When you get your brand new machine, you have three different shredder blades included (yay for ready-out-of-the-box machines!). But you might find yourself asking- which blade do I use for what?

No worries, friend. In this article, we discuss the ideal use and merits of each blade available through Juiced Rite. By the end, you’ll know exactly what to use each of those blades for!

How Many Shredder Blades Are There?

To answer that, we first have to talk about motor size and power. All shredder blades operate from a shredder motor with a shaft that the blade holder connects to. The shredder blades are then installed on the blade holder for machine operation.

Smaller Machines 

Our smaller machines, the CM25 and M25, are equipped with a 1hp shredder motor. Having a smaller motor is important because being compact is the aim of these smaller machines. But in order to stay small, we have to sacrifice a little space and power. For this reason, the CM25 and M25 have only five (5) blades available, ranging from a 3/32″ to 1/2″ scallop and are 7″ in diameter. This smaller-ness also means we don’t recommend fibrous produce like ginger or turmeric on these presses (sad, we know).

Larger Machines 

All our larger, freestanding cold press juicers, from the M75 to the M400, are equipped with a 3hp shredder motor. The larger shredder motor that provides a lot more power coupled with a larger shredder system allows for an additional blade size. These machines have six (6) shredder blades available, ranging from the pulping blade to the 1/2″ scallop and are 9″ in diameter.

The Shredder Blades You Need

Even though there are 5-6 shredder blades available for your machine (depending on the motor size), we really only recommend 3-4 major contenders (which also happen to be the shredder blades included with your purchase). We do offer in between sizes because you asked for them!

Below we describe the primary use for each of the three primary shredder blade sizes, with a little wiggle room for the additional sizes. When you are refining your process, feel free to test out a little smaller or larger scallop to see if that works better for your recipes. There’s a decent chance though that you’ll land on about three regular blade sizes so don’t feel obligated to own them all all the time.

1/2″ Scallop Shredder Blade 

The largest scallop available on our shredder blades, the 1/2″, is an absolute must-have when you’re working with soft produce like pineapples or cucumbers. The larger “chunk” these blades deliver keeps the produce shreds intact (and not turned into mush) so the juice can actually be pressed out.

Combine this large scallop blade with a slow shredder speed (using your Shredder Speed Control) and you are officially in the juicing business (really!). Running your big chunks through the shredder slower gives you maximum yield – then add a slow press speed and get even more efficient with more juice and less waste!  

Don’t have a big blade but want to juice some softer produce? No worries! Just chop up your pineapples (after removing the outer rind) and watermelons into 3-4 inch chunks and toss them straight into the  press bag. Oranges perform well quartered and directly into the press bag too. We just recommend peeling them to keep out the bitter taste (check out our preferred orange juice method here).

The 1/2″ scallop shredder blade is available in both 7″ diameter (CM25 and M25 machines), and 9″ diameter (the M75-M400 machines).

To sum up 1/2″ Scallop Shredder Blade: 

• Use with slippery, squishy, soft, pithy or mushy produce (and other similar words)
  • Cucumber
  • Pear
  • Watermelon
  • Pineapple
  • Really soft apples
• Shred with a slow speed for best results (learn why here)

1/4″ Scallop Shredder Blade

Our medium sized blade, the 1/4″ scallop, is a great blade for shredding individual items that aren’t too soft. This is also a great blade to work with (as well as the 3/16″ scallop) for very firm produce dominated recipes. Again, as we say all the time, testing is really the best way to know which scallop blade is best for your recipes.

To sum up the 1/4″ Scallop Shredder Blade: 

• Use on relatively firm fruits and vegetables
• Excellent choice for relatively firm single produce pressings
• For best results, operate the shredder at full speed (learn why here)
• Move down to the 3/16″ for an even smaller shred on very firm produce
• Move up to the 5/16″ for produce that has a little more give for a larger shred

Pulping Shredder Blade 

Ah! The King (or Queen!) of shredder blades! We are big fans of the pulping blade – and for good reason. This blade shines in our favorite method of juicing– mixing your produce for a whole recipe in one press! The beautiful thing with this blade is its versatility, and if you have any hard (firm) produce in your recipe, you are golden.

Carrots and pineapple? No problem! (Anybody make that juice? Now we’re curious!) The pulping blade also handles celery like nobody’s business, shredding through those long plant fibers with ease. We also highly recommend this shredder blade for leafy greens, hands down. AND it’s also our #1 recommendation for turmeric, ginger and other robust and fibrous produce. (Seriously, this is an awesome blade.)

With all this fanfare, we will admit some caution against individual produce items with the pulping blade. A very firm Granny Smith may shred well but for more consistent results (and an easier ongoing process) we recommend just sticking with the 3/16″ for the higher water content firmer fruits and vegetables.

Another piece of sad news: The smaller machines with 1hp motors do not handle the pulping blade well as the magic of this blade is the power it needs to operate well. If you’re using the CM25 or M25 with the 1hp motor, you can use a 3/16″ blade (included with your machine instead of the pulping blade) for mixed produce as you would a pulping blade.

To sum up the Pulping Shredder Blade: 

• Use on mixed produce for full recipe presses, ESPECIALLY if there are more firm fruits or vegetables in the mix
• Excellent for individual runs of tough, fibrous produce
  • Celery
  • Carrots
  • Turmeric
  • Ginger
• Excellent for individual press runs of leafy greens
• Not recommended for other individual produce, even if fairly firm. On presses with a 3hp shredder motor, use a 1/4″ scallop in those cases
• Not suitable on 1hp shredder motor machines (CM25 and M25), use the 3/16″ shredder blade (smallest suitable shredder blade for these machines)
• Absolutely NOT suitable for soft produce — you can’t juice a smoothie!

The Most Important Thing About Shredder Blades

Now that you’re armed with all the best practices and uses for each blade, you can really optimize your process. But there’s one more thing, and it might be the most important thing of all:

ALWAYS use a sharp shredder blade when juicing!

A sharp blade keeps your yield high, your machine running smoothly, and extends the life of your juicer too. Most juicing production processes warrant a new blade about every 3 months, more or less depending on your production levels.

Need to order a new shredder blade? Contact our Orders Desk today (info listed at the end of this article).

Fun Fact: Our blades are made with 100% stainless steel and can be recycled!

Happy Shredding!