There are many of us who believe that only exercising in the gym can boost physical fitness. But rather it is a myth that has taken the society by storm. Juicers like the Oscar VitalMax DA900 Juicer make sure you include extra quantities of raw food into your diet and help you enjoy the simple foods in an easy and delicious way.

Well, let’s wait no further in reviewing the Oscar VitalMax Juice Extractor 900 Model and find out how this masticating juicer could deliver better performance than a centrifugal juicer. Do note that this juicer is sold and marketed as Omega 8005 (Chrome) and Omega 8003 (White) in the United States and the Canadian markets.

Advanced juicing technology:

The Oscar VitalMax DA 900 Juicer Machine is designed with the newest advancements in juicing technology making it truly the numero uno in its class of Single Auger Masticating juicers. But then what is a Masticating juicer? A masticating juicer works on the principle of slowly extracting the juice by crushing the fruit or the vegetable. The extracted juice retains its nutritive flavour while also being healthy at the same time. In order to achieve this, masticating juicer is usually single geared or twin geared.

Also termed as ‘Cold Pressed juice’, the juicer ensures that the fruits and the vegetables are squeezed very slowly under 100 RPM, thereby generating no frictional heat and less amount of oxygen is introduced as a result.  It should be remembered that heat and oxygen affect both the nutritional quality of the juice as well as the shelf-life and appearance.

The juice produced is also stable, contains very little froth and is packed full of live enzymes with less oxidizing effects. Just as a quick comparison, most centrifugal juicers are messier to clean and noisier than the masticating juicer. These two aspects make all the differences in the world. The rest of the review will deal with the design and the technical features of the Oscar VitalMax Juicer.

Design features:

The VitalMax Single Auger juicer comes with a newly patented three-phase Auger crushing system that offers maximum nutrient-rich juice extract. Usually, all other gear juicers come with 2-phase gears. What it does is that it processes fruits and vegetables by slowly squeezing the produce with a large screw shaped device known as an Auger via a cone shaped sieve (or essentially juicing cone) called a juicing screen. The design and construction of the Oscar Vital Max 3-phase extraction Auger is such that the juicing cone and drum produce a ‘turbulent force’ resulting in greater juice extract and increased vitamin content. This feature can make short work of juicing softer fruits like oranges, berries, pineapple etc, which other juice extractors may have trouble doing so.

Single gear type juicer:

The Oscar VitalMax DA 900 juicer is of the single gear type that moves the produce through the juicing screen, thus breaking down the fruit or food to the cell level and produces the juice. Though it is no better than a Twin Gear Juicer, it is comparatively advantageous to high speed juicers as the latter would disrupt the cellular and organic structure of the food grain or fruit. This in turn leads to reduced nutrient level and resources that the fruit or vegetable would provide the human body.

Mechanism of Auger:

The auger rotates at the rate of 75 to 90 revolutions per minute (RPM) extracting a ‘living juice’ or ‘living food’ that is rich in enzymes and nutrients. This is quite different from the likes of thin oxidized juice extracted from high speed, aerating centrifugal juicer models. Also, as a matter of fact, the oxidation of nutrients does not happen that quickly compared to the juice produced from centrifugal juicers. Not to mention that the juice can be stored in the refrigerator for about two days whilst retaining its taste, appearance and nutritive flavour. On testing, we found that the juicer can yield 615ml approx. of juice for 1kg of carrots and 810ml approx. for 1kg of apples under ideal conditions.

Mortar & Pestle action:

The fastidious, precision ‘Mortar & Pestle action’ of the Oscar Vital Max ensures the VitalMax DA 900 juicer retains up to 60% more nutrient composition than conventional centrifugal juicers and our test results showed an appreciably higher volume of juice produced. The bottom line is that juice extracted from high speed, conventional centrifugal juicers tends to deteriorate very quickly. This deterioration is clearly evident in the form of brown colour of the bubbles formed on the side of the glass.

