Wheatgrass juice, wheatgrass juice, wherefore art thou ?

[rhyddid]

...

[Andy Hamilton]

I found this that might be of some use http://wiwi.essortment.com/wheatgrassjuice_rnjz.htm

[Wombat]

I know it is supposed to be good for you Anne Wigmore et al, but I have always found wheatgrass juice to be a powerful nauseant. Anything that tastes that bad HAS to be good for you!

Nev

[Dave]

One of my many jobs was co-running a juice bar, we used to use a commercial juicer called a green-life, it wasn't much cop to be honest.

The principle is the same as an old fashion mincing machine - one of the ones with a manual handle. They should be around in charity shops or try your local freecycle group if you have one.

You may have to feed the wheatgrass through a couple of times but the vitamin rich green liquid will be reward enough. I must admit it took a bit of getting used to but I used to quite like the taste of wheatgrass juice.

[diver]

Dave, what's a freecycle group.....I've never come across it before

[Dave]

Freecycle is a virtual way of putting an old sofa in-front of your house and waiting for someone to pick it up. I've got rid of a TV and and gained pretty much a whole PC, the main site is www.freecycle.org it's started in the US but is really taking off in the UK it's international as well, just check on the website where your nearest group is.

[Guest]

Over the past few years I have done a fair bit of experimenting in growing sprouts and in manual juicing. I will soon put together a page with information on my website.

This is the best manual juicer I have found so far, it is made of s/s and is similar in function to the Sampson juicer. I juice carots and beet and leafy stuff, everything, with it. I do cut the hard veg into smaller dice size chunks, which makes juicing a lot easier despite the extra cutting. Wheet grass needs to be fed through in small balls. If fed streight, it tends to just stay in the chute, and big balls will jam. The pulp is a little coarse, and still contains some juice, but I use a two stage method and squezze out a fair bit of juice from the pulp in my home made hydraulic juice press (picture to go on site very soon, followed by instructions to make one really cheap, with partly recycled materials). This juicer is very easy to clean, just a rinse under the cold tap, and you are done (if you do it streight away), only the strainer needs a small amount of brushing.
http://www.wholisticresearch.com/ecom/p ... 3?prodid=2
There is a picture on my home page in the introduction to health and diet of the s/s juicer with the setup I used.

I have tried this one, but find it a bit flimsey. The same make mincer is much better, and would also make your pulp (a little coarse again) from which you can extract the juice in the press, as well as grind your nuts and what-not. (mincer also available from this company)
http://www.bargainjuicers.com/bargainju ... health.htm
I have the Easy Health Mincer (as well as the juicer) which is manual, plastic, and has a suction base, and I've tried many mincers, and think its the best. Despite being plastic, it is very strong, cleans real easy, and being seethrough on top you can be sure you've cleaned every last bit. Its made of polycarbonate and stainless steel, so no rusting or tainting. The suction base really is enormously strong, but you do need a smooth surface. If you have experience with the juicer, the negative points don't apply to the mincer.

This is a new one I have not seen before, but looks very similar to the Sampson juicer, which I have converted to manual drive. http://www.bargainjuicers.com/bargainjuicerszstar.htm
http://www.juicersonline.co.uk/acatalog ... uicer.html
(if you click on 'more pictures and info you can see the internal workings of the juicer on this site). Personally I find the Sampson cloggs up very easily, and is a pain to wash. The strainer holes are too small, I think. I would think this juicer would do the same. I fyou wanted to go the sampson route and manual, check the Australian site http://www.grainmills.com.au/ for manual conversion kits, which the webmaster has developed him self. This is what he said in an email to me when I told him about the z-star:

"Yes I think I did on costless juicers in USA
I also sell a variation of that....but my opinion is, they will not last.
The have a gearing in them 3 to one, that is the weak link, plastic parts and screws into plastic.
My own invention...the Vegie squeezer will leave it for dead, the above will eventually fail if similar design to the handy juicer.
My drive unit can never wear out."

On the plus side, this juicer will extract most of the juice, and a press will gain very little more.

A hydraulic press will do a better job, but you can extract quite a bit even with hand pressure with my press container, and you can get even more out by popping it into a can crusher.

To sum it up, for the most efficient extraction and long life, the s/s juicer and hydraulic press combo are best, but will set you back a little over £100 for the juicer and press if you make the press yourself. For the cheapest way, but still reasonably efficient try the above mincer and a simple hand press or can crusher press. Forget cast iron, it taints the juice, and rusts, and is a pain to clean. If you want to be able to use the juicer on the move, go for plastic and something that can be clamped onto a surface (the Australian site mentions a clamp alternative to the suction base for the Easy Health juicer, which, by the way has pasta attachments too). The Easy Health would be a compromise, though not as efficient as the other options, it will extract juice without additional pressing. I would not recomend a dedicated wheetgrass juicer with a tapering body, as you can only juice grasses, and a few leafy things, but thats it. The streight bodied one will give you the additional option of juicing fruit and veg.

A manual juicer is a survival tool. You can make a type of tofu, grean leaf curd, from green juices. Its sometimes known as leafu, or green leaf curd (try a search), and can be made from many green leaves, which otherwise have no food appeal, incl. tree leaves and many 'weeds', especially nettles. This is a high protein food. I will try to get some info up on my website soon. A juicer will also turn a glut crop into a health boost, when you have more produce at any time than you can eat or give away or sell.

And here a little anecdote about the power of juices. A couple of years ago I was somewhat run down and had a few bouts of viral labyrinthitis, with one bout lasting about a week, and making me feel very weak and ill. Eventually I forced myself to make a juice cocktail with carrot, beet, ginger, orange and lemon. I had to lean on the counter for support, I was so faint, but as I was drinking the first of two glasses, it felt as though someone had switched the power on, and I felt instanly well again, getting my strength back as quickly. I am sure it wasn't just low blood sugar being addressed.

And incidentally, you can juice any type pf grass, wheetgrass is just the best, supposedly. I have tried a few (including lawn grass), and the taste varies quite a bit (wheet grass tastes AWFUL). Think how you can mow your lawn to juice (or snip it). But go easy on grass type juices (incl. wheet), they can have a bit of an effect on your bowels.

[judyofthewoods]

Oops, forgot to log in for last post. If you have any questions on juicing (the mechanics mostly), fire away.