50 replies to this topic

[Chris Amirault]

For the last year or so, I've arrived at the conclusion that I simply need no more kitchen gadgets. I'm not fully tricked out by any means, but I can make do with the collection of vintage, quality, and McGyver-esque rigs I've got set up.

However, during my brief, busy stint as a South Indian sous chef, I saw and fell in love with this Ultra Pride + 1.25 liter wet/dry grinder. The thing is a beast, with two conical granite grinders that blast through just about anything you hand it. My mind danced with thoughts of fresh dosa batter but also homemade masa, spice mixes, rice noodles, tofu, chocolate....

Later I got on the plane, faced financial reality, and forgot about it. Sort of.

Then, this weekend, as I headed into the last quarter-hour of mortar and pestle action on a Khmer samla paste that included a wrist-busting 1 1/2 cups of lemon grass, and thought, "Enough is enough." I placed the order just now at perfectpeninsula.com -- it's out of stock at many locations -- and had a good customer service experience talking through a few things with them as well. Arrives in 5-7 days; will report back!

[Chris Hennes]

I'll be anxious to see if it can really churn out high quality fresh masa... if it can, it's going on my wish list immediately.

[Chris Amirault]

That'll be an early test run, to be sure. I think that the trick there will be knowing when to stop the grind....

[Chris Amirault]

Here are a few shots of the UP out of the box:









It feels the way that classic Cuisinarts and KitchenAids feel: like it will outlast me by a few decades.

As promised, I'm prepping corn for grinding tomorrow. Also excited to make dosa batter, rice noodles, curry pastes.... What else do people use theirs for?

[Kerry Beal]

What else do people use theirs for?

Conching bean to bar (actually nib to bar) chocolate.

[John DePaula]

Wow, that a beauty!

You could also make marzipan or gianduja, any kind of smooth nut pastes.

[kitchenspecialist]

I want to thank your forum for introducing John and Kerry to me. I learnt a lot about confectionery industry from them.

We have been selling these grinders from www.innoconcepts.com for 16 years as the authorized distributors for USA.

We started selling these to Indian markets mainly for making idlis and dosas. But over the years, our grinders have been used to make chocolates, tofu, and other ethnic foods. They have been also used in laboratories in specialized applications. We modify these grinders for different applications to suit the customers' needs. Our modified melangers are used for making chocolate (visit cocoatown.com for the products for chocolate industry).

WE also have commercial size Grindeurs (Grinder+ Melangeur combo) available for small to mid size chocolate companies. We have these available in 110V or 220V versions. We ship these to anywhere in the world.

You can make Marzipan in these grinders as long as you crack the almonds into bits in a food processor or Meenumix / Innomix mixer grinders for home use or in pulverizers for the commercial operation.

We can use the bigger commercial units to grind the whole almonds. But I am going to try grinding the whole almonds in the smaller Pride+ and will post the results.

[thayes1c]

Cuisinart meets mortar and pestle? Mechanical mano y metate?!? I think I just replaced the Pacojet with a new most wanted, perhaps not entirely needed device. And I might one day be able to afford this one!

Thanks, eGullet!

[Kerry Beal]

You've got to check out the adaptations to the basic machine to allow them to operate as a conch for chocolate. As noted above - www.cocoatown.com. I'm looking at the big ones. I recall looking at this site years ago when I was doing my bean to bar experiments and thinking that the big stone grinders would be fabulous to have.

A small artisan bean to bar manufacturer could use one of those and save a fortune not having to buy a melanger.

[Moopheus]

Does anyone know how these compare to a grinder like the Sumeet Asia Kitchen machine? I'm seriously tempted to get one or the other, and not sure how to decide.

[Kerry Beal]

Does anyone know how these compare to a grinder like the Sumeet Asia Kitchen machine? I'm seriously tempted to get one or the other, and not sure how to decide.

Different mechanisms. The Asia grinds - like a coffee grinder on steroids, whereas the stone grinders crush and grind things to a paste that way. I'm a gadget person, so find both have their place.

[Chris Amirault]

You can get a sense of the difference over here, where I'm grinding up some nixtamal for masa. I made the decision to go with the Ultra Pride+ because I already have sufficient blending/grinding capability and was lacking the grinding action that I wanted for really smooth pastes, doughs, and batters.

If you want something that'll mince things into superfine particles, this is the wrong machine. If you want something that is pounded into submission, the Ultra Pride+ is your baby.

[Chris Amirault]

We have been selling these grinders from www.innoconcepts.com for 16 years as the authorized distributors for USA.

Welcome kitchenspecialist! Any thoughts on why your website says that you're out of Ultra Pride+ machines? If that's wrong, I'd fix it now!

[ray goud]

Have you seen this on youtube?:


If so, what's wrong with what they are doing? Why didn't they recommend it? Perhaps they used it incorrectly? From what I see, it looks like a capable machine. What's your verdict?
Ray

[Chris Amirault]

That video features Steve Sando (Society member ranchogordo) who revised his opinion here.

[kitchenspecialist]

Thanks Chris. We are getting the stock in 2-3 weeks. Since people have to wait, we have $20 discount on the Pride+ grinders. We have the bigger Grind+ in stock.

Moopheus - regarding your question, the Sumeet or any Indian mixer grinder like Meenumix is for grinding coconut pieces, ginger garlic paste etc. When you grind in a mixer grinder, the material is shredded at high speed and it generates a little bit of heat. In stone grinder like Ultra Pride+, the material is crushed between two granite stones and the batter remains cool. Only thing is you need to grind soaked grains. If you want to grind coconut or ginger garlic paste, it has to be minced before adding to the grinder. The big ICGC or ECGC commercial grinders can handle upto 1/2" pieces of ginger garlic and thin slices of coconut.

