How a Juicer Works

Juicers are a convenient way to make fresh juice from fruits or vegetables.

A juicer is a small kitchen appliance that separates the liquid from the solids in fruits and vegetables. The juicer uses inertia and centripetal force to quickly extract the juice.

Parts

Most juicers consist of a plastic or metal housing that contains an electric motor. The motor spins a funnel-shaped metal basket, which contains a heavy-duty grater and fine metal sieve, at high speed. A removable container on one side of the unit catches the liquid juice. The other side of the unit holds another container that catches the expelled solids.

Feeding

The fruit or vegetable items are cut to size then fed into the juicer through a feed tube at the top of the unit. A hand-operated plunger forces the items into the juicer.

Chopping

As the fruit or vegetable matter enters the spinning basket, the grater at the bottom of the basket chops the material into fine pieces.

Juice Separation

The inertia of the fruit or vegetable pieces moving in the juicer combined with the centripetal force of the spinning basket force the fruit or vegetable matter against the wall of the basket. This acceleration stops the solids from leaving the basket, but forces the liquid juice to pass through the sieve in the basket and into one of the containers on the juicer.

Solids Disposal

As the basket spins, the slope of the basket allows the solids to work their way up to the top and over the lip of the basket. The force of the spinning basket pushes the solids out into one of the collection containers for disposal.

References

• Science Channel: Deconstructed: How Juicers Work
• Juicing for Health: Centrifugal Juicer Review