This suggests that the juice is no longer vital and fresh any more, in fact it is dying (oxidising) in your drinking glass and inside you!  Cut fruits or vegetables into small chunks (about 2 inches) so that you have a more thorough juice extract. After you place the last bit of fruits or vegetables into the hopper, keep the machine in operation for a few seconds longer to make sure it has extracted the last drops of juice, though the routine may seem fiddly and time-consuming. And the good news, there is no need to trim carrot ends or core apples. Just chop up and the machine sorts the rest out.

Dual stage juicer extractor:

The Oscar VitalMax Masticating juicer is a dual stage juice extractor that can squeeze the juicing fed in produce at 2 distinct points on the juicing screen (2-step juicing screen) as it flows through the juicer machine. Most gear juicers feature only single-step screen as a point of comparison. The juicer also features new silicon seals, one on the juicing filter screen and another one round the pusher (plunger) that can produce a much higher back-pressure resulting in a greater yield of juice out of the pulp with less amount of fibre in it.

There is an integral pulp strainer which gets the juice as clean as possible. This also means it does not require a separate sieve to filter the pulp out of it unlike most centrifugal juicers that make a wet mushy pulp from fruits. The pulp is expelled from the front of the Oscar juicer, producing a continuous juicing action especially with soft fruits. Consequently, 100% more calcium and the much needed vitamins are retained without your having to consume all the fibre. We had no problems lifting the pulp from the container and running it through again even while the motor is running at full throttle.

Multi-purpose juicer & Food processor:

The juicer is integrated with specialised blank drum cap required to make frozen fruit ice-cream, nut butters, pasta, baby foods, tapenades, frozen fruit sorbets, gourmet dips and much more. While the juicing Strainer can efficiently juice the hardest of fruits like juice limes, citrus fruits (including skins) and all kinds of vegetables like carrots, celery, radishes, peppers, cabbages and leafy greens such as spinach, bean sprouts & parsley, it is more than just a juicer! You can count on it as a grass juice extractor that can juice wheat grasses, pine tree needles, aloe leaves, medicinal herbs and other natural products. As a multiple mincer/blender with chopper functions and mincing strainer, it can chop and mince red pepper, scallions, kale, ginger, garlic, onion, radish and several other foods like herbs and seasonings.

The chopper attachment can prove indispensable for babies, geriatric patients or those under strict diet regimen as they get to enjoy soft foods prepared quickly and easily with the juicer. Thanks widely to the blank screen provided. Last not least, the inclusion of 6 extra pasta nozzles and mincing strainer makes it to act like pasta maker that allows you to prepare fresh pasta, U-dong in no time, leave alone making breadsticks and rice noodles from leftover rice as a handy noodle extruder. So, simply enjoy the best that nature has to offer in raw foods of all forms and juice them for complete nutritional benefits.

No toxic materials:

The Oscar VitalMax 900 Juice extractor parts are made with a strong food grade plastic that guarantees durability. Also several test results prove that they contain no toxic materials including BPA, Di-n-butyl Phthalate, bis (2-Ethyhexyl) Phthalate, Dimethyl Phthalate, Diethyl Phthalate, bis (2-Ethylhexyl) adipate & Di-n-octyl phthalate. Therefore, the plastic made use of is food grade polycarbonate. There are several types of polycarbonate and a common misconception is that all polycarbonates have BPA content. But, the Oscar VitalMax juicer parts are free of BPA or toxic chemicals of any form.

Additional accessories & features:

Two juice jugs have been provided to collect the juice that the machine extracts. The juicer is complete with a neat, convenient folding carrying handle (for increased portability), chunky rubber feet, Locking clip and a generous produce feeding tray/hopper for adding the ingredients into the juicer. A food pusher is provided to press the fruit or vegetables smoothly down the hopper. Weighing in as much as 6.8 kg, it is available in three stunning colours – White, Black and Chrome for you to choose from.

Motor operation:

With low vibration, the motor is much quieter than any centrifugal juicer with a combined motor and gearbox that produce maximum torque, supply ample power that doubles the operating life and efficiency of the powerful 200W motor. All internal clips & wiring are completely insulated for maximum safety and to protect from corrosion. An in-built capacitor and external fan help prolong the motor’s life. The motor may turn a bit noisy if your produce is especially hard, or has been refrigerated or frozen.

