I would like to introduce you to the newest member of my family

It is the Breville JE900 for those who are curious, and while they should be, they are not paying me for the plug.

I agonized over various juicer options. Most Brevilles I found were $200-400 with some caveats (usually that the pulp leftover was too pulpy wet, and that it had trouble with greens). While I want a Vita-Mix, it’s violent approach to juicing wasn’t what I was looking for. There are a couple other options (one that slow-macerated the juice out) that were also expensive.

THEN the Williams Sonoma outlet came into my life. Not only did they have this juicer for a mere $130 (I’m still not sure that wasn’t a mistake), but it was also 20% off as part of an appliance sale.

What you see in that cup is about 6 ounces of fresh ginger juice. It took longer to photograph the juice than it did to make it.It required about a half pound of ginger to make. Some blogger with a “Jack Lelanne” juicer got about half the yield, though I’ll admit the liquid content of ginger roots varies quite a bit. I got two types of pulp–half in the spinner, bone dry, the other half in the pulp bucket, mildly soggy. Overall, I would initially recommend the Breville without hesitation. It’s also cute.

One issue with ginger beer/ale/etc. recipes out there is they assume you’ll just grate and boil the ginger. That’s fine if you’re an uneducated caveman. I haven’t found any decent recipes involving the use of fresh juice with no boiling. So, in the coming weeks I will be presenting experiments. I’m hoping I can get some guinea pigs to come visit so we can all act like educated cavemen.

Also, with apple season approaching and home brewing supplies in hand, this should be a fun autumn.

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