If you are contemplating the purchase of a juicer to make fruit and vegetable juices, but the cost of a good one is prohibitive, or it would be just another addition to an already overcrowded kitchen, it is possible to use a food processor to make juice.
>> Check out this food processor that does a good job in making puree and juices!
It may be time consuming and messy, but you can still enjoy a cup of fresh juice using a good food processor. Before we move on, let’s first tackle the fundamental differences between a blender, juicer and food processor.
What is the difference between a food processor, a blender and a juicer?
JUICER
A juicer is a powerful machine that extracts only the juice from fruit and vegetables, leaving the pith and the pulp behind. A top of the range juicer is extremely costly and you need an enormous amount of fruit or vegetables to produce a decent glass of juice.
A juicer also has many parts which need to be assembled for juicing and dismantled for cleaning. However, it gives the best quality pure fruit juice without a trace of pith or pulp. A juicer does not work too well with soft fruits such as bananas.
FOOD PROCESSOR
A food processor is a powerful multi-task kitchen helper which will chop, grate, mix, blend, whip and do almost anything required in a kitchen. One of the functions of a food processor is to blend, or mix foods together, not to separate the juice from the pulp.
A food processor will chop anything you put into it into very fine pieces, and if the machine is powerful enough, you can strain the pureed fruit through a fine sieve into a muslin cloth which is suspended over a container. When all the juice has drained out of the puree, you can squeeze the muslin cloth to get the last bit of juice out, and you will have juice.
A powerful enough food processor will pulverize soft fruit such as apples, and the result will be apple juice, albeit not clear apple juice. The advantage of making juice in a food processor is that the fiber content of the fruit or vegetables can be retained.
BLENDER
A blender can be purchased on its own and is a powerful machine with a sharp cutting blade that will turn soft fruit or cooked food into mush. A blender is also an additional attachment to a food processor.
Depending on the power of the machine, it will not be able to turn hard fruit and vegetable into juice without the addition of liquid. A blender is mostly designed to make puree, creamed soups, sauces, or anything soft and runny.
Its main function is to mix food together at a high speed, and not to extract and separate. A blender is great for smoothies but will only work with soft fruits and often needs the addition of a liquid.
Can You Use A Food Processor To Make Juice?
Yes, it is possible to juice using a food processor. You just have to use a fine strainer or cheesecloth to squeeze out the juice from the puree. Madeline from FoodFitnessandFamilyBlog.com has an excellent tutorial on her blog. A fair warning though, it can be messy.
If a food processor has more use to your household than a blender or juicer, it would make sense to get one. It may not be possible for you to get all three gadgets, due to restrictions in space or budget, but you can still use your food processor for the stuff that you do on a blender or juicer. Check out this blog post from MinimalistBaker.com (they made Apple Carrot Beet Ginger Juice using a blender).
You would need separate appliances if you would like pure fruit or vegetable juice extracted and separated from the pulp , as well as mixed fruit or vegetable juices with the pulp intact, such as smoothies and fruit purees. If you really do not want to acquire an additional appliance and you already own a food processor, you can use it to make fruit juice. If you are in two minds as to whether to buy a juicer and a food processor, or only a food processor, the decision will depend on your juicing requirements.
Video: Blender vs Food Processor – Differences Fully Explained
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