I have to confess that I am not a "juice person", although my family enjoys their nutrition in a glass occasionally.
I have always preferred to eat fresh fruit and veggies rather than drink them. These days, as a diabetic, I also consider them a healthy snack, so juice is not a part of my diet, unless you count the South Indian "rasam" which I am very fond of, but that's another story. I also like chilled smoothies once in a while.
When I was offered the Kent Cold Pressed Juicer to use for 3-4 days to review and return, I was intrigued. I had read about the benefits of cold-pressed juice and the science behind why it is considered healthy and nutritious. Also, I am always ready to try something new.
As I looked forward to "meeting" the juicer in person, I read up some more on cold pressed juices.
So why cold pressed juice?
Why not simply run it in a regular juicer?- Regular juicers oxidize the fiber and nutrients via the heat generated from high-speed spinning, resulting in a loss of nutrients. Since no heat is generated in the cold pressed juicer, there's no loss of nutrients. The vitamins and enzymes, are retained, so it is more healthy. Think of a giant hand squeezing the fruit directly into a glass. (I know, right?)
- More juice from the same quantity of veg and fruit.
- Great way to get your five colors a day, and increasing your intake of fruits and veggies. Think nutrient blast to your system!
- Good detox system via a nutrient dense food with added health benefits such as:
- Stronger immune system
- Better mental alertness
- Helps with weight loss
- Better digestion
- More energy
- Keeps you looking young longer
- Fights inflammation, the cause of most pain
All good, eh?
So, I was all set to try this wonder machine.
The stylish and good-looking juicer arrived.
Kent Cold Pressed Juicer
The company folks who brought it gave me a quick tutorial on how to assemble it - easy peasy, really. It also came with a detailed user manual with tips.
I read through the manual and noted the following:
Only use fresh fruits and veggies.
Ideal juicing candidates are pineapples, beetroots, apples, pomegranate, tangerine, grapes, cucumber, carrot and melon. Leafy vegs like lettuce and celery are also okay.
No need to peel , except for beetroot, watermelon, pineapple, tangerine. Duh! eh?
Avoid starchy fruits like banana, papaya, figs, mangoes - which are better off in a blender. Also, no fibrous fruit like sugarcane
Cold pressed juice is best consumed fresh, as it can lose its taste and nutritional value if exposed to air.
My experience Gathering sweet lime, papaya, pineapple, apple and tomato, and the pepper mill to add some pizzaz to the juice, I was all set to try the Kent Cold Pressed Juicer. I was thrilled to have my friends join me!
I already mentioned good looking. I cleared a substantial part of my kitchen counter as the juicer is heavy and needs space.
We peeled the sweet lime (Mosambi) and cored the apple. Pineapple was skinned and cut in pieces. Cutting the tomatoes in two was the work of a moment. Papaya, well. It was already sliced and ready.
Kent Cold Pressed Juicer's motor is low speed, powerful yet quiet and the juice flowed smoothly. This retains fiber, nutrition and taste.
The four mosambis took less than a minute to cold press. I wondered if I had to clean the meshed jar before juicing the next fruit, but became adventurous enough to see if I could go ahead and add the next fruit, apple, which was fine, since the juicer was okay with it.
Next in was the papaya, and since the squeezed pulp didn't come out as smoothly, I decided to clean up the juicer before proceeding with the next fruit.
My lovely friend and Chief Juice Taster was eager, ready and waiting to put the mosambi juice to the taste bud test. I think this photo says it all. Mmmmuah to her!
While the juicer was quite easy to dismantle and clean, it did take a little time to get all the pulp out of the jar's grooves. It came with a brush that helped speed up the job. I also found that some juice had leaked on to the motor and wiped it quickly.
Next in was tomato.
Oh, tomato! The juice poured out nicely, but a lot of skin got stuck to the jar's sides, which meant dismantling and cleaning it quickly before our final fruit for the day. I know the manual said avoid papaya but again, I was curious and ran it through the juicer. The juice was like a smoothie, but the pulp was also juicy.
Here is our total output for day 1: mosambi, tomato, pineapple, papaya and apple
Did I mention that there is a reverse motor action to clear blockage? Yes, there is, and it is quite convenient to nudge the pulp out. Also, there were two jars one with a fine mesh for tougher fruits and the other with a slightly wider mesh for softer fruits and veg.
It was fascinating to see the juice flowing smoothly through one outlet and the husk extruded out from the other outlet, into individual containers that come with the juicer.
I had plans to try some veg juices the following day since I had to go shop for them. I did have cucumber, but no way was I going to juice them.
So on Day 2, here's what I didI got beetroot, carrot, mosambi and tomato ready. Too bad my friends had to go to school and I missed them!
The mosambi juiced just fine, just like the day before. One stupid thing I did was-I forgot to remove the seeds. Next thing I knew, I had some slightly bitter juice. Sigh.
Then I went with beetroot, which produced frothy juice in that fabulous shade of maroon. I was a little surprised to find that the juiced beetroot from the other outlet was still pulpy and quite wet. Slivers of the beetroot were also stuck to the presser and jammed it into the jar, which I later managed to dismantle.
I rinsed the juicer and got set for carrot juice. Which never happened. The carrot simply got shredded and a tiny amount of juice trickled out. I wondered if the pieces I put in were too large, but no. No matter how much I cajoled the juicer, carrot was just not happening. I then cleared the partially shredded carrot from the juicer and rinsed it again. I really was looking forward to the carrot juice.
Finally, in went the six tomatoes and I got a glass of cold pressed tomato juice. Again, the skin had gotten plastered to the inside of the jar on the mesh and I brushed it out and cleaned up the juicer.
Here's the beetroot, mosambi, tomato and carrot juice.
Did not try nut milk shakes, but apparently that is also possible with Kent Cold pressed juicer, which I found quite interesting.
What I learned:While making cold pressed juice, don't forget to core the apple and de-seed the sweet lime, or you'll end up with bitter juice.
The outlet from which the pulp exits has to be prodded a little, perhaps because the outlet is a little narrow and a tad longer than it needs to be.
Overall, a fun experience. If your family enjoys juices, the Kent Cold Pressed Juicer is a great way to stay healthy and get your "five a day", easily, quickly and tastily, nutrition intact.
Do you enjoy cold-pressed juice? Do you make them?
Writer, editor, blogger, social media enthusiast. Love DIY, Coffee, Music, Reading, Photography, Family, Friends and Life. Mantra: Happiness is a DIY Project. In my free time I play with my dust bunnies and show my diabetes who's boss. Tweet as @vidyasury
