Consumer Reports Tests Best Juicers

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – If you want to get more fruits and vegetables into your diet, juicing is an easy option.

Sales of juicers topped one and a half million last year. Consumer Reports tested to find out which are worth trying and which you should forget.

Michelle Morrill says juicing has become so popular that customers seek out her store for its nutritious smoothies and juices.

"Since the time we opened 'til now there's a lot more people juicing," Morrill says.

Consumer Reports just tested more than a dozen juicers that you can use at home.

"In addition to juicing performance, we pay close attention to how easy these machines are to use and to clean. If they're really hard to use and clean, you might not take them out as often," Dan DiClerico said.

Consumer Reports says look for a juicer with a wide-mouth feeding tube, so that there's less chopping and prepping.

"In general, our tests found that the very inexpensive juicers, $50 or less, tended to be lacking. They really fell to the bottom of our ratings," says DiClerico.

Most don't extract as much juice as pricier machines. And this $40 West Bend's smaller feed tube requires extra prep work.

But some expensive juicers aren't the best choices, either.

For example, this $500 Kitchen Aid. While it rated excellent for juicing, look at how many parts it comes with! You'll be cleaning ALL this after you enjoy your drink.

A better, less expensive option — this Breville for $300. It features professional touches like stainless steel, a wide-mouth feed tube, and a container for juice. It's also very easy to clean.

For far less, Consumer Reports also recommends this $100 Juiceman.

It delivers a pulpier juice than the Breville, and while it's not all stainless steel, it has many of the same conveniences, like a wide mouth and a juice container.

Another option is a blender. Consumer Reports tests those, too. The very best, is also very expensive — $650.

It's the Vitamix Professional Series 750. However, the $200 Dash Chef Series Digital also did a good job blending up icy drinks and smoothies.

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