What’s a Blender?
This is the kitchen appliance bartenders use to make frozen drinks, kids use to make milkshakes, and the health-minded use to make smoothies. The best blender can crush ice and blend or emulsify ingredients ranging from pie fillings to creamed soups. There are three basic types of blenders.
Countertop Blenders
These are what you imagine when you think of a blender. Countertop blenders usually come with a glass pitcher or plastic pitcher that attaches to a motorized base. There are blades in the bottom of the pitcher that run at settings like stir, chop, liquefy, pulse and puree. They tend to have powerful motors that can do a wide range of kitchen tasks. These appliances sit on the counter next to your toaster oven and air fryer just waiting to help you make a beverage.
Personal Blenders
These are mini versions of a conventional countertop blender. Personal blenders are the best pick when you want to make a single smoothie, frozend drink or milkshake. Its mixing pitcher doubles as a to-go cup so you can take your smoothie with you. Want versatility in a blender? Some models have two pitchers, one full-sized and one personal-sized, with both fitting on the same motorized base.
Immersion Blenders
These are hand-held appliances that have a motorized blade at the end of the tool. Immerse the blade into the ingredients and you can blend while you cook. You can also make a single smoothie in the cup you plan to drink it from. Immersion blenders fit in a kitchen drawer, so they don’t take up counter space.
What’s a Juicer?
A juicer, also known as a juice extractor or a juicer machine, is a more precise tool than a blender. This small appliance separates juice from fruit and vegetables, leaving behind the pulp, seeds and skin. You’re left with a megadose of nutrients in a thin liquid. This is a machine for the drink your vegetables crowd. There are two types of juicers.
Centrifugal Juicer
This type of juicer machine has a fast-moving blade that spins against a mesh filter. The filter holds the pulp, seeds, skin, etc., and the juice seeps through the mesh of the filter.
Masticating Juicer
This is also called a cold press juicer. It uses a slow-moving drill or screw that crushes fruit and vegetables, then presses them to extract juice.
What’s the Difference Between a Juicer and a Blender?
Blenders make creamy smoothies; juicers make intense shots of fruit and veggie juice. Blenders make the best smoothies, period.
Blenders mix all parts of ingredients together, so if you put strawberries in a blender, it mashes up the pulp, seeds and skin along with the juice. Blenders don’t separate ingredients; they blend them all together into a thick liquid.
Juicers separate the pulp, skin and seeds from fruit and vegetables, leaving behind the juice. Because all the pulp and skin has been removed, that juice is nutrient-dense and fiber-free. Simply put, juicers remove everything but the juice.
Blender Considerations
Blenders are versatile. You can use them for mixed drinks, milkshakes, and sauces.
There’s less food waste. Blenders mash the entire fruit or veggie into your smoothie.
Blenders keep beneficial fiber in beverages. Your smoothie makes you feel fuller and that fiber is good for heart health.
Blenders tend to be more affordable than juicers. You can get a blender for as little as $25, while electric juicers start at around $65.
Juicer Considerations
Juicers let you pack a lot of fruit and veggie goodness in a small cup of juice. Don’t like kale and carrots? A juicer will compress their nutrients and antioxidants into a small serving of juice. Instead of eating a plate of kale, you drink a shot of kale. What’s not to love?
Juicers make it easier to eat more produce. The American Heart Association recommends you eat four to five servings of fruits and vegetables every day for maximal health. That’s not easy to do. That’s why just one 1 in 10 Americans eat enough fruits and vegetables, says the Center for Disease Control. You know what is easy to do? Throw four to five servings of vegetables and fruit into a juicer and drink your bananas, apples, broccoli, celery and tomatoes. Your body will thank you.
Juicers are harder to clean. They have strainers and attachments that must be cleaned by hand to remove pulp and particles.