# Juicers - Steam vs. Mechanical



## jmack (Nov 14, 2007)

I've been reading alot about people here using steam juicers, but I've only seen 1 guy using the mechanical kind. Is there any advantage to using a steam juicer? It seems to me that you would get alot of water vapor back in the juice. Does the steam juicer extract more juice? If so, would fermenting with the pulp from a mechanical juicer in a straining bag not release theleftover juice?


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## jobe05 (Nov 14, 2007)

jmack, welcome to the forum.

I prefer the mechanical method. I have both a SS steamer and a grinder and press, I prefer the press............ HOWEVER............

I thinks it's the fruit varieties that are available to me, versus what is available to others.

i.e. , I pressed some scuppernong grapes and it made great wine. Next batch of scuppernongs I got from a different vendor and I steamed them. I ended up with a totally tasteless wine. The next batch was from the same variety I steamed last time, so I pressed them and got the same end result, No flavor...... so it wasn't the steamer, or the press, it was the variety of scuppernong grapes that I had gotten.

So why do I prefer the press? I like to ferment on the skins or with the fruit, that simple. It's quicker, cleaner and faster for me to use the grinder and press.

So it will really come down to personal preference and how the fruits you can obtain hold up to either steaming or pressing.

Good luck and let us know what you find and decide, preferably with a few pictures.


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## NorthernWinos (Nov 14, 2007)

Welcome to the Forum.


I have only used the steamer, so can't compare.


I juice mostly berries, raspberries, strawberries, chokecherries, small cherries, etc. I like to freeze the fruits, juice them and preserve them in mason jars till I am ready to make wine.


Guess I am kind of in a rut and should try other ways to compare the wines.


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## jmack (Nov 14, 2007)

Thanks for the welcomes... I'm not sure we're referring to the same type of mechanical juicers jobe. I meant the electrical kind like the Jack Lalanne or the Omega juicers. They grind up the fruit, and then seperate the pulp from the juice. They're cheaper, and take up much less space, but I can see where the steam juicer would far outlast the electric kind.


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## PolishWineP (Nov 14, 2007)

What I like about the steamer is that it doesn't take up freezer space when the venison comes in. I steamed a load of plums and the juice is sitting, waiting. When we have time to make plum wine, we can pour the juice into the primary and go from there. The jars go into the dishwasher are will be ready for next year. I drank some of the plum juice and there was nothing weak about it!


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## dfwwino (Nov 14, 2007)

I'd like to buy a steam juicer, but my Omega juicer did a great job on my Apple Honey wine. The Omega I have costs $250, so it is actually more expensive than the juicers I have seen. But I bought it several years ago to make fresh juice drinks.


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## Waldo (Nov 15, 2007)

Kathy just got a new juicer and I am going to try some Muscadines in it and see how it does with them. An upcoming weekend projectr and yes, I'll get some pictures.


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## Dean (Nov 15, 2007)

The main difference is that the steam juicer, will actually concentrate some of the juice due to the hot nature of steam, which a LOT of it escapes.

As well, the juice you get is a gentle juice. I think for grapes, the press will actually work best, but I get great color extraction on grapes too with steam. The problem with the mechanical juicers, is that it only really works on fruit without seeds for wine. There would be no way you could do strawberry, blueberry, raspberry, etc with a mechanical juicer because it would also take those seeds and crush them up. Usually, the seeds bring bad tannins, off flavors, etc. You want to keep those seeds intact. Where the mechanical juicers really come into play is with very hard veggies and fruits. Apples work well in those mechanical juicers, as do celery, carrots, cucumber, etc.

But for berry fruit, steam juicers are awesome!


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## JWMINNESOTA (Nov 19, 2007)

Picked one up off eBay, of course, enamel. Cant wait to get it in and give it a try.


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## NorthernWinos (Nov 19, 2007)

Looks like a nice unit...What are you going to be juicing first, JW???
Lots of cranberries in the stores now....I am thinking about picking some up...Then I look in my freezer and all the juice in mason jars in the spare bedroom and wonder...maybe I need some serious help????...I must have a problem????


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## jmack (Nov 19, 2007)

Aww JW you sucker! I was bidding on that same juicer. Good win though, you got it for a song. I need to get me one though. I put my first order in at George's shop yesterday, just some knick-knacks to get started, but I plan on expanding soon, so a juicer will really come in handy. Congrats on the win.


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## JWMINNESOTA (Nov 20, 2007)

So YOU drove the price up on me!



No idea what to try first, really will get used next summer I think, but headed shopping with the Mrs. today to Mankato, sure I will see some fruits I just gotta have!


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## PolishWineP (Nov 20, 2007)

Northern Winos said:


> Lots of cranberries in the stores now....I am thinking about picking some up...Then I look in my freezer and all the juice in mason jars in the spare bedroom and wonder...maybe I need some serious help????...I must have a problem????


The only help that I think you need is more space. Everyone to Northern's place to build an addition!


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## PolishWineP (Nov 20, 2007)

JWMINNESOTA said:


> So YOU drove the price up on me!
> 
> 
> 
> No idea what to try first, really will get used next summer I think, but headed shopping with the Mrs. today to Mankato, sure I will see some fruits I just gotta have!


What kind of fruits did you bring home from the big city?


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