Vertical and Horizontal Masticating Juicers: Differences and Similarities
Check out these two Omega juicers below. The one on the left is a horizontal masticating juicer – the Omega J8006. Then the taller one is a vertical masticating juicer – the Omega VRT350HD. The vertical and horizontal distinction is pretty simple, right?
They’ve got similar styling and the way that they work is technically almost identical. Even so, there are some pretty big differences between these two juicers. And another thing, which one makes the best juicer for you all comes down to what sorta drinks you’re gonna be making!
The trade off between these two types of juicers is that the horizontal kind can do more things. This includes functions like making baby foods, making salsa dips and making frozen desserts. On the other side of the equation are vertical masticating juicers which have the same low speed technology – this is good for making the tastiest and most nutritious kinds of juices – but strangely, the vertical masticating juicers juice really quick! Kinda confusing, isn’t it? But really it’s pretty simple, the auger revolves slowly but the capacity of the vertical machines is much larger = faster juicing time.
What’s an Auger?
When I first heard about an “auger”, I didn’t have a clue what it was. Sure, I knew it was a part of a masticating juicer. But which part? Check it out.
This is the auger for the Omega J8006 juicer (the exact same one comes with the Omega J8004 as well). This one is made of GE Ultem – this is a mega hard plastic which means it’s gonna last for years!
Foods fall in on to the left side of the auger and they’re then pushed along towards the right where then get ground and crushed up into smaller and smaller bits of pulp. The pulp is squeezed between the auger and the “juicing screen” piece and this is how the juice is extracted. Not all that confusing really.
This auger is from an Omega VRT350HD. Tell you something else, it’s the exact same bit of plastic that’s found in the Hurom Slow Juicer as well. Wanna know why? It’s coz they’re from the same factory in Korea – just branded and sold by different companies.
The vertical style of auger is fatter and can process more fruits and veggies at one time. The augers of horizontal and vertical juicers rotate at round about 80 RPM. In the case of Omega juicers, it is 80 RPM.
Just depends what you wanna make really. If you’re all about making juice then a vertical style juicer might be the answer. But if you’ve got plans for all kinds of food processing then a horizontal masticating juicer could be what you need.
The final difference is price. This is a biggie! Getting hold of a vertical masticating juicer will cost you an extra $100 over the price of a horizontal machine. This doesn’t mean they’re better. They’re just different! Both great in their own ways.
