Juicing Accessories I Can’t Do Without!

As a regular juicer for over 2 years, I’ve acquired a few accessories that I wouldn’t want to do without, so I thought I’d write a post about my juicy recommendations. Naturally, there are other brands of similar items available but these are the ones I actually use and which I’ve had for the most part for all of that time.

After the juicer and blender, the first thing I bought was a couple of metal juice flasks. These are great at keeping juices fresh in the fridge and help them last longer by keeping them cold and away from light and air, thereby slowing down the oxidising process. Always fill up to the top to prevent air spoiling the juice, adding ice chips helps too. They are good for carrying around so long as you don’t leave them in the car getting warm. This one is from Juicemaster and is the 0.4L size. It also comes in 0.6L  and there is a Sigg equivalent too.

The next thing you need if you are using flasks of any kind is a long-handled flexible brush that will reach right down and clean them out properly. Good hygiene is essential when juicing, all equipment and accessories need to be thoroughly cleaned to prevent the growth of harmful bacteria.

Again, this one is from Juicemaster and still going strong after two years. While we’re talking brushes, I’d also say you need a good vegetable scrubbing brush too so you can leave the skin on your veggies.

It is always best to drink your juices through a straw to protect your teeth, but I have a problem with plastic straws: I don’t like ingesting chemicals, plastic is bad for the environment and you have to keep buying them. Instead, I found some stainless steel ones that come as a set of 4 (somehow one has disappeared!) with a tiny spiral brush for cleaning them.

They are available on Amazon and currently cost around £4. They can be placed in the dishwasher and sterilised.

Once we mastered juicing  we moved on to making our own nut milks (see here for Nut Milk, Shake & Smoothie Recipes), and my next must-have accessory is a nut milk bag for straining the milk from the pulp. There are several different kinds and shapes available, I got mine on Amazon. It is easy to rinse through under the tap and hang it by the drawstring to air dry. Always rinse it out straightaway to make sure it is completely clean – don’t let the pulp dry in the bag, it will be so much harder to remove.

Once we started making nut milk, we needed something to store it in! I prefer glass to plastic and we found a great 500ml glass bottle by Grip & Go on Amazon which, if you’re like me and have a dodgy grip, is so much easier to hold: it has a thinner middle around which is a textured silicone grip. You can get them in many colours and two sizes, they are dishwasher safe apart from the lid and they don’t leak. I originally had a glass jug with a plastic lid, but it was neither airtight nor leakproof so the milk went off quicker and you couldn’t shake it up without getting splashed.

I bought 2 x 500ml bottles after finding the 1L bottle too heavy. They fit easily in the fridge door and look good too. The company also do a quirky twisty glass bottle that looks even better for those with grip problems like me. Great for juices too!

Copyright: Chris McGowan