coffee grinder for spices in the UK?

bugbear · Joined: 26 Jul 2007 Posts: 1

I'm buying a birthday gift for a friend
who likes making Mexican and Indian food.

I though I'd get him an electric
spice grinder.

Since there don't appear to be any
spice grinder per se, a small coffee grinder
seems to be the standard solution.

So; does anybody have any
preferances/recommendations, available in the UK?

I'm aiming to spend up to 30 pounds.

BugBear

Archived from group: uk>food+drink>misc

Viviane · Joined: 26 Jul 2007 Posts: 2

We use the attachment for our Kenwood mixer. If your friend has a mixer, an
attachment might be better than a stand alone machine.

"bugbear" wrote in message $0$17925$ed2619ec@ptn-nntp-reader02.plus.net...
> I'm buying a birthday gift for a friend
> who likes making Mexican and Indian food.
>
> I though I'd get him an electric
> spice grinder.
>
> Since there don't appear to be any
> spice grinder per se, a small coffee grinder
> seems to be the standard solution.
>
> So; does anybody have any
> preferances/recommendations, available in the UK?
>
> I'm aiming to spend up to 30 pounds.
>
> BugBear

Steph Peters · Joined: 26 Jul 2007 Posts: 2

bugbear of Customer of PlusNet plc
(http://www.plus.net) wrote:

>I'm buying a birthday gift for a friend
>who likes making Mexican and Indian food.
>
>I though I'd get him an electric
>spice grinder.
>
>Since there don't appear to be any
>spice grinder per se, a small coffee grinder
>seems to be the standard solution.
>
>So; does anybody have any
>preferances/recommendations, available in the UK?

I just bought a coffee grinder from a reputable manufacturer. The only
specific requirement for spices is to have a small capacity so that the
ground spices don't get lost around a bigger grinding area. Consider how
easy it is to clean. I tend to brush out the bits from mine and give it a
wipe with a bit of damp kitchen towel. This is OK because mine is only ever
used for spices, so a bit of one spice blend in the next doesn't matter. I
don't think it's feasible to get them clean enough to swap between coffee
and spices in the same machine.
--
Time flies like an arrow, but fruit flies like a banana.
Steph Peters, Manchester, England
email: delete invalid from eat@sandbenders.demon.co.uk.invalid

Blanche Nonken · Joined: 26 Jul 2007 Posts: 1

Steph Peters wrote:

> I just bought a coffee grinder from a reputable manufacturer. The only
> specific requirement for spices is to have a small capacity so that the
> ground spices don't get lost around a bigger grinding area. Consider how
> easy it is to clean. I tend to brush out the bits from mine and give it a
> wipe with a bit of damp kitchen towel. This is OK because mine is only ever
> used for spices, so a bit of one spice blend in the next doesn't matter. I
> don't think it's feasible to get them clean enough to swap between coffee
> and spices in the same machine.

As far as the blade-type grinders go, when grinding something where a
tiny amount is needed (and when it's appropriate for the recipe) I add a
half teaspoon or teaspoon or so of coarse corn meal. This helps pick up
all the finer grit that might be lost sticking to the sides, and helps
distribute it throughout the dish being prepared.

Polyvinyl · Joined: 26 Jul 2007 Posts: 1

"bugbear" wrote in message$0$17925$ed2619ec@ptn-nntp-reader02.plus.net...
> I'm buying a birthday gift for a friend
> who likes making Mexican and Indian food.
>
> I though I'd get him an electric
> spice grinder.
>
> Since there don't appear to be any
> spice grinder per se, a small coffee grinder
> seems to be the standard solution.
>
> So; does anybody have any
> preferances/recommendations, available in the UK?
>
> I'm aiming to spend up to 30 pounds.
>
> BugBear

my tuppenceworth, as someone who always grinds her own spices, I find that
it is more hassle using an electric grinder and then cleaning it than using
a good old fashioned morter and pestle!
Small coffee grinders do work but are a bugger to clean - especially if you
want to grind coffee as well. They are handy if grinding a lot of spice -
maybe to store but otherwise not worth the bother...
A good quality heavy cast iron, but small, frying pan - to roast the spices
might be an alternative. I would certainly be very happy to get such a gift.

have you tried uk.food+drink.indian for alternative viewpoints?

fiona

Elaine Jones · Joined: 26 Jul 2007 Posts: 13

Quoting from message
posted on 22 Sep 2004 by Polyvinyl
I would like to add:

>
> "bugbear" wrote in message
> $0$17925$ed2619ec@ptn-nntp-reader02.plus.net...
> > I'm buying a birthday gift for a friend
> > who likes making Mexican and Indian food.
> >
> > I though I'd get him an electric
> > spice grinder.
> >
> > Since there don't appear to be any
> > spice grinder per se, a small coffee grinder
> > seems to be the standard solution.
> >
> > So; does anybody have any
> > preferances/recommendations, available in the UK?
> >
> > I'm aiming to spend up to 30 pounds.
> >
> > BugBear
>
> my tuppenceworth, as someone who always grinds her own spices, I find that
> it is more hassle using an electric grinder and then cleaning it than using
> a good old fashioned morter and pestle!

Agreed, since spices should be freshly ground (but if you're using them daily
then sufficient for a few days can be ground at the sme time and stored).

Typhoon's cast iron range are very good and even make grinding cloves
relatively easy.

