Everything you need to know about cold pressed juice.
Cold pressed juice seems to be a buzzword these days for the hip and trendy. You may have seen it lined up in the fridges of your locals cafe or bar or even advertised online over the last couple of years.
Cold pressed juices has been in the US and Australia for quite a while now (they have a lot more juice bars than the UK). It has only been the last couple of years they have started to surface and gain popularity in the UK.
I sell these type of juices (long with other juices and smoothies) to order at festivals and various events and I get a lot of people ask questions about cold pressed juices. What's the difference between traditional juicers and cold pressed? Is it healthier? Whats the benefits? and so on.
I therefore thought I would put a guide together on everything I know about cold pressed juice and juicers which may answer some of your questions and point you in the right direction.
WHAT IS COLD PRESSED JUICE
Cold pressed juice gets its name from the process used to extract the juice. Industrial juicers uses tons of hydraulic pressure to squeeze the juice from the pulp, which has been pre-shredded and put into mess bags.
In the industrial process of juicing the juice is then bottled and put into a high pressure water chamber to pasteurize. This is known as high pressure pasteurization (HPP), which extends the shelf life to around 30 days.
Home cold pressed juicers, also known as "slow juicers" or "masticating juicers" work slightly different. Traditional centrifugal juicers use fast spinning blades to pulverize the produce and extract the juice. In comparison slow juicers use a slow crushing action from an "auger" to squeeze and extract the juice.
Both the industrial and home processes use minimal heat, by slowing crushing and pressing, hence the name "cold pressed".
There seems to be some confusion on how cold pressed juice gets its name. From what I have read online some people think it is how the juice is treated after it is processed, when in fact it is the initial process of extracting the juice with minimal heat.
HOW MUCH DOES COLD PRESSED JUICE COST?
Online cold pressed juices tends to be sold in packs or "cleanses" rather than individual bottles. These usually start from around £46 up to £100 plus.
On the high street an average 250 ml bottle is between £3-4 and even more expensive in places like London. In some places in the US (Los Angeles and New Your) I have read cold pressed juices can sell for as much as $11.
I know what you are thinking, expensive right? Well you are right, it is relatively expensive in comparison to other types of juices.
WHY IS COLD PRESSED JUICE SO EXPENSIVE?
There are few reason why is it so expensive. Firstly producing cold pressed juice can be quite labour intensive and is usually made in smaller batches. Hence, with no volume of scale prices tend to be higher
Secondly, with some varieties of juice, especially ones with a large proportion of green leafy vegetable (spinach, kale), you need a lot of produce to make up a 250 ml bottle. This is because the juice yield from these types of vegetables are relatively low.
Thirdly, the process of high pressure pasteurization (HPP) is relatively expensive. In the UK there are only a few facilities that provide this service.
However, don't fret as investing in the right type of juicer and making cold pressed juice at home is much cheaper in the long term.
COLD PRESSED JUICE BRANDS (UK & US)
There a few established brands in the UK and US I am aware of:
Press (UK)
Radiance Cleanse (UK)
B-Fresh (UK)
Savse (UK)
Nutriseed (UK)
Pressed Juicery (US)
Evolution Fresh (US)
Suja (US)
HOW MUCH DO COLD PRESSED JUICERS COST?
Cold pressed juicers or "slow" or "masticating" juicers range from around £60 for your most basic up to £500 for a top end home use model. Industrial presses on the other hand start from around a whooping £10,000. Yes, not one for an impulse buy!
If you are thinking of buying a home juicer, I recommend going for a mid range model, at about £250-300. You want it to last and get a decent amount of juice from your produce.
I have tried quite a few different juicer models in my time and I personally would stay away from ones at the low end of the market, if you can afford it. Like anything not all cold pressed juicers are created equally.
In my experience juicers at this price range with also be fine for light commercial use in a cafe or bar.
COLD PRESSED JUICER BRANDS AND MODELS
There a few quality and established juicing brands out there, that I know of. I have also done a bit of online research to see what people are saying about these juicing brands overal and collated reviews for their mid-range models.
HUROM - An American company that started way back in 1974.
The Hurom H-AA slow juicer model gets an average of 4.5 stars on Amazon US.
KUVINGS - An a South Korean Company with a raft of recent international design awards
The Kuvings B6000 S model gets an average of 4 stars on Amazon US
OMEGA - Another US company that started in 1985.
The Omega NC800 HDS gets an average of 4.5 stars for the model on Amazon US
JR (JUICY RETREATS) - A relatively new company (started in 2005) selling juicers and blenders. They also arrange wellness retreats.
The JR Ultra 8000 S2 model gets an average of 4.5 stars on Amazon UK
I currently use the JR branded cold pressed juicer. I find it offers a good balance between price and performance and also offers a commercial warranty, which is important for what I use it for.
It is also the most quiet juicer I have ever used (I sometimes don't realize it is still on and forget to turn it off) and you can run it continuously for 2 hours. Important if you are using it for light commercial use in a juice bar.
COLD PRESSED JUICE BENEFITS
There are three main benefits of cold pressed juice:
1. The process of how the juice is made preserves essential nutrients and enzymes.
The vitamins and minerals in fruit and veg are very sensitive to heat. It is argued that some types of juicers (centrifugal juicers) create high amounts of heat because of their fast spinning blades, which in turn can damage some of the nutrients.
Cold pressed juicers or slow juicers on the other hand create very minimal heat. This is due to the slow crushing or pressing action and extraction. This means, therefore, more of the nutrients are preserved.
2. It lasts longer in the fridge, in comparison with juice made with a centrifugal juicer (this relates to home use).
Centrifugal juicers have fast spinning blades that create a lot of oxygen and hence bubbles when extracting the juice - oxygen is what breaks down foodstuff and creates spoilage. On the other hand cold pressed juicers have slowing crushing augers that creates less oxygen. Hence a longer shelf life.
In my experience of running a juice bar and bottling juices I find this argument to be true. You can store cold pressed juices in the fridge between 3-5 days as opposed to 1-2 for juices made by a centrifugal juicer.
3. It tastes better
This relates to the second proposed benefit - less oxygen and bubbles, and more juice. This therefore creates a purer taste.
I make juices with both types of juicers and I don't think there is much of a difference. As long as you drink the juice straight away or within a couple of hours, there is no difference in taste.
But as cold pressed juice does last longer it may taste better if you drink it the next day.
IS COLD PRESSED JUICE HEALTHY?
Getting more vitamins and mineral into you diet can only be a good thing. The benefits of juicing is that you can get a lot more fruit and veg into your system than eating your recommended daily allowance (in the UK the RDA has gone up to 10 a day).
However, I would suggest a few things:
1. Drink cold pressed juice as part of a balanced diet. I personally don't believe in juice cleanses (no food just liquids for a period of time) - they can be dangerous and in my opinion are a bit of a gimmick. You will benefit more from having the right foods in your diet.
2. As the fibre is stripped from the juice, have one of these with a meal. That way you will get a shot of vitamins and minerals and the fibre your body needs.
3. Try to make cold pressed juices mainly with Vegetables and just a little fruit. That way you can minimize the sugar content.
So there you have it, a full guide of everything I know about cold pressed juice. The hows, the what's and the why's!
I hope this article has answered some of your questions, but if there is something else you would like to know dont be shy and send me over an email.
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About the author:
Gavin is the owner of Tru Foo Juice Bar co. He has over 3 years experience creating juice and smoothie recipes for wholesale and retail.
