Philips HR2094 Aluminium Blender

Sometime ago, we pondered the question, what’s the difference between a blender and a smoothie maker? The answer seems to be not much, or certainly there’s no real advantage to a “smoothie maker”. This gimmicky device sometimes adds a tap to dispense the drink but that functionality is not especially useful and just creates another cleaning point.

The difference between a juice and a smoothie is that a smoothie incorporates all the fibres of the fruit or vegetable to create a thicker drink, rather than extracting the juice and leave the pulp out.

The Philips HR2094, in common with many of Philips appliances, cuts an impressive looking figure in any kitchen. Its aluminium casing with LED-illuminated buttons looking cool and modern.

The device itself is powered by 750 watts of power, allowing it to make short work of almost any fruit or vegetables you care to challenge it with. It also crushes ice superbly - perfect for iced coffees or iced slush drinks.

The 1.5L glass jar is dishwasher safe and also there’s a detachable cleaning knife.  The Philips HR2094 Aluminium Blender is an impressive bit of kit which opens the door to refreshing healthy smoothies, and also can be used for a multitude of other purposes such as soups and pulses.

So if you want to create decent smoothies, all upi need is a decent blender.

Philips HR1881 Robust Juice Extractor

The Philips HR1861 has for a long time been one of the most popular juicers available, and now Philips have come up with the HR1881 - but what’s the difference?

The first thing to strike you about the HR1881 is the heavy duty, die cast aluminium finish. It’s part of Philips’ Robust range of kitchen appliances and you only have to see and touch it to know that it’s built to last.

The large feed tube has a 9cm diameter so all manner of fruit and vegetables will pass through whole without the need for chopping up. The 1200w motor will make short work of most things you put through and the juice will collect in a generously sized 1.5l jug. Leftover pulp will end up in a 2l pulp container.

Send away the registration card that comes with the HR1881 and Philips will guarantee the juicer for five years, and guarantee the motor component for a massive fifteen years.

Update: The Philips HR1881 juicer was recently given five out of five in a Mail on Sunday product test.

The Philips HR1881 Juicer is available to buy online now from JohnLewis.com.

HR1861 Gets Price Cut For Xmas

A few months ago, you’d have been looking to pay nearly £100 for the Philips HR1861 - our favourite mid-market centrifugal juicer. But with Christmas approaching, retailers have gone bargain crazy and are now offering the excellent juice machine at some fantastic prices.

At Amazon, it’s slowly worked its way down to just over £60. But John Lewis have gone straight in with stonking price cut, coming down from £99.95 to only £59.95.

That makes it emminently affordable, and a credit busting bargain for this Christmas!

UPDATE 20/11/08 - Unfortunately these great prices didn’t stuck for long and it’s back at 79.95 at John Lewis.

Philips HR2737 Citrus Press Juicer

A point I’ve made several times elsewhere on the site is that one of the most popular types of juice is orange juice, but the centrifugal juicers aren’t really great for orange juice because peeling them is such a pain, especially if they’ve been in the fridge which you’d want to do for a nice cold drink.

So this is where expensive juicers take a step back and instead look at the humble citrus press, and in the Philips HR2737 we have a fantastic bit of gadgetry which you should be able to pick up for about a tenner.

Take your citrus fruit - orange, grapefruit, lemon etc - and simply cut it in half. Place it down on top of the citrus press’s reamer and the Philips HR2737 springs into life, rotating and bringing juice gushing out to be collected below. Lift off and the citrus press stops. Reapply pressure and it turns in the opposite direction to ensure you get all the goodness.

Once you’ve tried it you’ll be embarrased you ever bought orange jucie in the shops. Keep this on the side and some oranges in the fridge and you have a healthy, tasty start to every morning. It’s no suprise that this citrus press is consistently given the 5 star rating at Amazon - it’s really excellent.

And with Christmas coming, this is a perfect stockingfiller juicer for if you’re looking for a healthy gift idea that won’t break the bank.

Buy It From Amazon UK: Philips HR2737 Citrus Press

Philips HR1851 Juicer Extractor

If you’re looking for an entry level juicer, look no further than the Philips HR1851. This attractive juicer from Philips comes in white plastic and has a powerful 500W motor. Fully endorced by the “Juicer Master”, Jason Vale, the unit comes with one of his books. It has a pulp container with a capacity of 1.5litres and all parts are dishwasher safe.

You might wonder what this doesn’t have that its big brother, the Philips HR1861, has. This unit is less powerful and has a smaller feeding tube so you need to cut the fruit first. Affordable, attractive and easy to use. If you want to dip your toe in juicing, this is a great place to start.

Philips HR1861 Pro Aluminium Juicer

We thought we would kick proceedings off with a look at what has long been Amazon’s best selling fruit juicer - the Philips HR1861 Pro Aluminium Juicer.

First thing to notice is that is has an extra large feeding tube, so if you want to stick a few whole apples or pears down there, then you can. Believe me, not having to mess about chopping your fruit before putting it down makes the process easier and more convenient. The anodised aluminium gives the unit a very solid feel, and you get the sense it’s well constructed, and the rubber feet means it doesn’t jump about when you’re in on a heavy pulping session. Look under the bonnet, and you will find a 700w motor which has two speeds of operation.

The machine is dead simple to use and the jug holds a generous 1.5 litre juice. It’s not the cheapest - weighing in at almost £80 at the time writing - but if you’re after a quality juicer, then you won’t go wrong with the Philips HR1861 Pro Aluminium Juicer.

It’s also worth noting then when you purchase this juicer, you get a free box with loads of very good recipies for juices and smoothies.

Do you own the Philips HR1861 Pro Aluminium Juicer? Please use the comments box to share your experiences…