Do You Need a Juicer to make Juice?

Friends who want to start making juice at home frequently as me if you need a juicer to make juice.

Normally they’ve just watched some TikTok or YouTube video where someone does a juicing hack and makes a drink without a juicer.

I’m going to tell you what I tell them…it’s a novelty and won’t taste good and the juice will be of poor quality.

So, the basic answer to your question is that yes, you do need a juicer to make juice. You can try and play games and make a juice in something else, but it’s going to be inferior to a juice made in a juicer.

There is no legitimate reason to try and make a juicer in something like a blender, food processor, or who knows what. The only people who do this are creating content for YouTube or TikTok views.

If you want to get a juicer and you don’t have one, my recommendation would be to just get a good juicer for beginners and go from there.

I always suggest to people who have never juiced before and want a good entry level model that is also durable and will produce a quality juice.

 

Can you use a blender to make Juice?

No. Let’s jump right into this mess and tackle the big myth that’s circulating online. And you’ve probably seen a ton of videos where people make “juice” with their blenders.

First off, they are not making juice with their blenders. They are straining a smoothie through something and drinking a strained smoothie. It’s not a juice.

A juice is something made with a juicer. That juicer might be a simple hand press lemon and citrus juicer, or it might be a masticating auger juicer that can make green drinks. But a juice is always made with a juicer.

In the same way I wouldn’t recommend that you make a smoothie with a juicer, I’d never recommend that you make a juice with a blender. Or, better said, I would not recommend that you try and make a juice with a blender because the resulting drink would be a mess.

 

Are All Things Equal When Juicing?

To dive a bit deeper, let’s look at different things you could juice. Because some people might ask if you could make a carrot juice without a juicer, or if you could make orange juice without a juicer?

The answer is that not all things are equal when it comes to juicing. Yes, a carrot is much harder to juice than an orange. But that does not mean that you don’t need a juicer to juice either.

Just because something is easy to juice with a juicer it does mean that it’s easy to juice without a juicer.

As I mentioned, you simply can’t juice things without a juicer. It’s not doable.

Carrots and other hard vegetables and leafy greens require an auger juicer. Lemons and citrus can be handled with hand pressed citrus juicers. You’ll notice that everything needs a juicer.

Apples? Juicer

Lemons? Juicer

Kale and Spinach? Juicer

 

 

Can you Juice Celery Without a Juicer?

Why a separate entry for celery if we’ve already established you need a juicer to juice everything? Well, because celery has become super popular for cleanses.

Celery juice cleanses are really popular for people who are looking to diet or just get healthy after a period of drinking, over eating, or just bad diet choices.

And I agree, a celery juice cleanse is a really great way to jump start your health.  However, you absolutely can’t juice celery without a celery juicer. It’s just not done.

So, if you do want to juice celery I would suggest getting a good auger juicer. This will set you up for success.

Don’t start a major lifestyle change without the right equipment. It’d be like tying to be a baker without an oven. It just won’t work.

 

How to do a Juice Fast without a Juicer?

You can certainly do a juice fast without a juicer. It’s easy, all you have to do is find a good local store that sells freshly made juice.

Don’t buy premade juices for a juice fast. You’re not going to get enough nutrients. The whole point of a juice fast is to drink freshly made juice for a few days.

There are loads of people in cities like L.A and Manhattan who do juice fasts without making their own juice. The only downside is that it’s costly.

You’re going to want to have about three fresh juices a day. That’s going to cost you anywhere from 35 to 50 bucks a day depending on the location.

So, you can see the attraction of buying your own juicer. Even a week of buying your juice in a good fresh juice store will end up costing almost as much. If you buy juice frequently you will certainly end up saving money.

But as I discussed in my article covering if it’s worth it to buy a juicer, part of the reason is money. However, an even bigger reason is that you will have control over what you put into your juice.

That’s the big selling point in my estimation. You can know that you’re getting organic produce. The apples and kale aren’t rotten or sprayed with chemicals that haven’t been washed.

When you’re buying juice fresh from a store, you never know if they are cleaning the juicer or cleaning the produce.

The sad fact is that most people who run juicing stores have zero interest in the health end of the business. It’s a business to them and they are concerned only with one thing and that’s the bottom line.

If you are dealing with a business, even a health food business, realize that you need to be wary of the product they are selling you. A fresh juice is much cheaper if it’s not made with expensive organic fruits and vegetables.

Also, the staff at these fresh juice stores are always paid close to if not minimum wage. They are not people who are paid well, and they are always pressured to work as fast as possible. Therefore, food prep, especially when it comes to the cleanliness of the fruits and vegetables suffers.

 

Is Is Worth It to Get a Juicer?

I’ve discussed this elsewhere, and as you might have guessed due to the nature of my website here, my answer is a resounding yes. I certainly think that getting a juicer is worth it. It’s especially true if you’re considering buying an auger juicer and want to know if cold press juicers are worth it.

However, that is a personal choice and I don’t expect anyone to take my word for it. What I suggest you do is take a look at why you would want a juicer and quickly run some numbers. Do some “napkin math” as they say.

Do you plan on drinking a fresh juice at least once a week? If so, realize that your juicer would pay for itself if you had a fresh juice every week for at least two months.

If you’re planning on drinking a fresh juice more often, then it would pay for itself even sooner.

A lot of people don’t know if they will end up making juice and buy and return juicers. But that’s a quitters mentality.

You should go in with a plan. And if you fail, don’t give up and return a juicer only to go back to an unhealthy diet.

Make sure you can afford the juicer and also make sure you have the space for it. Then, once you’ve committed to that purchase, live with it.

You can put your juicer away. Out of sight, out of mind. But I don’t think that is a good plan.

What I suggest to everyone is to simply keep the juicer out and ready on your kitchen table. Then, when you are ready to make a juice it’s right there at your fingertips.