Curry Recipes Online
Beginners Guide => Hints, Tips, Methods and so on.. => Cooking Equipment => Topic started by: tempest63 on August 07, 2011, 02:05 PM
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I'm getting old!
The mortar and pestle are becoming very laborious.
After trying a number off mini-processors, processor attachments and so one without much success I am thinking of splashing out nearly ?150 on the Waring Spice Grinder.
Has anyone used one?
Can it handle Cassia or Cinnamon?
Does anyone have a preference for another grinder that mills everything down to a fine powder?
All help is appreciated.
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I'm getting old!
The mortar and pestle are becoming very laborious.
After trying a number off mini-processors, processor attachments and so one without much success I am thinking of splashing out nearly ?150 on the Waring Spice Grinder.
Has anyone used one?
Can it handle Cassia or Cinnamon?
Does anyone have a preference for another grinder that mills everything down to a fine powder?
All help is appreciated.
Yes I have one and it cost me ?100.00 and there was a professional one for ?200.00 which you don't need. It's brilliant!!! Shop around, I got mine on e-bay.
But hope you know it's only for dried spices and not for blending pastes etc... but I would recommend this product, I've had it for over a year now and it comes with 2 spare stainless steel cups and lids. I wouldn't go without it....
Good investment!! :)
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Oh!!! And yes it will handle cinnamon and cassia :)
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Hi Tempest i use this, with cinnamon or cassia i just break up into medium pieces.
http://www.bargainpod.co.uk/wahl-zx595-james-martin-coffee-grinder-157-p.asp (http://www.bargainpod.co.uk/wahl-zx595-james-martin-coffee-grinder-157-p.asp)
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Hi Tempest i use this, with cinnamon or cassia i just break up into medium pieces.
http://www.bargainpod.co.uk/wahl-zx595-james-martin-coffee-grinder-157-p.asp (http://www.bargainpod.co.uk/wahl-zx595-james-martin-coffee-grinder-157-p.asp)
Same here - does the job nicely. Definitely recommended.
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Hi Tempest i use this, with cinnamon or cassia i just break up into medium pieces.
http://www.bargainpod.co.uk/wahl-zx595-james-martin-coffee-grinder-157-p.asp (http://www.bargainpod.co.uk/wahl-zx595-james-martin-coffee-grinder-157-p.asp)
Same here - does the job nicely. Definitely recommended.
Ramirez, does this produce as finely ground spices as those we can buy. I know the quality, freshness and taste will be better, but what about the texture?? I have ground spice in a coffee grinder but the results are never finely ground powder :'(
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Thanks for all the prompt comments.
I will definitely try out the James Martin grinder to start off with and see if it gets the fine grinds that I am looking for. It is worth trying before splashing out on the more expensive one if it does a reasonable job.
Another question prompted by the response above from 976bar; does anyone recommend a wet grinder for making spice pastes? One that will handle the onions, garlic and ginger as well as the spices?
Thanks everyone.
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Ramirez, does this produce as finely ground spices as those we can buy. I know the quality, freshness and taste will be better, but what about the texture?? I have ground spice in a coffee grinder but the results are never finely ground powder :'(
I would say so, yes. I very rarely use mine to be honest, as I buy pre-ground (relatively small amounts, so I maintain a reasonably high turnover to keep things fresh). The only exception I can remember was black cardamoms - after grinding down there was a little bit of husk, but that probably would have ground down had I persisted (I just removed it). All in all, it is very effective - much quicker than a mortar and pestle.
If you do a lot of grinding of whole spices, it's a no brainer at that price! :)
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Thanks Ramirez. One to bear in mind. Like you i buy small ready ground spice and turn it over quickly. Not sure if grinding all spices fresh will make so much of a difference that it's worth the effort. Sure as hell don't see them doing that down the local BIR ;D
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Ramirez, does this produce as finely ground spices as those we can buy. I know the quality, freshness and taste will be better, but what about the texture?? I have ground spice in a coffee grinder but the results are never finely ground powder :'(
I agree with that : I recently ground all my remaining methi seeds when my local Asian supermarket not only had no ground methi but denied that it even existed ("we use methi leaves", they said, "just rub them in your hands"). The results were fine as far as the curry went, but I would certainly agree that the fineness left something to be desired. This was with a dedicated Kenwood CG-100 (circa GBP 56 -- GBP 75). It would be interesting to try a real spice grinder, designed for the task.
** Phil.
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Sure as hell don't see them doing that down the local BIR ;D
Absolutely - I think that is the key point. While grinding whole spices may be fresher, a BIR is not going to do that because of how onerous it is. Authentic Indian cuisine is probably another matter, though. :)
I agree with that : I recently ground all my remaining methi seeds when my local Asian supermarket not only had no ground methi but denied that it even existed ("we use methi leaves", they said, "just rub them in your hands"). The results were fine as far as the curry went, but I would certainly agree that the fineness left something to be desired. This was with a dedicated Kenwood CG-100 (circa GBP 56 -- GBP 75). It would be interesting to try a real spice grinder, designed for the task.
