Still the Champion after 20+ years

In reading juicer reviews, keep in mind the experience level of the juicer. Far too many reviews are written by those relatively new to juicing, often on their first juicer.

I purchased my first juicer over 30 years ago in college. I have been juicing almost daily since then. I have used most brands and types; some I've kept (I have a half-dozen) and many I've given away!

My first juicer, a department store Braun, was enough strain on my college student's budget. I wasn't able to afford a Champion until the mid-80's when I got out of school. As were most vegetarians back then, I was certainly familiar with the Champion. I still have that Champion.

On first inspection, the Champion couldn't be described as stylish, regardless which color one chooses! It is fairly large and it is quite heavy. There is a large General Electric motor mounted horizontally. This motor drives a nylon cone with dozens of little teeth. When one inserts produce down the feed tube, the produce comes into contact with the cutting cone, which shreds the produce to a very fine consistency. As the produce travels around the cone holder, it comes into contact with a fine screen. The juice is expressed through the screen and the pulp is ejected out the end of the cone holder. As the produce is chewed rather than shredded and slung at high speed like a centrifugal juicer, this is called a masticating (chewing) juicer.

I have seen another reviewer compare the Omega centrifugal with the Champion. Not only that, but is incomplete in the comparison. Comparing a centrifugal with a masticator is like comparing apples with basketballs. Both types have their strengths and weaknesses. An intelligent juicer will know this, and will choose the type according to the type of juicing desired. I have an excellent Acme, the father of the Omega and still produced. I use it for some produce, particularly carrots and other hard produce.

Where an Omega/Breville/LaLanne/etc. centrifugal will fall apart is in the juicing of leafy greens. One needs the masticating action of this type of juicer to extract much in the way of green juice. Omega realizes this, as they introduced the 8000 which is now the 8003/5. The twin-gear juicers also work on the masticating principle.

The Champion can be particularly convenient if one is juicing large quantities, as I do. Because it is completely continuous, it is convenient to simply hang a plastic grocery bag over the ejection cone, juice to one's heart content, then simply throw the bag away with the pulp.

All the parts coming in contact with produce in the Champion are either food-grade nylon or stainless steel. This is in contrast particularly to the high-impact plastic used in the majority of juicers, including the Omega. As a result, none of the parts should be washed in particularly hot water and certainly not taken through the dishwasher--it'll distort or melt the nylon. Again, in 20+ years of use I've never found it necessary. Juice and pulp have no grease whatsoever. The nylon parts are extremely durable (I've got the original parts for mine!) and slick as a whistle to clean. A pass with soapy water and in a couple of minutes it's ready to go again. One point about the cutting cone that was misrepresented in a prior review: I've plopped mine in soapy water for years; it doesn't hurt the cone at all. There is a stainless steel shaft coming out of the big motor that the cone slides onto. If anyone were goofy enough to try and mount the cone while it was full of water it would certainly make a mess, but common sense if nothing else will avert this.

There is a lot of hoopla on the web about wet pulp, dry pulp, and all types of pulp in between. With the Champion, I certainly cannot wring out any juice from the damp pulp with my male hands. The juice coming from the Champion should be strained, just as with all juicers I know. This gets the very last bit of fiber from the juice. The Breville, for example, has a strainer/froth filter built into their juice receptable.

A prior review was also misleading in complaining that the Champion requires a bowl under the mechanism for juice collection. As experienced juicers know, ALL masticating juicers use a bowl of some type for juice collection. It is required by the nature of the masticating design. I suppose one could mount the masticating juicer on a stand, but that would be as silly as the argument. I use one of my cereal bowls, then pour from that into the strainer.

What can I say about durability? As any experienced juicer knows, the cutting mechanism on any juicer will get dull after a couple of years with daily juicing. I honestly don't remember how many cutting cones I've bought for my Champion. Four or five, at least. One can tell when it is getting dull because more pressure is required for chewing up produce. It should be noted that the same family that introduced the Champion in 1955 still owns and operates the company, Plastaket. When I need a new cutting cone, I call them up and it's at my house in a few days.

It should also be noted that the juicing screen on the underside of the cone holder is easily replaced with a blanking plate. Why? When one has the blanking plate in place the Champion is a superb homogenizer. I have made fresh peanut butter, pecan butter, cashew butter, walnut butter for twenty years. Just put the nuts down the tube and out comes butter from the cone. Additionally, I've made soft-serve, totally healthy deserts for just as long. I slice bananas and freeze the slices. Drop them down the Champion and out comes banana smoothie at the other end. Drop either fresh or frozen strawberries, blackberries, etc., down there and you will have whatever flavor you like, and fat- and added sugar-free. In addition, leave both the juicing screen and blanking plate out, and create fine shredded cheese, carrots, whatever you desire.

Again, I have the big Acme centrifugal. I love it. However, I wouldn't trade my faithful Champion for any other juicer. Should mine mysteriously die tomorrow, I'd be on the phone that day ordering one of the new ones. BTW, I saw a photo in Architectural Digest a number of years ago of Elizabeth Taylor's kitchen. Imagine my surprise when I saw a white Champion like mine on her counter!