Wash Instructions:

Cleaning the machine is a breeze. It took about two minutes to hold the 8 pieces under running water. Once you are finished, remove the entire front end off the machine, separate it and hold under running water. You will also require giving the juicing screen a scrub with the nifty little toothbrush using the brush’s back end or the square edge of a spoon handle to separate the fibres in the corner of the screen.

Try cleaning the juicing strainer at the same time or allow it to soak for sometime to make it really simple. Never place any of the parts in the dishwasher. Any colouring on the machine created by fruits or vegetables can be removed by soaking affected parts in a citric acid solution diluted with water. As an alternate way, pour white sugar and pulp through the machine while in operation as the white sugar can work as an abrasive.

Dis-assembly level:

The VitalMax DA 900 juicer is easy to disassemble with captive seals.  One can easily remove the juicing head and dismantle it for cleaning. It took half a minute on an average to screw the 5 parts together.

Product Manual:

A comprehensive product manual provided by the manufacturer is what all you need to get the hang of the various technical stuff of the juice extractor including safety tips,  assembly, cleaning & troubleshooting instructions,  FAQs, juicer/processor instructions and warranty description. With tips to choose the right type of strainer for different ingredients, the booklet has some wonderful ideas for refreshing juice & drink recipes, food and savoury specialties.

Use & Care:

The manufacturer recommends selecting fresh, small sized produce for juicing. Getting started off with the Oscar Juicer is easy provided you cut off the tough ends or damaged sections while leaving most peels on. Always cut the produce well so that it fits into the feeding chute nicely.  Do not use the machine with wet hands and only make use of the plunger supplied. We observed that the pulp extract from the first few bits of fruits and vegetables is wetter than normal as the machine develops pressure for efficient juicing.
Always store large quantity of juice in a tightly seated glass container before placing it in the fridge. The juice will retain its integrity for up to 48 hours due to the gentle extraction method. Sometimes there is a tendency for the produce to become clogged in the machine which you can avoid by using the reverse gear. Make sure the correct nozzle type, be it the round noodle nozzle, flat noodle nozzle or the bread stick nozzle is used for its intended function. Remember the pulp will be a little wetter for soft fruits caused by a clogged screen. You can avoid this by putting the pulp through a second time for a much drier result.  Backing up in the juicer can be resolved by inserting the fruit in the machine one piece at a time. This allows the juicer to take in each piece as it goes. Use the mincing set up of the juicer, when you are making nut butters. Do not forget to soak harder nuts for 8 hours before you juice them. The enzymes inhibitors are also washed away by this.  This will also ensure that the augur is not damaged or subjected to too much wear and tear.

Box Contents:

1 x Mincing Strainer
1 x Hopper
2 x Bowls
1 x Food Pusher
2 x Bread Stick Nozzle
2 x Flat Noodle Nozzle
2 x Round Noodle Nozzle
1 x Cleaning Brush
1 x Drum Cap
1 x Drum
1 x Screw
1 x Juicing Strainer
1 x User Manual

Quality certification:

The juicer has been CE, GS, ISO9001 certified for its built quality and superior performance.

Manufacturer Warranty:

For your own peace of mind, the juicer comes with a generous 20-year warranty on the motor and 5 years on all other parts from the date of purchase. Without question, no other juicer brand is able to offer this length of guarantee.  Built to last, the VitalMax is one thing you do not have to upgrade again anytime soon.

Summary:

Having discussed a lot of positives, there are a few things that we do not like about the juicer, one of which is that it is not great for softer items. We found that it does not cope with more than a few apples or oranges at one time before it starts to clog up, so alternate between putting soft and hard fruits or vegetables down the chute to prevent this from happening. Another downside to the juice maker is that the chute is relatively narrow.

The Oscar VitalMax extracts around 20% more juice than its predecessor. What that also means is that you can save 20% of your grocery bill when shopping for the produce. This will soon add up over a few months and the juicer will start out to pay for itself as soon as you start making the most of it. To conclude, the taste of the juice is great. More importantly, it does not eat up too much work top space and reduces clutter on the kitchen work-top. We understand the juicer is pricey, but just go on, treat yourself. It is worth every penny!

Oscar VitalMax DA 900 Juicer – Technical Specification Table