Blending and juicing, as befits their names, are not the same thing. Yes, a blender and juicer both reduce ingredients into something drinkable, but the intent and outcomes are fundamentally different. You are probably wondering what the difference between a blender and juicer is.
A vacuum blender is a blender with a setting that removes all oxygen from the jar before blending so as to prevent the ingredients from oxidizing. A slow juicer crushes/juices the ingredients and pours the juice into a jar while the pulp is separated into a collection compartment.
Health is important, and that includes examining what you drink. Making drinks in blenders and juicers are two different processes, and you have questions. If you are not sure what the difference is or which one to buy, do not worry. In this article, we will go over what the difference is between a blender and juicer and what to expect from them.
What is the Difference Between a Vacuum Blender and Slow Juicer?
A vacuum blender is basically a regular blender. The difference comes from the vacuum pump, which is sometimes detachable.
- The vacuum pump creates a vacuum within the jug to mix the ingredients better.
- This keeps them fresh longer without the fear of separation or loss of flavor and nutrition.
A slow juicer creates juice by compressing fruit and vegetables through a spinning screen with sharp cutting blades.
- The juice falls into a cup, and the pulp stays in the blending jug.
- The pulp can then be added into various foods or composted.
What Makes a Vacuum Blender?
A vacuum blender is simply a regular blender with a vacuum pump. A regular blender is not sealed and adds a lot of air to the food during blending.
However, a vacuum blender operates like a freezer bag vacuum sealer: it creates a vacuum within the jar to prevent oxygen from getting in and resulting in a loss of flavor or nutrition.
Anything that can be blended in a vacuum blender can also be stored within the jug. As long as the vacuum seal is not broken, the contents can be stored for a much longer period of time without losing freshness, nutrition, or flavor than with a normal blender.
On some blenders, the vacuum pump is detachable, but on most, it is built into the base and activates with the push of a button.
Benefits of a Vacuum Blender
A vacuum blender creates a vacuum and blends the ingredients in a near-perfect vacuum.
This accomplishes two things: the drink is less foamy and contains much less air, and as long as the vacuum is not broken, the blender jug can be stored for a longer period of time without the contents spoiling.
If you have ever put a smoothie in the refrigerator and had it separate, you know how frustrating that can be.
With a vacuum blender, the separation is much slower than normal, as the lack of air prevents bubbles from forming and disturbing the composition of the drink. Not only that, the flavor is better preserved.
A vacuum blender is not just for smoothies. That same vacuum that keeps your smoothie fresh for a week will also work for any other food that you choose to put in a blender. This is especially useful if you are meal prepping for a week and want something to grab every morning.
Vacuum blenders also produce less waste. The ingredients are simply blended into one cohesive whole, with no pulp or juice to store.
Disadvantages of a Vacuum Blender
There are of course disadvantages to a vacuum blender. They are more expensive than a traditional blender, thanks to the addition of a vacuum pump. Vacuum blenders can also be heavy due to the extra hardware, and larger overall making storage difficult.
Vacuum blenders are also noisier than regular blenders, due to the need to keep a continuous vacuum in that setting. If you plan on making smoothies every morning before work, reconsider.
Regular blenders are already loud, and a vacuum blender is even louder, so do not use it early in the morning. Your family will thank you.
A vacuum blender also makes it more difficult to adjust recipes on the fly, as you will need to wait for the vacuum to dissipate, then build again before resuming blending.
They also take longer to blend than a traditional blender, although these disadvantages are insignificant.
What Makes a Slow Juicer?
A slow juicer is a device that juices fruit and vegetables, by pushing the ingredients onto a sharp toothed, spinning screen. The juice falls into a cup, while the pulp is held in the jug and can be scraped out to throw away or use for a different purpose.
There are two kinds of juicers. These are:
- Slow
- Centrifugal
Slow juicers are slow because they use compression to force the ingredients down onto the cutting screen, while centrifugal juicers release the juice by means of centrifugal force.
