Mornings, even with the brightness of day are certainly dark and hectic things. For many, a first sip of freshly squeezed juice is all they need to start the day afresh. And sometimes all you have to do is look at the juice and of course the type of juice will dictate the type of juicer to go for. Right, with this in mind, we review a popular Citrus juicer from the house of Russell Hobbs. Inspired by the famed chef Marco Pierre, the juicer was developed with his collaboration and insightful knowledge of cooking techniques.

Popular juicer from Russell Hobbs:

Russell Hobbs celebrated its 50th anniversary of the K2 kettle and 10th anniversary of the Montana kettle and went on to develop the world’’s fastest domestic toaster earlier this year. Since 1952, it has carved a niche for itself in kitchen and home appliances from toasters and kettles to cooking, cleaning and garment care. Let us get into the design features and check out if the juicer machine lives up to the manufacturer’s objective of making life in the home easier and much enjoyable.

Design features:

The Russell Hobbs Marco Pierre Black Citrus Juicer (Product code: 14336) will be a fabulous addition to any kitchen. The functional part of the work of the Russell Hobbs Citrus Juicer has been designed in matt black with a chrome finish and undoubtedly will look elegant in any location. We actually fell in love with the chrome finish.  The best part of its design is that it can blend with any kitchen decor. The attractive, brushed steel appliance is great for extracting juice from citrus fruits like lemons, limes, oranges and grapefruits.

Coming to its operation, the citrus juicer consists of two reamers, which are essentially 2 size interchangeable cones, one large and one small for juicing fruits of several sizes. Here is how it operates, just slice the fruit and place down on the reamer or the cone. The motor starts up and the reamers spin, emptying the fruit of its juice extract. The juice runs down the inside and then it comes out of the stainless steel drip free spout into the waiting glass or jug. It’s as simple as pie! The rest of the review will cover all the essential technical aspects of the machine.

Two size Interchangeable cones:

We have seen a bit on the operation of the cones already in the review, but to be more precise on their function, the larger cone comes with a gap and the smaller one is surrounded by two wings that can crush the flesh of the fruit when you push the lime, half orange etc down on the cone. The protective dust cover is made of transparent plastic and provides greater protection from dust, shocks and hard scratches. The manufacturer recommends that the larger reamer be used for large fruits like ugli, grapefruit & pomelo and the smaller one for juicing small fruits including limes and lemons.

Automatic one way juicing:

The way the Russell Hobbs Citrus juicer is designed; there is no worry about messing it up with a switch. In fact it is an Automatic one way juicing method by which the rotation of the motor pushes the juice out of the fruit as you press the produce down on the reamer.

Stainless steel Spout & Strainer:

There is a stainless separator that catches all the seeds and the juice flows neatly down a stainless spout directly. The Russell Hobbs 14336 Citrus Juicer features a retractable spout with a non-drop position that is designed to avoid any unwanted drips. You have to push the spout down so as to open it. When the spout is full, stop juicing, then slightly push the spout up to close it and stop the flow of juice. Therefore, the operation of the spout is relatively simple and not a messy operation at all. The strainer basket of the juicer is made of stainless steel. The strainer is easily removable for easy cleaning. This means you can get better yield by separating the juice along with the pulp. The strainer is also adjustable to let through as much or as little amount of pulp you choose.

Powerful 850 Watts motor:

The juicer is powered by a powerful 850 Watts motor that delivers exceptional performance. The motor is quite a simple one, therefore the reamer will not always spin the same way when you place the cut (flesh) side on top of the cone and press it down. The motor will stop when you stop pressing the fruit. As safety measures, do not submerse the motor unit in liquid or use it in a bathroom or outdoors. Running the motor for more than 2 minutes may overheat it, so it is best to switch off the motor for at least 2 minutes and let the motor cool for sometime.

Easy Assembly/Dis-assembly:

Assembly: It is easy to put together the various parts of the juicer. First, place the motor unit on a stable, level surface. Then push the bottom of the shaft to the top of the motor unit. Next, you have to align the spout with the space in the front of the motor unit and then lower the juice collector on the top of the motor unit. The separator is then lowered on the Juice collector. To use the large reamer, all you have to do is to lower it on the top of the small reamer such that the gaps in the bottom of the large reamer fit nicely over the wings that are found in the small reamer. Finally, the reamer should be lowered over the motor drive shaft in the centre of the citrus press.

Dis-assembly: Dismantling the juicer parts after the juicing operation is not difficult either. First, lift the two reamers off the drive shaft by unplugging the citrus press. Hold the larger reamer in one hand and the wings of the small reamer in the other and then separate the two reamers. Now, lift the separator off the juice extract collector which is placed inside the motor unit. Then just pull the drive shaft up and off the motor unit followed by the regular cleaning process.

Integrated Cord Storage:

Coming as an added benefit is the integration of a cord storage so that the cable can be neatly wrapped and tucked away in the area under the motor unit. This accounts for compact storage after use without the need for additional storage space. An instruction manual has been provided alongside the product so that you can save time and learn more about the juicer plus recipe booklet that will help you get started doing your juicing.

Package Contents:

1 x Motor unit (plus integrated cable storage unit), 1 x Juice collector, 1 x Spout, 1 x Separator,     2 x Reamers (Small with wings & Large), 1 x Cover, 1 x 13A BS1362 fuse in a 13A BS1363 plug, 1 x Instruction booklet, 1 x Recipe booklet.

Use & Care:

Always wipe the outer surfaces using a damp cloth and if necessary you can use a little washing-up liquid. The removable parts must be washed in warm soapy water after you rinse and dry them well. The parts of the Citrus press are not safe to put through the dishwasher and this is a big letdown so far as cleaning is concerned.  This is mostly because the extreme environment inside the dishwasher can mar the surface finishes. Make sure you do not submerse or put the citrus in water or any other liquid for that matter. And the last thing the citrus juicer would want is the use of harsh or abrasive cleaning agents or solvents for cleaning its parts.

Manufacturer Warranty:

The manufacturer provides a one-year guarantee for the product and any manufacturing defects affecting the functionality can be repaired or corrected by replacement within the warranty period provided you use and maintain the product according to the instructions. However, your statutory rights are not affected.

Verdict:

Coming to the negatives, the juicer is a good, solid piece of equipment, but it may tend to move around a bit so you might need to keep your hand on it to steady the movement. Now if this is annoying, you can choose one that could firmly fix it to the surface. There are of course two sizes of cones which are pretty good, but we found it a bit difficult to extract all the juice out of really large grapefruit as what the manufacturer claims as the biggest cone is not that big at all.

Another downside to the juicer is that the motor doesn’t rotate that quickly, so if you want to do large quantities of juice daily, it might take you a bit of time. With a simple & efficient design, easy assembly & disassembly, rinsing quickly and washing the juicer up by scraping the pulp from the mesh is a breeze. This means that you can use it everyday without any problems. The juicer may be comparatively expensive, but as for us two things stand out about this Russell Hobbs Citrus Juicer:

1. Maximum amount of juice is extracted from the produce
2. Minimum amount of pulp content in the juice

Russell Hobbs Marco Pierre Black Citrus Juicer – Technical Specification Table