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Spice Grinders


marinade

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I seem to be burning out spice grinders at the same rate I’m going through paper shredders (no, I’m not cutting pasta with the shredder, but it is a thought). The last one went after an hour of grinding smoked (and dried) red and yellow bell peppers. Can any one recommend a real heavy-duty spice grinder? Would grain mill attachments for Kitchen Aid mixers or Champion juicers be an alternative? Another thought would be an immersion blender. Any ideas? Thanks in advance.

(edited for spelling)

Edited by marinade (log)

Jim Tarantino

Marinades, Rubs, Brines, Cures, & Glazes

Ten Speed Press

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I use a Kitchen Aid coffee grinder and have had no problem in the 2-3 years I have had it. These things will burn out if you use them continuously over a long period. If you do "heavy grinding" and also use a blender often enough to make it worth your while you might want to invest in the 2 1/2 horsepower Vita-Mix and get the optional dry container. It's quite costly but a wonderful machine.

Edited by Ruth (log)

Ruth Friedman

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I'm surprised yours lasted an hour. Many basic home appliances won't stand up to long continuous (or heavy-duty) use. I learned that the hard way several years ago by frying a very nice burr-type coffee grinder. For spices, I've acquired a bunch of blade-type coffee grinders from garage sales and resale shops for a dollar or two each. If I'm doing any extended grinding (which happens very seldom), I'll rotate through a few of them. They also come in handy for grinding two or more types of spices that I want to keep separate.

I think that an immersion blender would not work all that well.

"There is no sincerer love than the love of food."  -George Bernard Shaw, Man and Superman, Act 1

 

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"...in the mid-’90s when the internet was coming...there was a tendency to assume that when all the world’s knowledge comes online, everyone will flock to it. It turns out that if you give everyone access to the Library of Congress, what they do is watch videos on TikTok."  -Neil Stephenson, author, in The Atlantic

 

"In questions of science, the authority of a thousand is not worth the humble reasoning of a single individual." -Galileo Galilei, physicist and astronomer

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For large quantities of guajillo and chipotle peppers, I used to start with a food processor to break up the largest, heaviest pieces. Then transfer to a blender. Yeah, it makes for more cleanup, but it works faster overall.

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For large quantities of guajillo and chipotle peppers, I used to start with a food processor to break up the largest, heaviest pieces. Then transfer to a blender. Yeah, it makes for more cleanup, but it works faster overall.

Thanks for the feedback. A number of issues seem to be hitting the fan here. The biggest is grinding vs. chopping. That may be an issue. If there's a small batch spice combo that I need in a hurry for a recipe, I run it through the blender, which is a chopping process. Ideally I like to use a mortar and pestle but it kills my wrist for large batches. Alex have you ever gone back and forth between a grinder and a blender and noticed any differences in flavor? Ruth, the idea of a grinding add-on to a mixer or juicer is interesting because of the torque or strength of the motor. I was eyeing the Bamix immersion blender with its spice grinding attachment as well.

Bamix

Suzanne your bucket brigade approach makes sense because I’d be using existing equipment.

Jim Tarantino

Marinades, Rubs, Brines, Cures, & Glazes

Ten Speed Press

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Alex have you ever gone back and forth between a grinder and a blender and noticed any differences in flavor? Ruth, the idea of a grinding add-on to a mixer or juicer is interesting because of the torque or strength of the motor. I was eyeing the Bamix immersion blender with its spice grinding attachment as well.

Bamix

I've never used a blender. Sorry.

"There is no sincerer love than the love of food."  -George Bernard Shaw, Man and Superman, Act 1

 

"Imagine all the food you have eaten in your life and consider that you are simply some of that food, rearranged."  -Max Tegmark, physicist

 

Gene Weingarten, writing in the Washington Post about online news stories and the accompanying readers' comments: "I basically like 'comments,' though they can seem a little jarring: spit-flecked rants that are appended to a product that at least tries for a measure of objectivity and dignity. It's as though when you order a sirloin steak, it comes with a side of maggots."

 

"...in the mid-’90s when the internet was coming...there was a tendency to assume that when all the world’s knowledge comes online, everyone will flock to it. It turns out that if you give everyone access to the Library of Congress, what they do is watch videos on TikTok."  -Neil Stephenson, author, in The Atlantic

 

"In questions of science, the authority of a thousand is not worth the humble reasoning of a single individual." -Galileo Galilei, physicist and astronomer

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You might want to check out the Sumeet grinder (click here for a link). I used an earlier version of it in the cooking program I worked in, and was quite impressed.

