Juicing tips

Freshly squeezed fruit and vegetable juices are a quick, convenient way to get extra nutrients into your diet. But they’re no substitute for whole fruit and vegetables, as most of the fibre is lost in the juicing process.

The pulp needn’t be wasted though. Vegetable pulp can be used to make stock or in mince dishes and soups. Fruit pulp can be added to cake and muffin mixtures for sweetness – just reduce the amount of sugar in the recipe.

What's good to juice?

• For best results, use fresh and well-ripened fruit and vegetables. Wash them and trim away any discoloured or bruised sections.
• Peel fruits with hard or inedible skin, such as citrus, pineapple, melon, kiwi fruit and uncooked beetroot.
• Remove other hard parts, such as stones from stone fruit, peel and pith from citrus fruit, and seeds from melon.
• Chop the fruit or vegies into chunks that'll fit easily in the feeder chute.
• Orange juice made in a juice extractor is generally frothier than squeezed oranges. And it takes more time to make – you have to remove all white skin, fibres and pith, otherwise they can leave a bitter or sour taste.
• Juice apples, carrots, and celery with a chunk of fresh ginger for a delicious winter combination. Adjust the quantities to suit your tastes – add more apple for sweetness or more ginger for extra zing!

What to avoid

• Starchy fruit and vegetables such as bananas and avocados are generally unsuitable for juicing.
• Some manufacturers also recommend avoiding very soft or stringy fruit like some berries, stone-fruit, pawpaw, mangoes and rhubarb.

Safety hints

• Always use the safety plunger supplied – not your fingers – to push fruit and vegetable pieces down the chute.
• Small hands (such as children's) can fit down the chute and reach the rotating blade. Make sure the juicer is unplugged and well out of reach of children if you're leaving it out on your kitchen bench.
• Take care with spilled juice. Don't let spills accumulate under a juice extractor, where they could get sucked up through ventilation holes into the motor. The juicer could become live and give you an electric shock if you touch it. Switch off the motor and unplug the cord before you clean up any spills.

Cleaning

• Wash up straight after juicing so the leftover pulp doesn't harden and get stuck in the sieve or filter.
• Cleaning the sieve under running water with a hard bristle brush is the best way to remove fruit and veg fibres – some juicers come with a special brush to do the job.
• Juicers with lots of cracks and crevices are the most difficult to clean.

Report by Bev Frederikson.