Masticating vs centrifugal... Breville vs. Omega
I just thought I would post an FYI in helping anyone that is considering and questioning differences between juicers; mainly a centrifugal juicer vs. a masticating juicer.
I researched for a long time which juicer might be best and settled on the Omega 8006 (masticating) juicer. This juicer was proven to be one of the best at extracting more juice with drier pulp and less foam. I have used it
for over a year and it is an excellent juicer. BUT, I have always been curious as to the centrifugal juicers such as the Breville Ikon or Fountain Plus. There speed has always intrigued me and was always curious as to how
"worse" this juicer could be. People have claimed that the juice is not as good as a masticating since it spins at such a high rate that the juice is "heated up" a little thereby reducing its quality.
I bought the Breville Ikon and tested it against the Omega 8006 juicer. My test consisted of:
handful of spinach
3 kale leaves
handful of wheatgrass
3 carrots
1/2 cucumber
orange
I was absolutely floored at the results. Both juicers yielded EXACTLY the same quantity...11 ozs! I was certain that the Omega would have more juice, but it was equal to the Breville. But there were some differences.
1. The Omega's juice had a richer darker look to it whereas the Breville had a lighter more cloudy look
2. The juice tasted a little sweeter with the Breville
3. The Omega cleans up faster with smaller parts than the Breville. The Breville is very easy to clean, it just has larger parts.
4. The pulp on both, had the same consistency
People question whether the Breville can juice leafy greens properly. I was surprised that they did very well, as long as you roll them up into a ball. I actually put the wheatgrass inside the kale leaves and rolled them up.
Also, I got the same exact yield with the leafy greens. Both juicers yielded 2ozs.
For those considering a juicer, don't sweat too much over these two different types. The only advantages between them were the Breville is MUCH faster at making juice since you do not have to cut the produce up,
whereas the Omega you do. The Omega is also much slower at juicing since it chews up the food. The slower process lends to less oxidation. The Omega is much quieter than the Breville. You could easily use the Omega in the middle of the night and not
disturb anyone. The Omega is also faster to clean. It can also do wheat grass by itself, nut-butters, frozen desserts, etc.
If you want a no-nonsense, fast juicer, the Breville wins. If you want to make other things and have more time then the Omega is the one.
I do believe that the Omega also puts out a more nutrient dense juice since the color is darker, but that's just my opinion.