It's not cheap, though.

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Thanks JAZ, I found a site thats's selling them out of Chicago for about $139. There are a few Indian markets in Philly that may stock them so I can get a look at one. I noticed a crank on the top of one of the jars, is that attached to a scraper?

Jim Tarantino

Marinades, Rubs, Brines, Cures, & Glazes

Ten Speed Press

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I have a Vita-Mix blender that I used for dried chiles, grains, etc.

http://www.vita-mix.com/

It has a separate container that is used for dry grinding, wheat, oats, rye, beans, etc.

I have my current one for 9 years and prior to that had one for 17 years, it suffered an accident or would probably still be working.

It may seem like it is expensive but when you figure how many years it will last, it works out to be cheaper than buying several less expensive machines.

2+ peak horsepower drives the unit.

"There are, it has been said, two types of people in the world. There are those who say: this glass is half full. And then there are those who say: this glass is half empty. The world belongs, however, to those who can look at the glass and say: What's up with this glass? Excuse me? Excuse me? This is my glass? I don't think so. My glass was full! And it was a bigger glass!" Terry Pratchett

 

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Thanks JAZ, I found a site thats's selling them out of Chicago for about $139. There are a few Indian markets in Philly that may stock them so I can get a look at one. I noticed a crank on the top of one of the jars, is that attached to a scraper?

Yes. You can scrape down the sides while it's grinding, as I recall.

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I'm surprised yours lasted an hour. Many basic home appliances won't stand up to long continuous (or heavy-duty) use.

I think that an immersion blender would not work all that well.

I second Alex's comment, and I wonder if there might be a simpler answer than new equipment. Do you really run those motors continuously, or do you pulse? If you're running continuously, can you grind/chop in short bursts instead, and give the motor time to cool? My spice grinder is a small cheapo coffee grinder - admittedly a chopper rather than a grinder - and it's lasted for years. I doubt I whirl anything more than 30 seconds at a time, then give it a few seconds to cool while I shake the container, and repeat as necessary. The other reason for doing it that way is to prevent the grinder from heating up the spices.

Ditto on the immersion blender, too. Seems like you'd spend more time chasing around the bowl after the spices, unless the attachment confines them so strictly that you can't move the blender wand around.

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The way the attachment works on the Bamix as far as I can see is that it is a small-enclosed container a few inches deep that fits on the shaft and the blade is encased and it does the grinding.

The grinding regiment that I'm involved with usually involves:

1. Small batch seasonings (about 30 seconds)

2. Large batch runs (about 45 minutes).

The large batches occurs when I've smoked and dried chilies. or after I've run batches of carrot, fennel, or red onion through my dehydrator. Why the large batches? I get bulk produce out of local “chain” called Produce Junction, e.g. 2 lbs of red or yellow sweet peppers @$1.99 a bag. It’s cheaper by a long shot than $3.99 a pound for them at the designer food markets. Besides the veggie powders, I like to do a large quantity of rubs, then vac seal ‘em and freeze ‘em. That for me involves toasting and grinding a lot of spices.

I do have heating issues with the tabletop grinders and was wondering if they would start to cook the spices but I’ve never to get a temp reading. On the other hand the spices aren’t exposed to the heat for any really long periods of time. A couple of suggestions have pointed me into the some interesting directions. The Sumeet needs to be checked out and I’d like to go after the Vita-mix when my blender dies.

Jim Tarantino

Marinades, Rubs, Brines, Cures, & Glazes

Ten Speed Press

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I've used the Sumeet Multigrind, which is very affordable, for like 8 years and couldn't recommend it more highly for home and light pro use:

http://www.sumeet.net/

Every now and then I try to put one in a high volume restaurant and it doesn't last 4 months, you'll need one of the more professional ones for daily restaurant use--but anything short of that--the Multigrind is super. It can do nut butters, dry or wet whole spice mixes--so when you want to grind your chai tea and spice mixture you can throw fresh ginger slices in no problem, it pulverizes cinnamon stick or anything that might have burned out your coffee grinder. Caveats: I do not do a lot of thick wet mixtures nor do I grind grains. We do a lot of tuiles based on caramel sugar cooked to caramel, ground to a powder and then sifted out onto a silpat--child's play with the Sumeet. (I purposely heat up/toast many spices before I grind them, so whatever the Sumeet may or may not add is usually less of a concern for me.)

