I'm currently thinking of buying a coffee grinder purely for doing spices in as my multigadget died a death, so I'm without a grinder.

Some coffee grinders say coffee and spices, some just say coffee grinder.

Is there a difference ? Will any coffee grinder work or do some not grind fine enough of something ?

Thanks

Steve

Hi Steve,

I just use a coffee grinder - Krupps approx ?20. Its worked for me brilliantly for 3yrs.

Cheers

James

Mine's a Moulinex coffee grinder - still going strong after 15+ years with at least twice weekly use. I do let it rest between grinds if I'm making a batch of garam masala etc.

Winton

so basically I can just pick any coffee grinder...

thanks

Steve

"so basically I can just pick any coffee grinder..."

Yes, pretty much. I have used Kenwood and Moulinex in the past and now have a Russel Hobs one that has three settings for coarse, medium and fine.

If you look for Spice grinder in google, many of the same things come up!

A Little plug; If you order from Amazon, don't forget to use the link here Steve ;-)!

yes use a standard coffee grinder. ours is mouleonex and 20+ years old. we have changed the blade a few times but thats it. my daughter wont use the grinder becuase she is too picky. she says packed spices are easier. this is the one she uses:

http://www.tandooricookingexpert.com/blog/2010/10/31/glossary-curry-masala-basaar/

Packed spices though okay...ish, are never as flavoursome, especially things like coriander, cumin, garam masala. Then you like to make your own mixes for things like Chaat, raita etc.

Argos have couple, one is a own brand at ?14 that says 40g of beans or herbs, the other is ?22 and says 90g of beans but doesn't mention herbs/spices... but at that price its worth buying just to experiment..

thanks everyone

Steve

Steve

Make sure you get a coffee grinder with blades that are set low, near the bowl of the grinder; otherwise, relatively small whole grains will escape the grinding process. The grinders with higher-set blades are fine for coffee beans, but not for, say, whole fenugreek seeds.

I'm convinced that I told you this years ago, when you were using a mortar and pestle, but my memory may be failing me!

Phil

Thanks Phil, its possible you have told me before, in fact you could have told me this morning and I might have forgotten by now !... lol

Steve

Just been and bought the more expensive one at Argos, DeLonghi.

Its very similar to the mixer/blender thing I had that broke.

However the blades are quite high up from the bottom and only sharp on edges.

http://postimage.org/image/15z8vakbo/

Steve

Tried it with some cumin seeds

http://postimage.org/image/160ur3plw/

but I had to shake it about to try to get it to hit them... not really very impressed with the results to be honest.

http://postimage.org/image/16130sg2s/

Steve

What you need is a hard toothbrush, new of course ;-), kept just for clearing around the blades. It works a treat for such fiddly jobs.

I think I might not have made it clear, thats not the mess after the job is done. That is actually what it managed to do when I tried to grind with it. Thats all it managed to do to the seeds... !

Steve

Oh I see! You made it clear, I didn't read it properly.

ThIS is a shame. If you clean it well, would they not let you change it with something else, since it is not doing the job you want it for? Worth asking.

I can hardly say this coffee grinder won't grind spices... though... lol

I might have to "adjust" it some how...

Steve

Can't think of any bright suggestions Steve, hope you can!

Steve, have you tried grinding coffee beans in it to see if it is 'fit for purpose?' If it won't even do coffee you would be well within your rights to return it.

'Inverted thinking' - if the blades are set too high would it be better used upside down?!!

Winton

I don't have any beans to test it with.

If you look at the first link I posted you can see looking into it, if I inverted it the spices would be about 2 inch away from the blades.

My old mixer/blender thing had its blades nearer the bottom but also seemed to stir the contents up into a cloud more so everything got hit.

Steve

We currently have a Krups machine, which has one blade pointing downwards and one pointing upwards. It's the downwards-pointing one that's doing the job. It's ok, but not a patch on the Moulinex machine we had for years: it had blades set right down at the base of the bowl.

I can recall, Steve, when you used to use a mortar and pestle! Mind you, let's not knock traditional methods: I bet that the old method worked really well.

Phil

i have an old maulinex grinder but i need to remove the blade for sharpening. does anyone know how to remove the blade (without breaking the machine!)

there seems to be a cap on the blade, but i don't know if i'm supposed to twist it clockwise, anticlockwise or just pull it out?

or do i have to take the entire machine apart?

thanks.

Phil, yes used to use the old method and it was ok but these days I'm making food for lots and lots of people so I need it in bulk (plus the pestel and mortar got dropped !)

Tom, sorry can't help as I've not seen one, but I will say that a lot of "cheap" (and don't think I'm calling the product you have cheap but most/nearly all things these days are made to a throw away standard) equipment isn't made to be repaired/sharpened etc, so they just heat shrink or glue things into place as it was never meant to come off again... (I'm not saying it won't come off, but I wouldn't put my hopes on it)

Steve

I should mention I've been having another try with my grinder again.. not altered it.

I put in all the spices I was using at once, so it was much fuller than last time. So there were cumin seeds, coriander seeds , fenugreek seeds, some powdered ingredients like paprika, turmeric and then a few black cardamons... and it did a better job of getting it all... so maybe thats the way to do it...

Steve

Great, you found a solution to your problem then!

Steve: I didn't know that people did ground black cardamom: I thought it was always used whole.

Yes, we do indeed seem to live in a world of built-in obsolescence; the culture of spare parts seems almost to have vanished.

Saw a Chinese cook using a mortar and pestle on Saturday Kitchen yesterday: he said it'd been in his family for five generations. That's not the world we live in today in the West.

Phil

Phil most people use things whole but I have 'fussy' eaters to deal with. So rather than missing a cardamon and having one of the grandkids biting into it and being put off curry I just grind everything (do the same with the whole green ones as well, don't even bother spliting them open)

Steve

Ground black cardamomds are part of garam masala mix, so yes, they are ground. I also grind a handful of green cardamoms and keep them in a small jar, excellent for adding to Indian desserts and to my tea 'Chai'. It is not a good idea to make a large amount, because they loose flavour over time.