Do you need juicers?

You do not need a juicer, because you can buy juice or simply eat whole fruit and vegetables, but one is worth it if you want to make fresh juice at home regularly and value the freshness, taste and control of juicing your own produce. A juicer extracts the juice from fruit and vegetables, separating it from the pulp, so you can make fresh orange juice, green juices, vegetable juices and blends from ingredients you choose, fresher and without the additives or added sugar of some bought juices. Whether you need one really comes down to whether you will drink fresh juice often enough to justify the cost, the effort of juicing and cleaning, and the counter space, so it is a worthwhile choice for keen juicers and unnecessary for those who rarely drink juice. Our Best Juicers compares five of them.

What a juicer does

A juicer is an appliance that extracts the liquid juice from fruit and vegetables and separates it from the fibrous pulp, so you drink the juice and discard (or use) the pulp. Different types work differently, centrifugal juicers spin produce at high speed against a mesh, and slow or masticating juicers crush and press it, but all produce fresh juice from whole produce, which is the point. This is distinct from a blender, which blends the whole fruit or vegetable, pulp included, into a thicker drink or smoothie rather than extracting clear juice.

So a juicer is specifically for making fresh juice, letting you turn fruit and vegetables into a glass of juice at home. The value it offers is fresh, homemade juice from ingredients you control, rather than anything you cannot otherwise get, since you can buy juice. Understanding that a juicer makes fresh juice from your own produce, and that the alternative is bought juice or eating the produce whole, frames the whole question of whether you need one, which depends on how much you value fresh homemade juice and how often you will make it.

Why one can be worth it

For people who want fresh juice regularly, a juicer is worth it mainly for freshness, taste and control. Freshly made juice tastes better and is at its freshest straight from the juicer, and you control exactly what goes in, choosing your fruit and vegetables, making green and vegetable juices and blends you cannot easily buy, and avoiding the added sugar, preservatives or from-concentrate processing of some shop juices. For anyone who values fresh, pure, homemade juice to their own taste, this is the appeal.

It is also worth it for variety and for specific juicing goals. A juicer lets you experiment with combinations, make vegetable-heavy or green juices for health reasons, and have fresh juice on demand rather than relying on what is sold, and keen juicers who drink juice daily or for a healthy routine get regular value from it. So for someone who will genuinely drink fresh juice often and enjoys making their own, a juicer earns its place by providing fresher, more varied, more controlled juice than buying, which is why juicing enthusiasts find one worthwhile.

Why you may not need one

The case against needing a juicer is that you can get juice or the nutrition of produce other ways, and juicing has downsides. You can buy fresh juice, and you can eat whole fruit and vegetables, which keeps the fiber that juicing removes, so a juicer is not necessary for either juice or nutrition. If you only occasionally want juice, buying it is simpler than owning and using a juicer.

Juicing also takes effort and has costs that put some people off. A juicer must be set up, fed, and then cleaned after each use, and cleaning a juicer, with its mesh, pulp and parts, is often the biggest deterrent, as it can be fiddly and off-putting enough that juicers end up unused. Juicing also uses a lot of produce for a glass of juice and discards the fibrous pulp, which can be wasteful and costly. And a juicer takes up counter and storage space. So if you rarely drink juice, do not want the juicing-and-cleaning effort, or would rather eat whole produce or use a blender, you do not need a juicer.

How to decide

To decide, be honest about how often you will actually juice. If you want fresh juice regularly, will drink it often, value making your own from chosen produce, and are willing to do the juicing and cleaning, a juicer is worth it and will be used and enjoyed, and the type should match your juicing (a fast centrifugal juicer for quick, mostly hard-fruit juice, or a slow masticating juicer for higher yield, greens and juice that keeps better). Keen, regular juicers get real value.

If you only occasionally want juice, are put off by the cleaning and effort, prefer to eat whole fruit and vegetables for the fiber, or would rather use a blender for smoothies (which keep the whole produce and are often easier to clean), you can skip a juicer, since it would likely sit unused, a common fate for juicers bought on a health impulse. So the honest answer is that you do not need a juicer, but it is a worthwhile buy for anyone who will make and drink fresh juice regularly and values the freshness, taste, variety and control, and unnecessary for occasional juice drinkers or those unwilling to do the juicing and cleaning, who are better served by buying juice, eating whole produce, or using a blender.

The short answer

You do not need a juicer, since you can buy juice or eat whole fruit and vegetables, but one is worth it if you want to make fresh juice at home regularly and value the freshness, taste, variety and control of juicing your own produce. A juicer extracts fresh juice from fruit and vegetables you choose, letting you make orange, green, vegetable and blended juices fresher and without the added sugar or processing of some bought juices, which keen, regular juicers appreciate. But it is not necessary, because you can get juice or the nutrition of produce other ways, and juicing takes effort, needs cleaning after each use (often the biggest deterrent), uses a lot of produce for a glass while discarding the fibrous pulp, and takes up space, so a juicer bought on a whim can end up unused. So whether you need one depends on how often you will genuinely juice: worth it for those who will drink fresh homemade juice regularly and do the cleaning, and skippable for occasional juice drinkers or those who prefer whole produce or a blender.