Black & Decker JE2060 400 Watts Juicer

I'm not a very big fruit eater, mostly because a lot of the fruit's textures are weird to me. I try to make up with my lack of fruit intake by substituting juice instead. The only real problem with that is a lot of juices have additives or way too much sugar. And then the organic-no-sugar-added varieties tend to either cost more than I want to pay....or....taste pretty terrible. I thought seriously about buying a juicer, but I did not want to spend a lot of money on one. I figured that they are a bit of work, as far as cleanup, and it would probably deter me from using it often. So, I didn't want to drop a lot of money on something I may only use once or twice and then never again. Plus, besides oranges and lemons, I have never juiced anything in my life. My mother knew I wanted one though, and came across this one at Walmart for about $30. It was a holiday...and so this is a gift I received from her.

The Black & Decker JE2060 400 Watts Juicer is basically a centrifugal juicer. It has spinning blades that really rip into the pieces of fruit or vegetables you insert, and makes it come out looking like sawdust. The machine itself is white and has blue "straps" (that hold it closed), and blue (translucent) sections that hold the juice or pulp. It also comes with a food tray, and a little plastic piece that you use to slide the fruit or veggies into the hole to the blades from the food tray. the food tray is great for the smallest fruits or veggie pieces because you can fill it up and then slide them into without having to do them one at a time. It's really a time saver. It's pretty much a one hand operating machine. The entire machine is plastic except for the blades and the little rods that work it.

This juicer, from the inside, slants so that juice will run from the blades down into the container that holds the juice. This juice comes through a spout on the outside, and you can either use the included container to catch it, or use your own (really small) glass. It also separates the juice from the ruffage (or pulp) and the pulp is then thrown into another container on the opposite side of the machine. Thank goodness for the translucent door on the top of the machine though, because this gets absolutely coated in mushy sawdust-like pulp too. Infact, the whole inside gets practically coated in pulp. But, with the top part being see-through, you can see the blades while they spin and mash up the food you insert. You also get a plastic piece that lets you feed bigger pieces of fruit or veggies into the blades (you would use this to push down the food into the hole). I don't bother with mine because I always cut up my fruit and veggies small.

One nice thing about this machine is that it has a 2 speed 400 watt  motor. The 2 speeds are "high" and "low" (pretty simple, right?) The lower speed is what you would use for soft fruits such as peaches or tomatoes, or pears even. The high speed is best used for the harder veggies like carrots. I juiced carrots my first time using this and did it on the low speed (because I didn't bother with the directions. This is easy enough for a child to use --I would not advise it though!--). It juiced really great and the pulp even came out dry. Even though I had a good bit of juice from a couple of carrots....it had so much pulp in the juice that I could not even drink it. But, that was on low speed; I do not have this issue when using it on high. It's also a quick process, going from solid fruit to juice.

A really great thing about this machine is that if it is not put together correctly, it will not turn on. If you have to stop midway to empty out the pulp container, you have to put it back on correctly in order to continue. The same if you have to clean off the blades a little (because they get pretty gunky midway through), it will not cut on until the top is secured. This is great because a klutz like me could very well turn a $30 juicer into a $300 one just from an emergency room visit to sew up what was left of my fingers. Plus, if you have a teen who is into a juice health kick and wants to use this machine, you won't have to worry about them accidentally getting hurt. the food spout (where you feed the blades) is pretty small as well. It can be annoying because you have to spend all that extra time cutting up fruits or veggies...but at the same time, it leaves you with no way to hurt yourself.

Your "juicing experience" will vary when using this machine, depending on what you are juicing. I like Granny Smith apple juice, and with these apples, I get lots of juice and the pulp comes out looking and feeling a lot like sawdust. Really dry. But, if I use something like peaches, the pulp comes out a bit wet, and I could probably get more juice if I run that through again. There are times when the juice is a bit grainy as well. It's a bit of a hassle, but I end up straining it through a cheese cloth to get those miniscule pieces (ewww pulp!). This is a "cheap" model though and I shouldn't really be surprised that it does that. I haven't used any other juicer, so I do not know if a more expensive model would do this as well, or not.

The absolute worst thing about this juicer is the cleanup. The pulp container and the juice container are easy and you can even run them through your dishwasher. You can also stick the food tray, and the "food feeder" pieces in. The main machine though is a bit gross to clean and you have to do it by hand. First you have to scrape off all of the loose chewed up food bits. Then you have to wipe all of the inside down. Don't forget the grooves around the blades because those hold juice! And then the blades themselves take forever because they hold onto the food bits, and you have to be careful so you won't cut yourself. It's a really long process and one that has to be thoroughly completed because you are dealing with food. Would be a nightmare if you left any in and it molded. The best thing to do is clean it immediately when everything is still a little damp. Otherwise, the pieces inside seem to be glued on.When I got this juicer, I figured I would use it at least twice a day. Now...what with everything I have going on, I only have the time to use it maybe twice a week. It's just become a hassle.

So here are my final thoughts:
If you really want a juicer, and you have read this review and others out there like it and understand that with cleanup and prep and everything it takes about 30 minutes per glass of juice, and you still want one.....this would make a decent "first juicer". If you don't want to spend a lot of money on a juicer because you aren't sure whether you would like it or not, this might be a good one for you. If you have had a juicer in the past and are in love with them, and are looking to update...you may want to find another one instead. There are better models out there and this one is really basic. So, I would recommend this one to some...and to others, I wouldn't dare.

As far as myself, I think it's an "average" juicer. The cost was really small (compared to others), and I'm not fanatic about "juicing". When I do use it, I love the juice and it will even grind up broccoli like nobody's business. So, I have a few complaints about it (mostly just the cleanup!), but I'm still glad I have it for those days I want to use it.