…… Manual Juicer?

[JMG91]

Hi all!

Just a quick question for those of you who have been doing the prepping thing longer than I:

Where do you find a manual juicer that juices hard vegetables as well as fruits? Most of the ones that I have run into so far have been citrus juicers or wheat grass juicers. Is there any kind of stainless steel juicer that can be cranked, and do the same thing as a typical juicer? I know that it would be hard work, but if it hits the fan, I think that's an important thing to have--especially if you've got sick people who can ingest liquids, but not solids. I don't know if there is such a thing, but I figured that I'd throw it out there.

 

[summerthyme]

Seriously, I don't think it exists. The closest thing would be the steam juicers (I believe Lehman's Hardware sells them), and of course, that's not giving you "raw" vegetable juice.

MAYBE you could rig up something to macerate/shred the hard veggies (a hand vegetable shredder) and then some sort of hydraulic press like an herb press... mine uses a 4 ton hydraulic press and saves me a ton of $$$ in alcohol costs when making tinctures.

Summerthyme

 

[JMG91]

Seriously, I don't think it exists. The closest thing would be the steam juicers (I believe Lehman's Hardware sells them), and of course, that's not giving you "raw" vegetable juice.

MAYBE you could rig up something to macerate/shred the hard veggies (a hand vegetable shredder) and then some sort of hydraulic press like an herb press... mine uses a 4 ton hydraulic press and saves me a ton of $$$ in alcohol costs when making tinctures.

Summerthyme

I actually just bought a vegetable shredder and have had a fruit press for a while now. Do you suppose I might be able to work something with that?

 

[summerthyme]

Probably, depending on the quality of the fruit press. Apples are pretty soft compared to, say, carrots (which would likely be the hardest vegetable you'd want to be juicing, I'd think). And even then, cider makers shred their apples before pressing, to optimize their yields.

Having had a grown up (well, almost!) kid destroy an herb press (which had a screw tightener, not a hydraulic press) on me using it for apples one year, I'm a little leery of saying "oh, sure, that will work great"! LOL!

I'm thankful I have an Amish blacksmith/decorative metal worker next door... he built me (and his wife!) a new herb press for about 1/4 of what buying a commercial one would have cost...

Summerthyme

 

[JMG91]

Yeah, mine is a screw tightener. I knew that it wouldn't be as effective as one of the hydraulic ones, but it was all that I could afford at the time, and I figured that it was better than nothing. Yeah, the carrots would probably have to be waived for juicing in a SHTF situation--as well as other harder vegetables--but at least I could probably still do most others, as long as they're softer.

They used your herb press for apples?! Good grief! Sorry about that. I imagine that was not expected. LOL I may have to look into herb presses though. I've mostly been just letting the herbs soak in the menstruum. Is the press for specific types of herbs, or does it simply make things easier in the process?

 

[summerthyme]

It just really optimizes the amount of menstruum you recover in the process. Compared to simply straining and pressing by hand, probably doubles it. Compared to dumping the herbs into a linen towel and twisting until your wrists ache... probably still an extra 30%. If you make a lot of tinctures, even the really nice professional ones (last I looked, around $600) will pay for themselves fairly quickly.

For the home user, a "homebrew" press is going to be more practical...

Here is one link I just found: http://www.curezone.org/forums/am.asp?i=1865771

Here is the professional press which my neighbor copied for me... http://budget.net/~herbseed/c0014.html

I found that I really didn't like using the hose, so hubby supplied me with a piece of stainless steel I laid across the legs to set a pitcher onto... since the press vessel doesn't hold more than a couple quarts worth of tincture and herb at one time, a 2 quart pitcher set below the spout on the press vessel works great, without the cleaning issues a hose presents. If you like the hose idea, look at winemaking supply stores for food safe poly hoses...

Summerthyme

 

[JMG91]

It just really optimizes the amount of menstruum you recover in the process. Compared to simply straining and pressing by hand, probably doubles it. Compared to dumping the herbs into a linen towel and twisting until your wrists ache... probably still an extra 30%. If you make a lot of tinctures, even the really nice professional ones (last I looked, around $600) will pay for themselves fairly quickly.

For the home user, a "homebrew" press is going to be more practical...

Here is one link I just found: http://www.curezone.org/forums/am.asp?i=1865771

Here is the professional press which my neighbor copied for me... http://budget.net/~herbseed/c0014.html

I found that I really didn't like using the hose, so hubby supplied me with a piece of stainless steel I laid across the legs to set a pitcher onto... since the press vessel doesn't hold more than a couple quarts worth of tincture and herb at one time, a 2 quart pitcher set below the spout on the press vessel works great, without the cleaning issues a hose presents. If you like the hose idea, look at winemaking supply stores for food safe poly hoses...

Summerthyme

Thanks, Summerthyme! I really appreciate that site with the basic building instructions. (I prefer to cobble together my own invention before investing a lot of money in someone else's.) I'm sure my BF would be able to help me make something of those.

By the way, how do you do your roots? By decoction, or do you simply not bother with them?

 

[summerthyme]

Depends on what roots! But most are best in a decoction, although some can be tinctured... those usually need to be ground up fairly fine (which is where the Vitamix comes in)

Also, when pressing tinctures in a press, you really need a fine mesh press bag. The only thing I've found to hold up for more than 1-2 uses is a decent grade of woven silk. I tried some bags I found at the grocery (which were the perfect size) which were a real fine nylon mesh, and they ripped out very quickly. My biggest problem is that the pressing disk on my press is SLIGHTLY smaller than I'd like... it leaves maybe 1/16" between it and the wall of the press vessel, which lets the press bag "ooze up" into the space. Now, that's not a huge problem in itself- I just press everything as well as possible, then readjust to press out the moist stuff that got trapped above the disk. However, if there is a weak spot in the bag, or just if enough pressure is applied to the "bubble" which managed to form above the disk... well, let's just say I've had to scrape some herbs off my kitchen ceiling a time or two, and I really need to repaint now! LOL!

Summerthyme