[Chris Amirault]

Home yesterday with a sick kid, and made two batches of "curry" paste: a Khmer kroeung featuring frozen turmeric root and a Thai penang paste with boiled peanuts. They both were wildly successful, the smoothest paste I've ever seen (not just made), and I learned a few things along the way.

You only need to chop things pretty roughly though thoughtfully. Stringy stuff like lemongrass needs only to be very finely sliced, while irregularly chopped shallots, garlic, and chile peppers work best.

It's good to arrange the ingredients in order from most to least difficult to grind. David Thompson always starts with his soaked peppers to form sort of a slushy base environment and then moves from toughest to least tough through lemongrass, galangal, shallots, etc.

I take no responsibility for anyone who breaks a utensil or the motor somehow, but: unlike a blender, where you can easily ruin an entire batch by dropping a spatula into the blades, it's very easy to scrape the sides of the rotating bin or knock material off the axle during operation to guarantee a smooth paste.

The plastic got stained by the turmeric, but I think that'll come out and frankly I don't care.

[HungryChris]

The first thing that comes to my mind is mustard seed. For years I have wanted to be able to make my own dijon style mustard but always had to tolerate the fact that I could not get a real fine paste. This looks like it might be the solution. Care to give it a try?

HC

[Chris Amirault]

There's no question it would work. It's a bit low on the current agenda, however (which includes more masa & pastes, rice noodles, garam masala, dosa batter, and chili sauce), but i'll add it to the list!

[Chris Amirault]

Fresh rice noodles today: click. Worked like a charm.

[Chris Amirault]

I froze the penang paste above and defrosted it this past weekend to cook with a fantastic piece of brisket I had. Even with the freezing, the paste was the best I've ever had. In particular, the complexity and integrity of the sauce was remarkable, owning no doubt to the fine particles of each ingredient thanks to the Ultra Pride.

[egale]

Chris, I appreciate this information very much. Like a previous poster, I have been considering a Sumeet Asia Kitchen machine, but I think I might be happier with the Ultra Pride.

I am interested mainly in making "curry" pastes. (I like your use of quotes.) Since the Ultra Pride works like a mortar and pestle, not a grinder, I can see that it would produce better, more traditional pastes.

For someone interested primarily in paste-making, would you recommend the Ultra Pride over the Sumeeet Asia Kitchen machine?

[Chris Amirault]

I've never used the Sumeet, but, well, as someone who wanted the mortar & pestle effect myself, I voted with my wallet.

[Chris Amirault]

Used the Ultra Pride this afternoon for masa for tortillas, and I think I'm going to defrost some penang paste I made with it for dinner later this week. Anyone else buy one of these lately?

[Kerry Beal]

I have the chocolate version in the house - just haven't gotten around to playing with it lately.

[andiesenji]

I'm glad you bumped this topic up, Chris.

On Wednesday I visited some friends who recently moved to a tiny town further east in the Antelope Valley (actually across the county line in San Bernardino County) - he is Dutch, she is Indonesian, although they have lived in the San Fernando Valley for thirty-some years, they both grew up in Indonesia.

Entering their kitchen I was surprised to see an Ultra Pride and commented on it.
Alia said that she bought it a year ago, specifically for making sambals, which she used to make entirely by hand in a mortar and pestle.
Like me, she has arthritis in her hands, as well as in her right elbow (had surgery on this joint five years ago) and it had gotten extremely difficult for her to do the extended pounding necessary to produce the desired texture in this condiment.

They both were enthusiastic about the appliance. Piet was never much interested in cooking but since retiring and then getting this machine, he has been doing more in the kitchen. (Likes playing with the mechanical type appliances).

I suggested they check out the forum and gave them a link to this topic. Hopefully they will have time to check it out. (They have nine children and fifteen grandchildren, and communication takes up a lot of their computer time.)

Alia did try a "mixie" grinder made by Preethi (? sp) and did not like it, then bought the Ultra Pride.

Edited by andiesenji, 22 August 2010 - 12:01 PM.

[runwestierun]

Used the Ultra Pride this afternoon for masa for tortillas, and I think I'm going to defrost some penang paste I made with it for dinner later this week. Anyone else buy one of these lately?

Chris,
I have been looking at these for awhile and I wonder if you can talk a little about cleanup? I am most concerned about strong flavors from pastes carrying over to batters and things with delicate flavors. Now that you've had yours awhile, how do you clean it and does it clean up completely?

[Chris Amirault]

I have the chocolate version in the house - just haven't gotten around to playing with it lately.

Is there a specific model or do you have one dedicated to chocolate?

I have been looking at these for awhile and I wonder if you can talk a little about cleanup? I am most concerned about strong flavors from pastes carrying over to batters and things with delicate flavors. Now that you've had yours awhile, how do you clean it and does it clean up completely?

The components that have contact with food are primarily nonporous granite and stainless steel, so they don't retain odors, flavors, and so on. There are small components that are hard plastic, and when I used fresh turmeric in a kroeung it stained slightly. Those stains are gone now, and I haven't noticed any retention of flavors at all.

Clean up is a breeze. For masa, I clean it in about three minutes with hot, soapy water. The kroeung and other pastes can require a bit more work, but not much. In addition, the parts that come into contact with the food can be put in the dishwasher.

[Kerry Beal]

I have the chocolate version in the house - just haven't gotten around to playing with it lately.

Is there a specific model or do you have one dedicated to chocolate?

This is the one. Essentially it's the ultrapride with forced air cooling and it sits up on a stand to keep the bottom cooler. Kitchenspecialist up thread has lent it to me to play with.

[Chris Amirault]

That's smart. The UP definitely heats up after 40-50 minutes or so. It's never been an issue for me; masa's the most time-consuming item I've made. But I'd be concerned about several hours of nib destruction.