How Does a Cold Press Juicer Work? Working Mechanism

I know there’s a lot of fuss going on about a cold press juicer and people who love juicing are purchasing it like a hot piece of cake. The question, however, arises that how does a cold press juicer work?

More precisely, does it make nutrient-rich juice? In simple words, what differentiates it from a centrifugal juicer?

Today, I will focus on the working interface of a cold press juicer. Not only that, but I will also compare it with a centrifugal juicer and see how it edges a traditional juicer.

Note: Cold Press Juicer has two other names as well, i.e., Slow Juicer and Masticating Juicer. So, don’t get confused when someone talks about a slow/cold-press/masticating juicer. They are all the same.

Let us dive right into clearing all our confusions about a cold press juicer now:

How Does a Cold Press Juicer Work?

I’ll get started with the basic structure as it’s necessary to understand the shape, body, and different peripherals of a cold press juicer.

Have a look:

1. Electric Base:

The electric base of the juicer resembles the design and shape of a stand mixer.

To the base, you attach other accessories of the juicer so that it could work properly.

2. Chute:

Secondly, a cold press juicer comes with a chute. It’s not wide enough. So, you have to cut different food ingredients to insert them.

3. Auger:

The most important part of the juicer. It does the work of crushing food ingredients.

Auger does not only perform the crushing process. But, it also squeezes the juice from fruits and vegetables perfectly.

4. Pulp Collector:

While the auger works on extracting juice from the squeezed food, pulp is getting collected in a pulp collector.

It’s interconnected with the auger and collects all the remains, without causing any problem.

5. Extraction Carafe:

At last, the extraction carafe or pitcher is present just below the auger. From there, it collects fresh juice that you can drink afterward.

You could use a glass cub or a bowl to collect the juice as well. (In case your cold press juicer doesn’t come with a separate collecting pitcher.)

That’s all about the basic structure. I’m pretty much sure that now you have an idea about how a cold press juicer will look like.

Moving forward, let us now look at how all parts in a cold press juicer work to extract fresh juice:

Working Mechanism of a Cold Press Juicer:

1. Inserting Food in the Chute:

Cut the food you want to extract into smaller pieces.

You’ll have to do it because most of the cold press juicers have narrow feeding chute.

2. Turn the Juicer On:

Turn on the juicer and push the food towards the auger using a plastic spatula.

3. Let the Auger Do Its Job:

Whenever food passes from chute, the auger starts working without creating any heat or fiction.

Usually, a slow juicer comes with a slow motor running on around 60 to 70 revolutions per minute (RPM).

Hence, the auger separates juice from the pulp and starts extracting it further.

4. Juice Collection:

A collection pitcher is already placed just below the auger where you’ll collect the extracted juice.

5. Little to No Heat Production:

There is little to no heat or friction produced during the whole process. As a result, all nutrients remain in the juice, which makes cold-press juice healthier.

To Conclude:

Working interface of a cold press juicer focuses on reducing heat production while extracting juice.

Auger, an important accessory used in the juicer squeezes, crushes, and separates the juice from the pulp.

As it stands, cold-pressed juice contains more nutrients and fibers compared to the juice made in a centrifugal juicer.

The story doesn’t end here.

I’m about to compare and contrast a cold-press juicer with a centrifugal juicer as well.

So, have a look at it:

Cold Press Juicer vs Centrifugal Juicer: What’s the Difference?

Let me clean one confusion first. A centrifugal juicer is a typical juicer that everyone uses in a kitchen to extract instant juice and fresh smoothies, etc.

Here are some major differences between a cold press juicer and a centrifugal juicer:

1. Shape and Body:

The whole shape and body of a cold press juicer defer from a centrifugal juicer.

Starting with the slow juicer first, it consists of a chute that leads to an auger where food is crushed and squeezed to extract juice, which is collected in a pitcher.

Contrary to that, a centrifugal juicer consists of X-shaped blades attached to the electric base. Mind you that the blades aren’t detachable. You fit a pitcher on it and put all food ingredients in it and turn on the juicer. It then pulverizes the solid food and makes juice accordingly.

2. Motor RPM (Revolutions Per Minute)

A cold press juicer comes with a low wattage motor, first of all. The revolutions it makes are barely 60 to 70 per minute.

Compared to that, a centrifugal juicer has a high wattage motor installed in it. It offers 5000 to 6000 revolutions per minute.

That’s the main reason heat buildup issue arises in a centrifugal juicer.

3. Time Taken for Each Extraction:

No doubt, a cold press juicer takes a lot of time to extract juice. That’s because it focuses on reducing friction and heat. So, to extract a single cup of juice, you’ll have to wait for at least 10 minutes.

In contrast, a centrifugal juicer with a heavy duty motor barely takes 2 minutes to prepare fresh juice. It doesn’t care about the friction and heat buildup so the time taken is less than a cold press juicer.

4. Nutrients Exploitation:

Coming to the main point, a cold press juicer doesn’t exploit nutrients. There’s reduced heat and friction as the auger moves way too slowly. Therefore, the final product is rich in vitamins, minerals, fibers, and taste.

However, that’s not the case with a centrifugal juicer. Although it takes less time to make juice, in doing so, it produces a lot of heat and friction.

This results in nutrient exploitation as the end product only contains poorly pulverized fruits or vegetables.

5. Cost Difference:

Last but not the least, both juice types differ in their costs.

A cold-press juicer, being better and efficient starts from $100 and goes as high as $500.

So, one could say that slow juicers are quite expensive.

When it comes to centrifugal juicers, the price range is quite affordable. I’ve purchased many centrifugal juicers somewhere between $40 to $60 and they work to the expectations.

Which Juicer Takes the Crown?

In terms of vital nutrients retention, a cold-press juicer definitely takes the crown from a centrifugal juicer.

But, the problem is that these machines are costly, plus they require a lot of time to extract juice.

That’s, however, not the case with a centrifugal juicer, which costs less than 100 bucks. Plus, it takes less than 2 minutes to prepare two to three cups of fresh juice.

Some Last Words:

This was all about explaining how does a cold press juicer work. Not only that, but I also gave insights about basic comparison and contrast between a basic juicer and a slow juicer.

So, what should you prioritize? I think you should invest in a cold-press juicer if you want to remain healthy. Mind you that the extract of a slow juicer is way healthier and rich in vital nutrients compared to a centrifugal juicer.

Got feedback to share? Comment it down below as I love to respond to positive and negative feedback.

Enjoy fresh juice with a cold-press juicer!