Steam Juicer
Contents
Steam Juicers vs. fresh (mechanical) juicers
Steam juicers do not create "fresh and live" juice. They cook the juice. When the produce is heated, enzymes are lost and destruction of other nutrients in the juice occurs. Most canned or bottled juices purchased in the store have been heated so they are "shelf-stable" and are devoid of enzymes. This type of juice has lower nutrient quality than a fresh juice. It is said one of the main benefits of juicing is the enzymatic activity of the juice, which is lost when the juice is heated.
Fresh juicers work by using mechanical means to break open the cell walls of the produce (such as shredding, grinding or pressing) which extracts the juice out of the produce. There are several types of mechanical juicers, such as centrifugal, centrifugal ejection, masticating, single auger, twin gear, and press style juicers. The majority of fruit and vegetable juicers work well on most fruits and vegetables, although challenges can occur when juicing some fruits.
The steam juicer works by steaming the produce to cause the cell walls to break and causes the juice to fall into a juice kettle which is then drained into jars or bottles. Due to the heat and extraction method, this juice is concentrated. Steamed juice can be used to make concentrates, syrups, jams and jellies. Steam juicers can only juice certain soft fruits, such as: tomatoes, berries, grapes, cherries, apricots, rhubarb, peaches, pears, strawberries, raspberries, currents, and apples.
Steam juicing was invented so that one could basically "can" the juices, after which no refrigeration is required, since the juice has been "sterilized" and contains no enzymes.
Steam juicers are often constructed out of Aluminum or Stainless Steel. If you did decided to purchase a steam juicer, I would recommend going with a Stainless Steel model as there can be problems with cooking in Aluminum. People have mentioned that "Alzheimer's" can be caused by eating and/or cooking with Aluminum.
Tips on operation
- The amount of water is not really to important other that you do not ever EVER want the bottom pan to run dry. A tip is to put in a couple of marble and when the water is boiling they rattle when they go quiet your almost out of water!
- If the fruit is frozen, don't thaw the fruit before steam juicing as all the liquids will be preserved.
Improvised Steam Juicer(s)
- [external link] Using a Presto Pressure Canner http://recipes.simanco.net/cooking/steam-juicer-from-pressure-canner.html
- [external link] Using a pasta/steamer pot http://recipes.simanco.net/cooking/steam-juicer-from-pasta-pot.html
Left overs (after steam juicing)
The steam juicer will leave you with pulp and seeds. It is possible to use the pulp and seeds (where applicable) to make fruit powder, jams, cakes or whatever you like - the pulp still have plenty of flavor.
