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Juicing celery and leafy greens without the clog

Why greens need a slow juicer, which shape of slow juicer handles them, the feeding order that stops a clog, what to expect from celery, and the attachments and end caps the makers sell for the job.

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A glass of green juice with celery, cucumber and kale beside it

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Celery juice and green juice are the two drinks that send people shopping for a juicer, and they are the two that a fast juicer does badly. Here is what works.

Why a slow juicer

A leaf has little juice and a lot of fibre. A spinning disc shreds it, the fibre tangles in the basket, and what comes through is foam with a green tint. An auger squeezes the leaf against a screen for long enough to get the water out of it. The same goes for celery: the strings are the problem, and pressing beats shredding.

Which shape

The shapes of slow juicer, in rising order of how well they handle greens and falling order of convenience:

  • Vertical augers with a hopper (Nama J2, Hurom H400, Kuvings AUTO10) do greens well if you feed them in the right order (below) and mix leaves with something firmer. They are the ones you will use every day, which is the point.
  • Horizontal augers (Omega NC900HDC, MM900HDS) have a long screw that handles leaves and stalks naturally and rarely clogs. The MM900HDS adds an end cap made for celery, which holds the stalks under pressure longer for more juice and drier pulp.
  • Twin gears (Tribest Greenstar) crush and press in stages and get the most out of greens and wheatgrass. They are also the slowest to feed and the most parts to wash.
Omega MM900HDS celery juicer

Horizontal slow juicer, celery end cap

Omega MM900HDS celery juicer

Omega MM900HDS

Omega's horizontal auger with a second end cap made for celery only: it holds the stalks in the press longer for more juice and less wet pulp. 80 rpm, 200 W, and the nutrition-system attachments for nut butter, pasta, baby food and sorbet.

Speed
80 rpm, 200 W (listing)
End caps
Celery cap plus a standard adjustable cap
Pressing
Triple-stage masticating (listing)
Extras
Nut butter, pasta extruding, grinding, baby food, frozen desserts
Size
6.1 × 18.9 × 12.6 in; 14.3 lb (listing)
Cleaning
Dishwasher-safe parts (listing)

Suits: The daily celery juice people; leafy greens and wheatgrass, which horizontal augers handle better than verticals.

Weigh: Horizontal juicers have a narrow chute, so everything is cut to fit, and they are slow with soft fruit. The celery cap is for celery only; swap to the standard cap for everything else.

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The feeding order

Clogs happen when a chamber fills with fibre and nothing pushes it through. The fix is to alternate: a handful of leaves, then a piece of apple or cucumber, then leaves. Roll leaves tightly before they go in. Cut celery into short lengths unless the maker says whole stalks are fine (Omega’s celery cap is made for whole stalks; hopper verticals cut for you). Feed slowly, giving the auger time to pull the produce through. If it does stall, use reverse for a second and carry on.

What to expect from celery

A bunch of celery gives a surprising amount of juice in a slow juicer and a surprising amount of wet pulp in a fast one. Drink it soon; it separates quickly. Celery juice is a diet fad as much as a drink and this site has nothing to say about what it does for you; it tastes like celery, salt and water, and a piece of apple fixes that if you want it fixed.

Tribest Greenstar Elite

Twin-gear slow juicer

Tribest Greenstar Elite

Tribest Greenstar GSE-5010

Two interlocking gears instead of one auger: produce is crushed and then pressed in three stages, which is why twin-gear machines are the reference for leafy greens and wheatgrass. 150 W, a pressure-adjusting outlet knob, and a locking mechanism Tribest redesigned for easier assembly.

Mechanism
Twin gears, three-stage juicing
Power
150 W (listing)
Outlet
Adjusting knob controls pressure
Size
6.8 × 18.6 × 12.4 in; 17.2 lb (listing)
Finish
Black (GSE-5010); white is GSE-5000
Cleaning
Dishwasher-safe parts (listing)

Suits: Greens-heavy juicing, wheatgrass, and anyone who treats yield as the number that matters.

Weigh: The narrow chute requires cutting produce to fit and feeding it steadily. It has more parts to wash than a vertical, which adds work for a simple glass of apple juice.

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Wheatgrass

Only a slow juicer, and a horizontal or twin gear for preference. Verticals with a hopper will do a small amount mixed with other produce; a fast juicer will do nothing with it.

Attachments and caps

Omega sells end caps and nozzles for its horizontal machines; Kuvings sells smoothie and sorbet strainers and a citrus attachment for the REVO830 and AUTO10; Nama sells a citrus attachment and coarse strainers for the J2. None of them change what the auger does with greens; the celery cap on the MM900HDS is the only one made for that job.

For the comparison of all ten slow juicers, see the cold press page.

More on cold press juicers

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How a slow auger and a spinning basket get juice out of produce, and what that means for greens, apples, foam, pulp, noise, speed, cleanup and how long the juice keeps.

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Nut milk from a slow juicer

Almond, oat and cashew milk from a cold press juicer: which machines do it, the soak and the ratio, how to feed it, what to do with the pulp, and when a dedicated nut milk maker is the better buy.

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Which juicer do I need?

Six situations and what fits each: greens and celery daily, a fast glass of apple juice, citrus only, no counter space, a family batch, or a first try. Each names a kind of juicer and a model or two, with the specs that decide it.