Steve Klc

Pastry chef-Restaurant Consultant

Oyamel : Zaytinya : Cafe Atlantico : Jaleo

chef@pastryarts.com

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We do a lot of tuiles based on caramel sugar cooked to caramel, ground to a powder and then sifted out onto a silpat--child's play with the Sumeet.

Steve, that sounds like the way to go for me. I do something similar with a bourbon and maple syrup caramel, cooked and then flipped onto a silpat to cool to a praline consistancy. Then it's ground to a coarse powder which I combine with kosher salt for curing salmon. I had my eye on some of the grain mills but stepped back because some of them use grinding stones, which may be flavor absorbent. The Multigrind looks interesting and it seems to have a small footprint which is fine for my already diminishing counter space.

Jim Tarantino

Marinades, Rubs, Brines, Cures, & Glazes

Ten Speed Press

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Look quickly online--that model might have been discontinued and the other Sumeet models are a significant bump up in price. I know JB Prince stopped carrying the Multigrind because it wasn't really designed to hold up to daily restaurant use. The weakest aspect of this model is a delicate handle in the top piece, which also tends to break in a restaurant setting--it lasts a long time when the person who bought the machine is the one using the machine.

Steve Klc

Pastry chef-Restaurant Consultant

Oyamel : Zaytinya : Cafe Atlantico : Jaleo

chef@pastryarts.com

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Thanks Steve. I seem to be noticing that on line as we speak. The price range I seem to be getting on the few hits that I get is arount $90 + shipping. Is that about average? On the other hand if that falls througth, the unit that JAZ recommended looks pretty interesting as well. Either way I'm leaning towards one of those units.

Jim Tarantino

Marinades, Rubs, Brines, Cures, & Glazes

Ten Speed Press

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I had one of the early Sumeet models but it did not perform as well as I had anticipated.

I was using it to make sambals and with small amounts some of the ingredients clumped and were not mixed well. The clear dome quickly became opaque due to abrasion from hard materials.

I bought one of the Girmi mincer/chopper/grinders which has an 8-oz capacity and is 550 watts.

It has worked quite well and grinds everything from dry seeds and beans to fresh ginger, herbs, dried fruits, etc. It is also less expensive than the Sumeet.

I rarely buy specialized appliances if a multipurpose one is available I use the Vita-Mix for many things but it does stall when working thick pastes (A safety feature) but this little appliance is perfect for making sambals and mustards (also grinding horseradish but I take it outside for that)

For large amounts of flour I have a grain mill - I do a lot of baking and prefer to grind my own whole grains as the flours often become rancid rapidly but these are unsuitable for anything with more than 17% moisture.

"There are, it has been said, two types of people in the world. There are those who say: this glass is half full. And then there are those who say: this glass is half empty. The world belongs, however, to those who can look at the glass and say: What's up with this glass? Excuse me? Excuse me? This is my glass? I don't think so. My glass was full! And it was a bigger glass!" Terry Pratchett

 

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I bought one of the Girmi mincer/chopper/grinders which has an 8-oz capacity and is 550 watts.

The Girmi is available at several online vendors.

This one has it for $74.95

http://www.harvestessentials.com/girchopgrinm.html

"There are, it has been said, two types of people in the world. There are those who say: this glass is half full. And then there are those who say: this glass is half empty. The world belongs, however, to those who can look at the glass and say: What's up with this glass? Excuse me? Excuse me? This is my glass? I don't think so. My glass was full! And it was a bigger glass!" Terry Pratchett

 

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Thanks for the info andiesenji. If you were to describe the process would it be closer to a wide base blender?

It is like a cross between a blender and a food processor. The chamber is shallow enough that everything keeps moving instead of some being thrown up onto the sides away from the blades.

Also, the interlock system is safe in that it cannot operate without the cover in place.

"There are, it has been said, two types of people in the world. There are those who say: this glass is half full. And then there are those who say: this glass is half empty. The world belongs, however, to those who can look at the glass and say: What's up with this glass? Excuse me? Excuse me? This is my glass? I don't think so. My glass was full! And it was a bigger glass!" Terry Pratchett

 

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