# Can amyone recommend a steam juicer?



## Kristinemomof3 (Sep 17, 2012)

I would really like to get one, do they work well for apple juice?


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## jwal10 (Jun 5, 2010)

They work, well....it takes too long and we like raw juice. If canning, ok....James


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## Chixarecute (Nov 19, 2004)

I use mine for soft fruits - peaches, grapes, berries, etc. I'll use the juice for jelly or perhaps make a juice blend. I think apples would be a slow process, and low yield.

I have this one:

http://www.amazon.com/Cook-Home-NC-...qid=1381117304&sr=8-1&keywords=steamer+juicer

You definitely want stainless steel, not aluminum.


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## Gretchen Ann (Aug 30, 2010)

I have a steamer/juicer that I've used for over 30 years. It has a swedish name, but I no longer have the original box and the name is not on the steamer. It is stainless steel.

I steam my apples, drawing off at least 2 quarts of juice per basket of apples. I then use the steamed apples for applesauce. We love the applesauce this way, nice & thick, not watery. It doesn't take long got the apples to cook. From the time I put them in the steamer to the juice time is approximately a half hour. I use that time to run the pulp through my food mill.

I usually try to stir the apples twice. You do need to make sure that the apples in the center get stirred up. I just steam them until the apples have turned white & juicy. The water in the bottom of the steamer is usually down only about 1/2 inch.

I have to buy my apples. They are usually slightly green & very firm. I always wait at least a week (sometimes 2 weeks-depending on how busy I am) before processing them. Our favorite apple for juice/sauce is Cortlands.

I like that my apples don't get scorched in the pots while cooking which speeds clean up.

I also use the steamer in making tomato sauce. Make sure you don't over stir the tomatoes. I draw off 2-3 quarts of tomato water then put the pulp through the mill. This makes very thick sauce. You may can the tomato water for use in cooking, but I don't use it very often so I normally just take it outside and pour it along the edge of my flowerbed to kill the grass.

Wasteful? Maybe, but why can water? I prefer to can tomato sauce instead of making spaghetti sauce or tomato soup or whatever. Some years we want more spaghetti sauce than soup. With thick sauce it is easier to put in the crockpot & slow cook it, at least for me it is.

I think it would be a good investment; just get a stainless steel one, not aluminum. The aluminum will pit then leak. You take care of the steamer and it will last you a long time. I did need a new hose from the juice part, maybe about 10 years ago. I purchased the hose from Yoder Hardware in Shipshewana, Ind. It is a better quality plastic then the old hose was. It should last for all the rest of the years I am canning.


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## Gretchen Ann (Aug 30, 2010)

I forgot to mention that I also use the steamer for grapes juice. I have never tried berries in it. My husband prefers blackberry cobbler in the winter as opposed to blackberry juice or jelly.


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## campfiregirl (Mar 1, 2011)

Jackie Clay had a Mehu Liisa steamer given to her by a friend, and she raved about it all through September. She used it to juice crab apples, soften apples for applesauce, etc. Go to her Blog on the Backwoods Home website and click on the September 2013 archives. There are several posts about it throughout the month, maybe even into August. She said she got more juice out of the fruit. I've never used one.


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## Gretchen Ann (Aug 30, 2010)

Yes, that's the name - Mehu Liisa!!! I knew it was Mehu something. :bouncy:


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## PennyV (Jun 25, 2013)

"Mehu-Maija" and "Mehu-Liisa" are both Finnish brand names. "Mehu" means juice in my native Finnish. In Swedish, it'd likely be called "Saft-Lisa" or "Saft-Maja".  Everyone I knew where I grew up back on the old continent used them. They cost like $60-80 there, and I'm angry they retail for closer to $200 this side of the pond.

I'm still going to buy that juicer, but it will take a while to save up, with all the house projects piled up.


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## standles (Apr 12, 2013)

I use this one and am very satisfied. 
http://www.amazon.com/Norpro-619-St...4209863&sr=8-1&keywords=steamer+juicer+norpro

I prefer the steamer to jucing and straining.

Steven


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