However, centrifugal juicers can be more expensive and produce fewer nutrients because of that speed.
Aside from slow and centrifugal juicers, there are other kinds, like twin-gear juicers, which simply pulverize the ingredients between two rotating gears.
These are considered to be the best juicers at releasing nutrients, although they are quite expensive. The slow juicer is best overall for making nutrient rich juice on a budget.
Benefits of a Slow Juicer
One juicer is not necessarily better than the other, but slow juicers are a solid choice. Slow juicers release more nutrients during the process than a centrifugal juicer, along with making better juice than a traditional blender.
The biggest advantage of a slow juicer is the ability to process leafy greens such as kale, which would not fare well in a centrifugal juicer as they are quite tough. A slow juicer crushes and cuts the kale and so can extract the most nutrients possible, thanks to that bladed, spinning screen.
A slow juicer is also good for meal prepping, if you have a busy lifestyle and do not have time to make juice every morning. Simply make a large amount of juice on the weekend, store it and grab some every morning as you wish.
These meal preps can include:
- Protein shakes
- Veggie shakes
- Herb shakes
Overall, a slow juicer can be used to help prep for whatever you are looking to add leafy greens to.
The pulp can be added into various foods, or put on a compost pile, as the juice ingredients will be mostly fruit and vegetable pulp. There are recipes available for using the pulp that comes out of the juicer in sweets like cakes, depending on the ingredients in the juice.
Disadvantages of a Slow Juicer
One disadvantage of a slow juicer is that they are just that, slow. Additionally, while it does pour the juice into a separate container, some pulp will still make it through the screen, and the rest of the pulp will need to be cleaned out of both the cutting screen and the processing jug, making it a more time-consuming process than blending.
That does not include how much longer it takes to process juice with a slow juicer over a centrifugal juicer. It takes up to three times longer, depending on ingredients and amounts used.
Slow juicers are also quite large and heavy, thanks to the large motor. This also makes them much more expensive than a centrifugal juicer or even a vacuum blender.
Overall, a slow juicer is really best if you have plenty of time to set aside on juice making-if your life is fast paced, you may want to consider a centrifugal juicer or vacuum blender, both of which are much quicker and easier to clean.
If you are set on a juicer, then consider a twin-gear juicer, which is even more efficient, although expensive.
Average Price of a Vacuum Blender
The price of the vacuum blender you choose depends largely on which brand you buy from. However, the average price of a vacuum blender overall ranges from $80 to well over $600 on Amazon, so take that into consideration when purchasing one.
However, a regular blender can be in the same price range, so do not immediately write vacuum blenders off as overpriced.
Until you get into commercial models, a vacuum blender is generally around the same price or a little more expensive than the equivalent regular blender, with no sacrifices in useability or reliability.
Average Price of a Slow Juicer
A slow juicer can be expensive.They have more hardware than a centrifugal juicer and are often heavier, as the motor needs to be bigger in order to deal with the twin tasks of compression and juicing.
The average price of a slow juicer ranges from around $70 on the low end to over $400 for more expensive models.
Price Difference Between Vacuum Blender & Slow Juicers
Vacuum blenders and slow juicers, on average, inhabit the same price range. Vacuum blenders are more expensive than regular blenders, usually starting at a base price of over $100.
Slow juicers are more expensive than both a centrifugal juicer and vacuum blender on average, starting at upwards of $100.
Both vacuum blenders and slow juicers can reach prices of well over $500, but you should be able to fulfill your needs for a lot less than that.
Best Vacuum Blenders
Choosing the right vacuum blender after deciding you want one can be difficult. There are many choices out there.