** Phil.
Yes, I would imagine the grinder linked above would struggle with methi seeds - they're hard little buggers. ;D Again, I just buy pre-ground (I appreciate that would be difficult if your supplier denies their existence ;D)
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The only exception I can remember was black cardamoms - after grinding down there was a little bit of husk, but that probably would have ground down had I persisted (I just removed it).
Never tried to grind my own yet, but can I ask if you should remove the seeds from the pods/husks first, to avoid this?
Martin
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Yes, I would imagine the grinder linked above would struggle with methi seeds - they're hard little buggers. ;D Again, I just buy pre-ground (I appreciate that would be difficult if your supplier denies their existence ;D)
I bought three packs from the Spice Store in Tunbridge Wells on Friday, and will be taking one into my local Asian supermarket this coming week just to prove their existence !
Incidentally, I recently ordered a dozen jars of Chinthe Burmese Lime Pickle from the manufacturers, but the consignment has been damaged in transit and is now residing in a warehouse in Maidstone awaiting advice from the suppliers on how to proceed :-(
** Phil.
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I know it's a little expensive and indulgent, but the Waring Spice Grinder is worth every penny. It will produce ground spice to the same degree as any packet mix you care to buy from a wholesaler, plus I now buy mostly just seeds and grind them when I need them, which makes a fresher dish.
Hope this helps :)
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Made a Sindhi spice mix (plus many others) which includes cloves, black cardamon, green cardamon,black peppercorns and cumin seeds put all ingredients into the James Martin coffee grinder and whizzed away for around 90 seconds shaking has i go and the result was a fine powder, i have ground some fenugreek seeds but only on their own not in a mix but still came out as a fine powder. I do alot of my own spice mixes from roasted to just adding non roasted spices.
Havent had any problem with this product at all. Well worth the 15 Quid
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Hi Tempest i use this, with cinnamon or cassia i just break up into medium pieces.
http://www.bargainpod.co.uk/wahl-zx595-james-martin-coffee-grinder-157-p.asp (http://www.bargainpod.co.uk/wahl-zx595-james-martin-coffee-grinder-157-p.asp)
Bought one and used it yesterday. Most impressed. Cost me 13 quid from Amazon.
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Having bought the James Martin spice grinder I was still thinking of splashing out on the Waring and did a little digging. I found this review at
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/cdp/member-reviews/A39250TWO6PEI8?ie=UTF8&sort_by=MostRecentReview (http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/cdp/member-reviews/A39250TWO6PEI8?ie=UTF8&sort_by=MostRecentReview)
"8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars Does not grind finely enough, 26 Jan 2011
I was bitterly disappointed with this spice grinder. I am a Home Economist, & used to appraising kitchen equipment. I like quality items which are designed well & most importantly work (do what they are designed to do). In this instance a quality brand & hefty price tag did not live up to expectation.
I watched a video on [...] of this item in use, it appeared to be just the gadget I required to mill spices to a fine powder. I particularly wanted to be able to grind up cinnamon sticks (nothing beats freshly ground cinnamon powder) & star anise, along with the usual coriander, cumin & cardamom seeds etc. It did not produce a fine powder, no matter how long I ran the motor. I also tried adding larger quantities of spices than I required in case I was trying to mill too small an amount, this did not help either, there were still large pieces of spice which required to be sifted out, completely defeating the purpose of the purchase.I would very much like to know how they obtained such fine powder for the [...] clip. Try as I might, I could not recreate this fine grind."
The comments from the guys on this forum do not seem to concur with this review from Amazon. Is this reviewer being a little unjust?
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Hi Tempest glad you have had success with it, i have been using my grinder for a couple of years now and havent had the need to get anything else to grind my spice mixes, have used a varied amount of grinders and the James Martin one does it for me.
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Just a quick update on the spice grinder business. The James Martin grinder has proven such a success that I have done away with most of the ground spices like cumin and coriander. I have started to grind my own which really makes a difference; more so than using the old mortar and pestle.
T63
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Hi T63 just finished grinding around 15 spice mixes using the James Martin coffee grinder, still no problems :)
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[...] This was with a dedicated Kenwood CG-100 (circa GBP 56 -- GBP 75)...
... which died yesterday, whilst making breadcrumbs to coat shaggy parasol mushrooms (Chlorophyllum rhacodes) which have just come into season around here , as have the shaggy ink caps (Coprinus comatus). Ah well, back to pre-ground spices until I can afford a new one :(
** Phil.
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I took my James Martin spice grinder back to Agos yesterday.
I had not been particularly happy with it as it seemed a bit fiddly and I could see the fragile on button breaking at some point.
After 6 months of light usage it developed vertical cracks in the clear plastic bowl.
Need to find an alternative.
I was very happy with my old moulinex which lasted about 20 years. That too developed cracks in the plastic cover. But not after 6 months.
Got my
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I don't think you can go too far wrong with a good old Krups F203. You'll probably find them on offer somewhere what with it being Black Friday weekend. Or more likely you'll find they're at the same price they always were, but with a "Black friday" sticker plastered on and fools climbing over each other to get to the shelves.
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I took my James Martin spice grinder back to Agos yesterday.
Twice I took it back and even had replacement from Wahl, shit. Got a cheap