Santos Juicers Review

CASE STUDY: Santos are renowned for producing some of the best juicers on the market. But which one is right for you and your business? We put Chef Mark Veale to the test with the Santos Classic Citrus Juicer and the Santos Miracle 68 Centrifugal Juicer to see what he thought.

Santos Classic Citrus Juicer

Over the years, working as a chef in some fantastic locations, I have been able to cook for some truly wonderful guests. People whom it was an honour to serve and who were so appreciative of the lengths you went to in order to get things right.

At the other end of the scale, I have also experienced my fair share of the impatient customer - the customer who wanted things yesterday - who couldn’t understand why things took so long to prepare and who believed their food and drink should take priority over everyone else’s.

I remember one such customer (who shall remain nameless), had a thing about orange juice. When he ordered orange juice, he wanted to know it had been pressed the very second he had ordered it. “Fresh fruit juiced this morning an hour before my arrival? No good to me .... Not fresh enough.....”. It was as if he was afraid the vitamin C would leap out of the glass and hotfoot it back to California the second it was released from the peel.

It’s this chap I remembered vividly as I was testing the Santos Classic Citrus Juicer. He would have loved it. Finally, we might have had a happy customer.

With health experts around the world exhorting us to ever increase our consumption of fruits and vegetables, it comes as no surprise that fresh juice and smoothie bars are one of the biggest growing industries here in the UK. Personally I think they are fantastic: I like drinking fresh juice, I like being able to taste a combination of exotic fruits and berries (dragon fruit and kiwi anyone?). And I like the convenience of freshly pressed juice, rather than the slog of eating the whole fruit one at a time - so Neanderthal!

TIP: Why not take your juicing business on the road and set up a mobile catering business?

Testing the Santos Classic Citrus Juicer

So I’m putting the Santos Classic Juicer through its paces. I remember seeing these little green and yellow things when I went to France last year. I saw them a lot. Everywhere. And, having now tried one I can see why they are so popular.

I’ve had this machine for about 4 days now and I have to say it is one of the easiest and sturdiest bits of kit I have ever used. Juicing the oranges, grapefruits and lemons for my lemon cheesecake was easy. Cleaning the machine down - surely the most labour-intensive part of any juicing - is easy. And from all the research I have done on consumer websites, it’s clear that another reason it's so popular is its durability. This thing lasts!

Santos have been manufacturing machinery for more than 60 years and the strongest element of their business has always been their motors. They pride themselves on the strength and durability of their motors and from what I’ve seen so far their pride is entirely justified. The motor comes with a rare five year warranty, significantly higher than the industry standard.

In a disposable world where it’s becoming more and more common for new equipment to fail, a frustration for any chef ordering on a tight budget, Santos appear to be bucking the trend and still making machines that endure.

The other real positive about this machine and the other Santos machine I am testing - the Santos Miracle 68 Centrifugal Juicer - is their noise, or rather the lack of it. I remember using a juicer a few years ago and it made a horrible noise (think tractor/vacuum cleaner hybrid and you'll get the general idea). These two machines are quiet, which a top-end juicer should be in today's market. You go to a juice bar to chat with friends, not mime at them whilst wearing ear-defenders for health and safety purposes!

Article: See our juicer buying guide to learn more.

Santos Miracle 68 Centrifugal Juicer

This highly acclaimed Miracle #68 fits in with the rest of the brand. It’s strong, it’s built on top of a brilliant motor. In terms of ease of use, again the designers have got it right. So far I have played with apples, pears, pineapples, kiwis, carrots, beetroot, cucumber and ginger and have experienced some great wins.

I like the smoothness of the resulting juice as well as how little waste is being fired into my waste tub (I'm all about cost-effectiveness!). The extra-wide feeding tube means fruits and vegetables can be fed in whole, which means I save time chopping as well as on waste! I also think it looks stylish, making it ideal for the ever popular 'open' kitchens. What's more, cleaning is a breeze and any part of the machine that comes in contact with food can simply be placed in your dishwasher.

The big difference between the two juicers is the quantity of the output. You know your kitchen better than I do, so you’ll know if you need the Classic Citrus Juicer churning out 30 litres per hour, or the miracle edition with an amazing 140 litres per hour. With that in mind, you may wish to go with the citrus juicer behind the bar for fresh fruit juice and the miracle edition in the kitchen for intensive use.

I understand that juicer sales are much more buoyant on the continent where climate and culture naturally support this market; however I personally believe that this country, with our growing obsession with health and wellbeing is not too far behind, especially throughout the summer months.

Now, where is that “orange juice man” when you want him.

GUIDE: There's a big difference between a juicer and a blender, if you don't think a juicer is what you need, take a look at our guide on buying a kitchen blender to see if we have the right blender for you.