I always thought a juicer was a juicer was a juicer.

But when i attended my first vegan workshop at Sugarleaf with raw food chef Mona Lisa Neuboeck, they were using a different kind of juicer — a slow Matstone juicer.

At that time, I was not really compelled to consider getting a slow juicer. I already had a juicer (two, in fact because someone gave us another one which was still unopened). And I had a blender too. I thought those were more than sufficient for what we needed in terms of blending and juicing at home.

But what I heard from that workshop and a few more to come, as well as from a naturopathic doctor that we have been seeing, stuck with me and over time, I slowly came to learn that there is a difference between high speed and low speed juicers.

 

In the wellness world, the emphasis on choice of food and drink is extracting those precious enzymes that our body needs. In other words, we need to choose food from which we can get amino acids and enzymes from

Centrifugal Juicers. These are the most popular and affordable types of juicers, the kind I had. They are great for juicing fresh fruits and some of the more juicy vegetables but have more difficulty squeezing juice out of grass and leafy vegetables. Because they are centrifugal and high speed in nature, juicing is fast; however, the speed and movement creates heat build-up which can destroy heat-sensitive enzymes in the fruits and vegetables which you actually want to preserve and consume in the first place. Also, the centrifugal movement allows more air to get in between the juice which then shortens its shelf life. Usually with centrifugal juicers, you need to consume the juice as you make them.

Masticating Juicers. Imagine yourself chewing on food and masticating them with your teeth. To us that is just eating. But the chewing process slowly squeezes out the juices containing  from whatever it is you are eating. This is what slow juicers do. Rotating at only 80 RPM (revolutions per minute), a slow juicer produces no heat build-up and enzymes are preserved more than on the high-speed juicers.

Finally, after months of procrastinating, I decided that my husband, who is recuperating from a long-drawn medical condition, had to have as much of these precious enzymes as I can provide him with. Kasali na ako diyan (Including me). So I went off to Sugarleaf, my suki when it comes to organic food items, and got myself the Matstone juicer.

Matstone comes in 2 colors: maroon and white. White would have been nice but I went for maroon so that scratches or smudges won’t be too visible.

The main body of the juicer holds the motor. It’s got 3 buttons: ON and OFF buttons as well as one labeled REV which stands for Reverse (used in case food catches on the auger and has to be reversed to free it up. Thoughtfully, it sports a handle on top for ease of lifting and moving around.

 

Each part is inserted into the main body one at a time. First the juicing chamber, followed by the auger, then the stainless steel, tongue-like juicer. Last come two covers where the pulp comes out. Two plastic containers catch the juice and the pulp underneath the Matstone. A stainless steel strainer covers one of the containers for the juiced liquid.

It’s been a year already since I bought the Matstone. We use it every day to juice a combination of seeds, cereals and nuts for the hubby and a combination of fruits and vegetables for both of us. There has been no major hitch with the motor although I noticed that it was having difficulty with long strips of carrots. It works better when diced very small so it is juiced well by the auger. The amazing thing is how it is able to squeeze juice from vegetables I never thought had water content. We’ve put in broccoli, celery, spinach, petchay and a few other veggies as well.

To order your own Matstone slow juicer, contact Angelo Songco of Sugarleaf, mobile (0917) 803-9055 or email Angelo at angelo@healthyeats.ph or joseangelonarcisosongco@gmail.com. Or reach me via my contact form, in case Angelo is abroad and unable to respond.

(Update, Sept 2017: There has been a price increase to the Matstone juicer). The current SRP of the juicer is PhP 15,499 but mention to Angelo that you saw the post on The Yogini from Manila’s blog and you can get it for PhP 14,600 plus freebies with your order. He can also have it delivered to your home within Metro Manila (with a demo on how to assemble/use) or deliver free by courier nationwide.