The 1990s have already spawned a consumer fad - fresh-made juice. Feature-length TV commercials have convinced hundreds of thousands of people that healthful eating requires juicemakers that can cost close to $300.
Fresh-made juice is good for you, but it can't cure your ailments, says the December issue of Consumer Reports.The magazine says claims made by juice televangelists like Jay "The Juiceman" Kordich and "The Juice King" range from fanciful to misleading. The magazine says there is no scientific evidence to support the Juiceman's claims that drinking juice can ease muscle aches, alleviate high blood pressure or increase sexual potency.
The magazine says juice can be no better than the produce from which it is made and can sometimes be less nutritious because it lacks the amount of fiber in fresh produce.
Fresh fruits and vegetables are good for you whether they're juiced or whole, raw or cooked. But a juicemaker can't add anything to their nutritional value.
"The Juiceman Show," starring Jay Kordich, is a paid 30-minute commercial that has many of the trappings of a real TV show. Kordich has sold juice extractors for much of the past 40 years, claiming that juice cured him of cancer. Kordich also says that "cooked food is dead food," a statement that would make most nutrition and medical experts wince, according to the magazine.
The best reason to drink fresh-made juice is if you like its taste. Keep in mind that making juice with an extractor requires a lot of fresh produce. According to the magazine, to make a half-gallon of apple juice, which would cost you about $2 if you bought it at the grocery store, you'd need 6 pounds of apples. That would cost you about $7.50 (at $1.25 per pound). A gallon of grape juice would require over 6 pounds of grapes and cost about $7.88 rather than $3 a bottle at your grocery store. For 46 ounces of tomato juice you would need about 41/2 half pounds of fresh tomatoes costing $8.80, rather than 80 cents retail.
According to the magazine, some of the juice made by extractors may not be quite what you expect. Apple juice was more like cider than strained juice - full of pulp with a head of foam like a glass of beer. Tomato juice was thinner than what you purchase in the store and had only a slight tomato taste.
The magazine recommends a citrus juicer, not an extractor, if you want fresh orange juice. Juicers are modestly priced, simple to use and relatively easy to clean. The magazine tested a dozen juicers. Of those, the magazine says the Sanyo Just Juice, $20, the Black & Decker Handy Juicer, $13, or the Krups Pressa Maxi, $25, make the largest batches and are among the handiest to use.
Of the 14 juice extractors the magazine rates in its December issue, it says the Panasonic MJ-65PR, $80, and the Sanyo SJ3020, about $60, were good performers and good values.
The Acme Supreme Juicerator and the Omega 1000, each costing about $200, extracted juice well and accept optional citrus-juice attachments. But they can't match the Panasonic or Sanyo for convenience or price.
None of the other makes of extractor produced juice as efficiently as those four models, not even the Juiceman II, according to the magazine.