According to a ConsumerReports vacuum blender comparison test, here are four brands of vacuum blenders you should look into if you are considering purchasing:
- Dash
- Kuvings
- Ninja
- Tribest
Best Slow Juicers
Choosing the right slow juicer can be tough, as there are many brands and models of all prices. According to a Homes and Gardens test, here are some of the best slow juicer brands to consider:
- Hurom
- AICOK
- Omega
- Kuvings
- Tribest
- Ventray
You Can Store Food in a Vacuum Blender
A vacuum blender is essentially a regular blender, except with a vacuum pump. Sometimes that pump is built in or detachable.
Overall, a vacuum blender is best for making smoothies and soups in servings for one or two people, and if you need to store it for a period of time, the vacuum function will help the food stay fresh.
You do not need to do anything special to store the contents of a vacuum blender; simply remove the jug from the blender base and make sure the seal is not broken.
If it is broken, the food will lose freshness much faster, but there is no procedure beyond that if you want your vacuum blender to double as a storage container.
What Is a Slow Juicer Best for?
A slow juicer is best for making nutrient-rich juices. The slow crushing and blending action helps break down the ingredients and release any nutrients that are contained within. Additionally, the pulp is good for adding to various foods or recycling into a compost pile.
If you want to make large amounts of juice to drink over a period of time, or frequently make recipes that require larger amounts of fruit or vegetable juice, a slow juicer is a good tool to have.
What Is a Vacuum Blender Best for?
A vacuum blender works best for making smooth, creamy soups and smoothies. The vacuum helps draw out the air, making it easy to produce smoother soups and smoothies that will last longer than if made in a normal blender.
You can also store the vacuum sealed blender jug in the refrigerator for a longer period of time if necessary.
A vacuum blender is a good choice if you are looking to lead a healthier lifestyle and want to keep having delicious, flavorful blended drinks. It works just like a regular blender and has the potential to work as a vacuum blender alongside, so you do not miss anything.
Which One Is Right for You?
When making a choice between a vacuum blender and slow juicer, you really need to consider what you want to accomplish. Both have their merits, and both have their disadvantages.
Vacuum blenders and slow juicers generally inhabit the same price range depending on build quality, so that is not a huge factor in this decision.
Why You Should Buy a Vacuum Blender
If you lead a faster paced lifestyle but like having smoothies to grab and go every morning, then a vacuum blender is the best choice out of this duo.
It functions as a regular blender, so you need no extra equipment, it is easy to clean, and it produces smoother drinks and soups that can be stored in the vacuum sealed jug.
Not only that, a vacuum blender does not take much longer than a regular blender, only about 30 to 90 seconds longer on average.
As for disadvantages, a vacuum blender is heavier and more complicated than a regular blender, so depending on your cabinets, storage can be an issue.
While a vacuum blender does not take much longer than a regular blender, it is noisier thanks to that pump, and so you will need to listen to that noise for longer.
Why You Should Buy a Slow Juicer
Now, if you have more time on your hands and prefer drinking juice with less pulp, then a slow juicer is a better choice. A slow juicer crushes the fruit and vegetables more thoroughly and so releases more nutrients while making juice that is easier to drink than a smoothie.
However, with anything, a slow juicer does have some drawbacks. Some of these disadvantages include:
- Juicing speed
- Weight
- Awkward shape
- Cleaning process
Below, we’ll expand on some of these disadvantages and what they could mean for you.
A slow juicer can take up to 3 times longer to juice than a centrifugal juicer, and it will certainly take much longer to juice ingredients than a competitor vacuum blender will take to produce something.
A slow juicer is also quite heavy and awkward compared to a vacuum blender or centrifugal juicer, thanks to the larger motor that needs to provide enough power for both compression and cutting.
A slow juicer is also more expensive than a faster centrifugal juicer or vacuum blender, so you must take that into consideration.
Cleaning a slow juicer is also a more time-consuming process. You are not simply taking off a blender jug. You need to remove the bucket, clean that, clean the processing compartment, and make sure to thoroughly clean the discharge tube, as it is quite small.
Hi all! I’m Cora Benson, and I’ve been blogging about food, recipes and things that happen in my kitchen since 2019.