Juice Junkie - How I Get My Daily Fix! (Kenwood JE550 Juice Extractor)

Member Name: mizzame

Product:	Kenwood JE550 Juice Extractor
Date:	07/05/03 (2323 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Value For Money, Easy to Use, Healthy

Disadvantages: Cleaning, Froth on some juices

I first experienced freshly squeezed juice when I moved to London over 6 years back. It was a bit of a craze at the time and juice bars were popping up in all the 'cooler' parts of town. I've never really liked fizzy drinks in abundance so my fridge was always home to a carton of natural juice of some shape or form. The juices I sampled in the juice bars though were nothing like the gunk we pick up in the supermarkets and so yes I became a JUICE JUNKIE!

After becoming dependent on my daily fix of juice I knew it couldn't continue as each juice purchased was costing me in the region of £3. I had a look around and realised that the easiest and more cost effective answer would be to invest in a juicer. I probably sound like a rich bitch but as a graduate trainee in the music industry I was earning substandard wages in a city that could rob even the richest blind. Juicers range in price form around £20 to way over the £200 mark. I did my homework and in true Mizzame style I was after the chrome model for around £200. Many a Saturday morning or lunch hour would be spent in Liberty's (department store) basement eying up the deluxe 'crème de la crème' juicer that I wanted but at £200 I'd be on the streets if I forked out. I continued to pick up my daily fix form the juice bar, lining their pockets more and more until Christmas 3 years back when my mother answered my prayers!

Mums are great when it comes to bringing you back down to earth, my mum is no exception. She knew what I was after, she also did her homework (Our family always had a subscription to Which? As long as I remember.) so for Christmas 1999 I received the KENWOOD JE550 JUICER. Weighing in at around £29.99 it's a far cry from the £200 baby I really, really yearned for but was probably more inline with my lifestyle! The juicer itself is a compact unit a little smaller than a food processor so nests elegantly on any work service or fits neatly i
n any cupboard. Comprising of a motor unit, pulp collector with filter, juice jug and pusher it's really rather simple but well equipped for the job in hand. If you are familiar with Kenwood kitchen products the JE550 JUICER is styled on par with the other electrical appliances in the Kenwood range so is primarily plastic with a modern look.

GET JUICING!
I'll never forget Christmas morning 1999 I had about a gallon of freshly juiced carrot and apple juice - It felt like heaven! The juicer is very easy to use. The fruit or vegetables need to be cut in to chunks that will fit down the hole, pop the chunks in turn on your juicer and use the pusher to push the chunks through to the filter! Honest it's that easy! The difficult part is to know what to juice. The juicer has 2 speeds which through time I have learnt are best used together - always start of slowly as you'll get more juice from your fruit or veg but should you have a stubborn carrot or a tough apple core the faster speed helps to get them through the filter.

Apple juice is always a winner and whether you like simple apple juice on its own or prefer the more exotic I do find that apples make a great basis for any juice as they thin out the thick and sweeten the sour. Carrots are also handy and as versatile as apples although carrot juice posses a rather refined taste. I have used my juicer religiously since I received it and have fresh juice every morning before I get up. It's a great energy booster and should we be too lazy to climb down stairs to the juicer or be out of fruit and veg we really do notice the difference in our energy levels throughout the day.

So what do I juice? Everything mate, everything! My shopping trolley is always laden with fruit and veg bought for the sole purpose of my daily juice fix. Here are some favourite mixes:

2 oranges & 2 grapefruit (pink grapefruit is slightly sweeter)
4 apples, 1 carrot & a piec
e of fresh ginger
6 apples & half a small fresh beetr
oot (trust me it is delicious)
1 mango & 3 apples (needs apples as dilutant)
2 apples, 2 carrots & a stick of celery (my fave - hubby hates it!)
½ pineapple - gorgeous!
3 apples, an orange and a kiwi fruit

(*each of the above makes approx 2 glasses of juice although varies from fruit to fruit so use your judgment)

We do tend to opt for the fruiter mixtures however I have tried some juices with fresh vegetables rather than fruit - for example: tomatoes, celery and lettuce to combat fatigue or apple, beetroot and parsnip for a multi mineral boost but you need to remember these will offer more savoury juices rather than the sweet fruity ones which most people prefer.

With over 3 years of continued juicing with my KENWOOD JE550, I think the juicer offers real value for money. The jug which forms part of the juicing unit hold 16floz of juice - enough for 2 reasonable sized glasses so great for 'his and hers' breakfast! Without detracting from this beauty after so much juicing my unit is starting to show signs of cracking up - the plastic is starting to ware in places but should I replace the juicer in the near future I would not hesitate to buy this model again. Prices vary from £20 to £30 for this very machine so I would say shop around - Argos will normally charge around £25 and House Of Frasers recently had the JE550 for £19.99.

I have found 2 annoying things about this juicer - cloudy, foamy juice with some mixes which is basically down to the standard of the filter and juice separator (which here is just a small hole in a silly lid for the jug!) and personally I believe the only way to combat the foam is with the more expensive juicers (My chrome 'crème de la crème' £200 model for example). My second gripe is the cleaning - it really is time consuming and fiddly but I believe this is standard from juicer to juicer. My advice i
s clean it as soon as juicing is complete as juices can stain the unit and become stubborn to remove.

All in all this juicer is a winner with me!


MIZZAME's DOS & DONT'S OF JUICING:

DO juice slowly - you'll get more juice

DO pick up reduced fruit and veg for juicing, it saves money and ripe fruits will produce more and sweeter juice. In my opinion organic works best.

DO drink the juice as soon as it's made- vitamins disappear so the sooner you guzzle the juice the more goodness you get. (Should you wish to store the juice add a squeeze of lemon juice as it'll keep better and refrigerate.)

DO dilute strong vegetable juices (beetroot, broccoli, spinach etc) as they can be too much for your delicate system - you cann dilute with apple or water, I prefer apple. (Did I ever tell you about my mate who drank too much beetroot? Hilarious!)

DO dilute all juices for children with an equal amount of water

Do soak the juicer components from time to time in a diluted bleach solution as this helps clean of any discolouring and get to the parts of the juicer that normally you can't. (Obviously I am NOT talking about the motor unit here!)

DON'T be too picky - I never peel or core apples, kiwis or carrots, I just rinse, chop and chuck in, it adds to the goodness. (Peel all citrus fruit to avoid bitter juices)

DON'T mix fruit and veg together - the results can be painful and smelly! (The exception to this rule is apple and carrot, which can be added to anything)

DON'T drink more than 3 x 8oz glasses of juice a day until you're a hardened juice junkie like me.

DON'T blame me when you get hooked!



A great book I have discovered with loads of great recipes and ideas is 'Juicing For Health' by Caroline Wheater covering everything you need to know about juicing and its benefits.

Health war
ning: Fruit juices are high in fruit sugars so people with diabetes should avoid drinking too much.

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