> have you tried uk.food+drink.indian for alternative viewpoints?

It has been discussed more than once but it won't harm to post the query
as ufdi is not a heavy traffic group.

(sorry the topic is not on the website)

--
....ElaineJ... Home Pages and FAQ of uk.food+drink.indian can be viewed at
....Kinetic... http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/ejones/ufdi/index.html
...StrongArm.. Under construction, FAQ, recipes, tips, booklist, links
....RISC PC... Questions and suggestions please, email or to the newsgroup

Steph Peters · Joined: 26 Jul 2007 Posts: 2

"Polyvinyl" of wrote:
>my tuppenceworth, as someone who always grinds her own spices, I find that
>it is more hassle using an electric grinder and then cleaning it than using
>a good old fashioned morter and pestle!
>Small coffee grinders do work but are a bugger to clean - especially if you
>want to grind coffee as well. They are handy if grinding a lot of spice -
>maybe to store but otherwise not worth the bother...

You are right. Since acquiring a really big heavy stone pestle and mortar,
the electric grinder hasn't been used. And the small pestle and mortar can
go in the dishwasher.
--
Man does not live by words alone, despite the fact that
sometimes he has to eat them. Adlai E Stevenson
Steph Peters, Manchester, England
email: delete invalid from eat@sandbenders.demon.co.uk.invalid

stodgy puss · Joined: 26 Jul 2007 Posts: 3

"Steph Peters" wrote in message@4ax.com...
> "Polyvinyl" of wrote:
> >my tuppenceworth, as someone who always grinds her own spices, I find
that
> >it is more hassle using an electric grinder and then cleaning it than
using
> >a good old fashioned morter and pestle!
> >Small coffee grinders do work but are a bugger to clean - especially if
you
> >want to grind coffee as well. They are handy if grinding a lot of spice -
> >maybe to store but otherwise not worth the bother...
>
> You are right. Since acquiring a really big heavy stone pestle and
mortar,
> the electric grinder hasn't been used. And the small pestle and mortar
can
> go in the dishwasher.

I use an ordinary hand coffee grinder I bought from a boot sale. Cleaned it
well. You can grind small amounts at a time. Very easy and cheap. No need
to put in dishwasher. No need to clean at all really.

Stodge

Don Wiss · Joined: 26 Jul 2007 Posts: 9

On Wed, 22 Sep 2004, Polyvinyl wrote:

>bugbear wrote:

>> I though I'd get him an electric
>> spice grinder.

>my tuppenceworth, as someone who always grinds her own spices, I find that
>it is more hassle using an electric grinder and then cleaning it than using
>a good old fashioned morter and pestle!
>Small coffee grinders do work but are a bugger to clean - especially if you
>want to grind coffee as well.

I have a dedicated Krups grinder for spices. The oval one that goes for
around US$20. I have another one, an older model, dedicated to grinding
nuts. I use it daily. I don't grind coffee. And I don't bother to clean
them, though the cover on the one used for nuts does need to be cleaned
once a year.

Don .

B.Server · Joined: 26 Jul 2007 Posts: 1

On Tue, 21 Sep 2004 13:14:49 +0100, bugbear
wrote:

>I'm buying a birthday gift for a friend
>who likes making Mexican and Indian food.
>
>I though I'd get him an electric
>spice grinder.
>
>Since there don't appear to be any
>spice grinder per se, a small coffee grinder
>seems to be the standard solution.
>
>So; does anybody have any
>preferances/recommendations, available in the UK?
>
>I'm aiming to spend up to 30 pounds.
>
> BugBear

Pretty much any small coffee grinder works fine. I think I have one
Krups and one Braun. DO NOT expect to use the grinder for both coffee
and spices. You will either spend an awful lot of time trying to get
it clean or have strange tasting food and coffee.

Between uses, I add some rice and kosher salt, grind for 10 seconds
and dump. It does a reasonable job of cleaning. If you need more,
wipe with a damp cloth.

They will last until the hard spices, (cinnamon, black pepper for
example) eventually erode the plastic top. In my case it took around
15 years of use.

Jennifer Sparkes · Joined: 31 Jul 2007 Posts: 1

The message
from bugbear contains these words:

> Since there don't appear to be any
> spice grinder per se, a small coffee grinder
> seems to be the standard solution.

I bought a Moulinex coffee grinder for just that job.
So long ago I cannot remember why that make,
probably price and capacity.

The nearest now looks to be the Moulinex Super Junior
Coffee Grinder, capacity 60g, 180 watt power.

Good Luck ... Jennifer

Dave Hillam · Joined: 31 Jul 2007 Posts: 1

Jennifer Sparkes wrote in uk.food+drink.misc on Tue, 21 Sep 2004
18:44:50 +0100 MID:

>The message
>from bugbear contains these words:
>
>> Since there don't appear to be any
>> spice grinder per se, a small coffee grinder
>> seems to be the standard solution.
>
>I bought a Moulinex coffee grinder for just that job.
>So long ago I cannot remember why that make,
>probably price and capacity.

Probably as many years ago, we bought a Bosch coffee grinder for the
same reason, it's worked well ever since.

We've never used it for coffee, and it cleans out very well; though
most of our spice mixes are coriander/cardamom/peppercorn based, we've
honestly not noticed an aroma from the grinder after it's been cleaned
and stored.

--
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- often used in vague commendation by those who are not nice
(Chambers 20th Century Dictionary)

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