The first ever Norwalk juicer model was moulded in 1934 into what would be known as the world's first juicer. The fact that it was invented in 1934 would make one wonder why people never really learned to take advantage of juicing for health when juicing machines like the Norwalk juicer has been around since the 1930s.
Yes, it's that old but it ain't old-fashioned or outdated at all!
The ones that you see on the market today is far from the first unit tested. We've seen it evolve throughout those years into perfection and with its merits, it's not unusual to read reviews saying that its the best juicer they've tried.
All those years of research and development have resulted to the perfection of the Norwalk juicer.
But
even in the modern days
of today; the juicing principles of the Norwalk
juicer remained virtually the same. It has two main functions - the
grinder and the hydraulic press.
No, they did not shift to the more trendy centrifugal or masticating way of juicing but this juicer lived up to the expectations of the modern day juicing standards!
The Norwalk juicer employs a powerful hydraulic press action producing about 2,000 pounds of pressure to extract as much fresh juice as possible from the fruits and vegetables; hence, hydraulic press juicers, and there ain't no RPMs here.
This is Dr. Norman Walker's legacy to the world. He himself was a living proof of his raw food and juicing advocacy living up to 99 years, all the while keeping his health and mental faculties.
One reason why they never changed the juicing mechanism of the Norwalk juicer maybe is that it works. Which we think actually proves right; would you fix something that's not broken?
One important thing that people are looking for when purchasing a juicer is the unit's ease of use. You're purchasing a juicer to alleviate your life and to contribute in making things easier here and there.
Belive it or not and though it looks more like a plastic straw dispenser at first glance; the Norwalk Juicer is really easy to use.
It's not high-tech in every sense of the word but it works, and work well it does!
The Norwalk juicer doesn't have any complicated mechanisms that you need to master and if you're juicing fruits with high liquid content, placing them directly to the juice press makes juicing a breeze. This applies to citruses and fruits like pineapple.
Hard fruits and vegetables must first pass-through the grinding process before they should be placed on the juice press.
With a typical hard fruit, the juicing process would most often than not involve the following Steps:
Grinding and extracting at the same time will make the juicing process faster; you could also place two bags at one time on the juice press if you're juicing large batches.
You will observe that the pulp are really dry and can no longer be of use for any healthy snacks that you may have in mind. Anyway, they would still do great compost.
Having a hard time imagining how it works? No worries, the video below shows the Norwalk Juicer in action!
So, is that a juicer or what? Okay, I'm a fan! Should I count you in?
Well, the Norwalk juicer can't be perfect; there's just no such a thing but nonetheless, it's still one of the best (if not the best) juicer ever created. Well, why not when it could easily come with a $2,500 price tag!
"It better be worth it!"
It probably is worth it! The Norwalk Juicer is a grandmaster when it comes to juicing fruits and vegetables. Its triturating (grinding) process easily grinds the hardest fruits and vegetables where other juicers are barely making it.
Also, you wouldn't need a citrus juicer to extract the most fruits out of your citruses. It can virtually all these juicing functions with ease.
More than a juicer and with just two main mechanisms, the Norwalk juicer can easily pass as your handy food processor. Well, it can grind, mix, press, and juice!
Does it work with wheatgrass?
uhm.. yes, but this is where it gets tricky. No, not the juicer but the wheatgrass! You'll have to use the large hole screen or combine it with other more juicy fruits and vegetables to get the most when grinding (triturating) wheat grass. This, however must be done in alternate so as not to heat-up the triturating function which may cause oxidation thereby affecting the quality of the juice but not as much as compared to centrifugal juicers.
But if you're planning to juice wheatgrass exclusively, there are some great wheatgrass juicers to choose from, ones that can do the job quite excellently.
They say that it all boils down to YIELD.
Norwalk juicers are five star generals when it comes to yield. It produces on average approximately 50% more juice per pound of fruits and vegetables than most popular juicers falling under the $200-$400 price range.
As mentioned on the video, it can easily produce 100% more juice if compared with cheaper models.
You can observe that from the pale colored, lifeless pulp board that comes out after each press.
A $2,500 price tag may scare the heck out of you cause it seems like it may cost too much upfront compared to other juicers but you may think otherwise after seeing all the benefits.
Norwalk juicers are extremely durable that they are even used as commercial juicers by businesses like BluePrintCleanse and some juice bars.
Why do you think these companies aren't going for commercial juicers instead?
Well, aside from the obvious savings, Norwalk juicer satisfies all their commercial needs. It can survive the huge daily grind volume of a commercial establishment, and still last for many years.
The secret to its durability perhaps is that it doesn't have that much moving parts thereby minimizing the chances of parts breakage as compared to other juicers. Also, no reports of motor burns has yet been reported as of this writing.
The Norwalk juicer is recognized as the most durable juicer with a functional lifespan of about 30 years provided that it's used responsibly.
But like any other juicer, time will come when it will require some standard maintainance. The long years of daily juicing brings its toll to the motor bearings and belt which if not replaced may result to oil leaks in its hydraulic system.
You may request for replacement parts to resolve this issue and do the replacment yourself if you're mechanically inclined, otherwise you can have someone else do it for you.
The biggest problem that owners of older models face is that parts may no longer be available when the time comes that they need them. Like for instance, replacement parts for 230-240 series are very difficult to find these days and if you're using a machine that still uses old-style grids, even luck won't help you find them as Norwalk no longer manufacture them.
The Norwalk juicer is indeed the Ultimate juicer! It's durable, very easy to use and surprisingly easy to clean.
There aren't no complicated parts that you have to wrestle with to make it work and it could last for a very very long time!
It's the best juicer, you could say but it isn't for everyone. If you're just looking into juicing for the first time; it's impractical to go for the top of the line juicer. We would suggest more affordable juicers that can perform to suit your needs.
We mentioned that it doesn't do very well with wheatgrass and leafy greens as it has the tendency to heat up the produce so if you're looking to juice greens exclusively, we would suggest dedicated green juicers like the wheatgrass juicer or either a single or twin gear juicer.
If you're looking to commite yourself into a long-term and serious juicing lifestyle, Norwalk is definitely your best option since it will help you save in the long run, give you double the output of what other juicers can extract, and will make your juicing life a breeze.
The price of this juicer is steep and shelling out such an amount is a big deal to most and if you're one of those budget conscious who wants nothing but this juicer, there are some great place where you can get them at such great discounts like ebay auctions.