Customer Reviews

KitchenAid JE Citrus Juicer Stand Mixer Attachment

5 star:		(39)
4 star:		(34)
3 star:		(17)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

I really like this attachment and use it frequently. That said, I have some suggestions:

For users-

1. Use the KitchenAid mixing bowl to catch the juice, and place a large standard kitchen strainer across the bowl. This speeds things up a lot!

2. Rub some shortening on the aluminum shaft before inserting it into the brass sleeve. If you use your juicer a lot, this will greatly prolong its life.

For KitchenAid-

1. The plastic piece that inserts into the mixer should be made out of metal, instead of plastic with a metal sleve. On mine the plastic is cracking away from the brass.

2. The aluminum shaft should be brass or steel. As it is, the bearing surface is a small area of aluminum that even when lubricated, is showing lots of wear.

Each week we buy a dozen oranges and a dozen grapefruits (organic if possible). This juicer attachment makes juicing them much faster. Then we freeze most of the juice and thaw it in the fridge for 24 hours before we drink it. It would be hard to go back to regular juice. We also have a dedicated juicer for carrots, apples and pears, but it isn't good for citrus. We store the juice in mason jars in the freezer.

Notes:

1. As in an earlier review, use the mixer bowl with a large strainer place across it instead of the strainer attachment which is pretty useless.

2. You don't need to seed the grapefruit using the big strainer.

3. Hold the fruit so that your hand is at the top (fingers facing upwards) and brace the top of the mixer with your other hand. This way the juice does not run down your arm.

I will repeat what everybody else says about the included strainer not being worth anything. It is small, easy to lose, ineffective, etc.

Otherwise this is a marvelous attachment for juicing all kinds of citrus fruits.

A note on technique. Many people attempt to juice fruit by simply pressing forward. This will miss a lot of juice. It is necessary after pressing forward to give a little squeeze so the sides get all juiced as well. Also, you will get less messy if you hold the fruit half by the top instead of the bottom, as the bottom is where the juice tends to come out.

A note on lemonade. The key is to mix the water and sugar together and boil them. This makes the sugar a super saturated solution instead of a suspension. The sugar doesn't settle. Add the lemon juice once the sugar solution (also called simple syrup) is cooled in the fridge.

I was very pleased with the way this juicer attachment made it very easy to juice 10 lbs. of lemons for my homemade lemonade. (OK, Vodka Lemonade.) However, I wish I had thought of using a different strainer because I found it necessary to clean out the included strainer every 4 lemon halves.

If you are looking for new uses for your Kitchenaid Stand Mixer, this is a pretty practical one. This attachment doesn't take up a lot of cabinet space like some others do.

After the first few pounds of lemons, I heard a squeaking noise from the attachment. The shorting trick helped lubricate it.

I bought the KitchenAid juicer attachment because I thought it would make sense to use the wonderful KitchenAid machine to juice citrus fruit rather than buying a dedicated juicer. There are, however, two significant problems with this attachment:

1. The juice runs down your hand and arm and splatters more than in should.
2. You can only juice 1-2 oranges before the pulp strainer is full.

I think the second complaint is the more serious of the two. Last night I juiced 8 oranges. I bet it took me at least 1/2 an hour, due to being required to clean the strainer after almost every orange.

I am planning to return the attachment and purchase something a little more heavy-duty and dedicated.

I used to own a Braun citrus juicer, but after I bought this attachment I understand how much effort I had been wasting. The thing to keep in mind is that instead of having a tiny dedicated motor spinning the juicer thingy (that is a technical term for all you non-kitchen folk) you have this massive KitchenAid motor buzzing along. It does not bog down. Limes, lemons, oranges, grapfruit, and the likes are juiced in less time, with less (arm) strength, and yielding more juice than ever I could accomplish with my old Braun. I don't mean to knock Braun; I think they make a fine product. What we have here is the kitchen appliance equivalant of a tick (if you don't get this association, investigate ticks; they make ants look whimpy).

We love our mixer and bought the juicer attachment because it would take up less storage space than the other citrus juicers. That and the mixer's powerful motor are the good parts about getting this attachment.

The bad part is that you must push horizontally to juice the citrus. This has three bad consequences:
1. If you push hard, the mixer will move away. You need to hold onto the mixer with one hand to keep if from moving while you are juicing
2. The juice wants to flow downhill. If your hand is not above the orange or lemon, some of the juice will dribble down your hand and arm. It gets messy pretty quickly.
3. As the juice comes out, some splatters. The attachment is only about two inches deep, so that splatter ends up on the counter. Because of the splatter, juicing into a glass doesn't work well.

As others have commented, the strainer fills rather quickly.

Hopefully the attachment will last a long time, although it does feel a little flimsy compared to other KitchenAid attachments. If it does break, I'd buy the Braun MPZ22 juicer next time. My parents (who have orange and lemon trees) have one and I liked it much better. The Braun is one of the few juicers that juices right into your glass. Pushing down instead of horizontally to juice the orange or lemon is easier, and a lot less messy.

I investigate most new products before I purchase, using Amazon, Circuit City, etc. The reviews on this product were relatively useless. People seem to be getting a little critical. This juicer is a great product contrary to what the first few reviewers had to say. I had no juice dripping down my arm, I used only the strainer provided which worked very well for me, & if you merely place a glass measuring cup under the spout you are not only collecting the juice, but measuring as well, which you need to do anyways if using the juice for a recipe. The juicer also really gets absolutely every drop of juice from the citrus. I don't understand all the problems some people found with such a simple to use as well as great product. My only negative points are that it does become another item to find space for, & having to wash several parts, & the directions putting it together are foggy. However, a simple rinse does it, you can store it in a Ziploc, & fresh juice is so much more delicious whether you're using it for recipes, like me or are avid juice drinkers. The speed, ease, taste, & maximum amount of juice extracted from your citrus makes this a great product-----plus it's from KitchenAid. Don't let negative reviews steer you the wrong way, you will love this item.

I just used this attachment to juice about a gallon of lemon juice in about an hour, including all chopping and several trips to the compost heap. I find it takes about five seconds to juice one citrus half fairly thoroughly. With the power of the mixer behind it, it is an effective attachment.

On the other hand, it has disadvantages. This is a messy, hands-on operation. Roll up those sleeves, wear an apron, and keep a towel at hand. I only had problems with squeaking when I tried to apply pressure sideways. I will try lubricating with shortening next time. It also helped to brace the mixer against the back wall of the counter. The included strainer must be emptied frequently, but it is easily removable, whether to empty or bypass it. In its defense, it did catch most seeds and excess pulp.

Finally, it is not worthwhile to use this attachment for very small quantities, due to setup and cleanup. I still have a handheld Oxo citrus reamer for that.

I did not have the problem of juice running down my hand because I know the trick to using it. Don't hold the orange against the reamer with your palm under the orange. Use your fingertips and rotate it if necessary to juice fully.