type
There are three types of commercial juicers: manual, electric mastication, and electric centrifugal juicers.
Manual Juicers
Using no electricity, manual juicers allow the operator to turn a crank, move a lever or operate a press to extract juice from fruits and vegetables with a force of nearly 2,000 lbs. Manual models also take up less space and are whisper quiet compared to electric models. Additionally, they make a great addition to bars and restaurants where fresh fruit juice is integral to signature cocktails.
Electric Masticating juicers
The operating mechanism of this type of juicer grates fruits and vegetables before “chewing” or masticating them to break them down further. Finally, the pulp is squeezed to extrude the juices into a serving. Masticating juicers provide some of the highest quality juices thanks to their processing from pulp and retaining some of the fiber contents of their ingredients even after the pressing process. The drawback to this model is that it takes longer to process a drink, so be sure to factor this consideration into your speed of operation calculations.
Centrifugal Juicers
As the noisiest of the trio, centrifugal juicers make juicing faster, but they come with their own set of drawbacks. Using a shredding disc to process food like a grater, centrifugal juicers can process the most ingredients with minimal delay. There are a few drawbacks though: the heat generated by the shredding blades can cause the juice to oxidize more quickly, adversely affecting the flavor. Additionally, centrifugal juicers don't typically process leafy greens well, and they
Cost to Value Ratio
Consider the upfront cost of your juicer, add the average cost of annual maintenance and total both up with the cost of ingredients for juice drinks. Use this sum to calculate what a profitable price-per-drink will be, and set the projected profit from the sale of juice drinks against the upfront costs, maintenance and ingredient cost. The cost of operating a commercial juicer versus the money it brings in establishes the cost to value ratio. If you like where that number is, by all means, invest. If not, then it may be wise to consider an alternative juicer.
Reliability
No business owner wants to deal with frequent equipment breakdowns and expensive repairs. Find out what critics and users say about specific commercial juicer models, and pay close attention to reviews that mention repairs or reliability.
Maintenance
No matter how well a commercial juicer works or functions, if it's difficult or complex to maintain it's often not worth the investment. Learn all you can about how to properly clean and maintain a specific commercial grade juicer model before you invest in one.
Are you looking to add a commercial juicer to your establishment? Irving and Grand Prairie Locals rely on Texas Restaurant Supply and their wide selection of commercial-grade appliances and equipment to suit any need and budget. Contact us or visit one of our two convenient locations for more information.