Two weeks ago, when I started the cleanse, I decided to buy a Breville Ikon. The hubby and I did some research at about 1am on a Friday night and I told him to just buy it. I was super overwhelmed by all of the choices: centrifugal, masticating, triturating. To this day, I still don't know what any of it means.
I've been pretty happy with the Breville, being that it's the only juicer I've ever used and I've had nothing to compare it to-until today. I called the guys at Hurom Slower Juicer and asked them if they'd be willing to send me out a model to test and they gladly obliged. And so, I decided to put the two juicers to a duel!
I think the most important fact is how the juicers compare to one another, so I'm not going to bore you with the technical details. The one thing I will mention is how they make the juice (based on how I see it).
Breville: Has a "shredder/grater" at the bottom of a funnel and then pushes the fruit/veggie/nut through a mesh screen with teeny tiny holes
Hurom: Has a grinder that churns the fruit/veggie (similar to a traditional meat grinder) and then pushes it through a strainer with much bigger holes.
I've been pretty happy with the Breville, being that it's the only juicer I've ever used and I've had nothing to compare it to-until today. I called the guys at Hurom Slower Juicer and asked them if they'd be willing to send me out a model to test and they gladly obliged. And so, I decided to put the two juicers to a duel!
 |
| The Hurom Slow Juicer |
 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The Breville Ikon |
I think the most important fact is how the juicers compare to one another, so I'm not going to bore you with the technical details. The one thing I will mention is how they make the juice (based on how I see it).
Breville: Has a "shredder/grater" at the bottom of a funnel and then pushes the fruit/veggie/nut through a mesh screen with teeny tiny holes
Hurom: Has a grinder that churns the fruit/veggie (similar to a traditional meat grinder) and then pushes it through a strainer with much bigger holes.
So which one should you buy?
I think there are a few things you need to consider:
1. Will prep time (peeling, cutting, cleaning) keep you from juicing?
2. Are you in a hurry when juicing?
3. Do you like a little pulp in your juice?
Below is a summary of how long it took me to make the same juice in each juicer.
Prep Time:
If you are going to juice with the Breville, the prep time is pretty minimal: all you really need to do is to peel vegetables with bitter skins like carrots or beets. On the other hand, with the Hurom, you need to cut the fruits/veggies down to two inch pieces as well. I did this by hand, but technically if you want to do it faster, you can use a food processor with the slicer add-on.
 | |||
| 1 Granny Smith, 2 carrots, 2 celery stalks, 2 inch piece of ginger, 4 stalks of kale |
Juicing:
The Hurom takes longer to juice, because it's a slow juicer. It basically squeezes every last drop of the juice and this is noticeable in the dry pulp it expels. You do have to stand there and put the cut pieces into the funnel. The Breville is much much faster, so if you are in a hurry, it's something to consider. However, one thing to note is the quality of juice you will get.
 | |||
| On the Left: Hurom, On the Right: Breville |
I used 1 Granny Smith, 2 carrots, 2 celery stalks, 2 inches of ginger, and 4 stalks of kale in both juicers. The Hurom was not only significantly more green, but also yielded an additional ounce of juice. The Breville had much more froth and looked "watery" in comparison to the juice from the Slow Juicer.
I had the hubby taste both juices blindly. Without knowing which juicer the juice came from or seeing the color, he chose the Slower Juicer's product because of its taste and texture. He said it tasted sweeter. Then when I showed him the two glasses, he said he liked the "green one" based on it's bright color.
Clean-Up
I've always found cleaning the Breville a bit cumbersome. The mesh screen collects every microscopic piece of pulp. You have to scrub until your hands hurt to get it clean. The Hurom was much easier to clean, even though it does have smaller pieces. And because you don't have to scrub the mesh so hard, it's also a bit faster.
Re-Assembly
The Hurom has more pieces and so it does take a little longer to put it back together. The Breville parts are larger, so if you have issues with holding smaller pieces then you may find the Hurom assembly a bit tricky.
Overall
By no means did I expect to like the Hurom so much, especially since I chose to buy the Breville. Honestly, I bought it for the name and the reputation. The Hurom Slow Juicer is brand new product on the market, so I was a bit weary to invest in it. It's available at Williams-Sonoma and having worked for the company, I know that they don't sell anything unless its been fully vetted.
So back to the question: which one should you buy?
I think that if you don't have time to prep and still want to get into juicing, then the Breville is a perfect starter juicer. You will still get plenty of benefits from consuming nutritious fruits and vegetables. The Breville is also about $100 less than the Hurom, so if money is an issue, then this is a great juicer for the price. However, if you are willing to put in a bit more time and you want to truly drink "Green" juices, then the Hurom Slow Juicer is your best bet. The juice is much richer in not only flavor but also texture and color. Which ever you decide to buy, both are available for sale at my Gourmet Boutique!
Giveaway
I have a pair of Fabrikators Skrub'a Gloves to giveaway to one lucky reader.
These gloves are great for cleaning vegetables instead of peeling them and will help save you time while prepping to juice with your Hurom.
Rules:
To be entered in the contest, you must
1. Go to my Facebook Page and Like Me: ACraftyGourmet
2. Leave me a comment on this post letting me know what you think of my review (be nice :))
3. I will pick a winner using Random.org and the winner will be announced on Tuesday August 14th.
4. You have until Monday, August 13th to enter.
5. Good Luck!
