KA Attachments - Grain Mill for Spices & Rubs


 

Ron G.

TVWBB Wizard
Just "upgraded" our KA to the Pro-600
(We sometimes make stuff where the 5-quart bowl is a hair on the small size - this'll remedy that.)

Got to looking at the attachments catalog, and that got me thinkin':

What are your thoughts on using the Grain Mill as a "spice grinder"? I would think that on "fine" it should work, as long as what is being ground is dry.

I presently have a smallish (holds about 1 cup) marble mortar & pestle - but using it's sometimes a bit too much like a work-out.
 
Ron, great mixer, I love mine.
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Buy yourself a $15.00 electric coffee grinder that you only use for gringing spices, and chile peppers. It's all I use, and does a great job.
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I bought a grain mill for my Hobart-built KA 5-quart about 10 years ago and I was underwhelmed with it. I was mostly doing grains for flour but did try it for spices too. I found the grind very uneven and I gave it away.

You might try Googling for reviews. Hopefully they have improved on the design from that of the one I had. I did see one photo and it does look a little different and is more expensive than mine was.

Also, try searching the discussions on this site. "Spice mill" or "spice grinder" will bring up some hits.

Good luck, and keep us up to date.

Rita
 
As usual, Bryan's advice is right on - an inexpensive coffee grinder does a great job on spices. It's good to have a spice grinder that's easy to clean, to keep strong smelling spices from contaminating your next grind. The grain mill idea might not shine in that respect.
 
Thanks for the replies guys,

I'll have to watch for a decent, inexpensive coffee grinder.

Plus, after thinking about it - Carl is right in that the grain mill would be a bit pricey & hard to clean

(The mortar & pestle does not do a good job on peppers - which tend to stay just a little "leathery". Works fine on small amounts of hard, dry spices though - & really releases the flavors when you just want to crush 'em.)
 
Check your blender's thread size. I have a cuisinart and I can screw on "regular mouth" canning jars. I put a jar on a scale, weigh out my spices, screw on the blade and base, and whirrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr...done. And in a resealable container. You can even get really crazy and drill some holes in a canning lid and the jar turns into a shaker.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Carl is right in that the grain mill would be a bit pricey & hard to clean </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

And ditto what Bryan said. The coffee grinder is the way to go. When it comes time to clean it; simple toss in some uncooked rice and let it whirl for a bit. Dump the rice out and wipe with a paper towel and you're clean.

Paul
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Ron G.:

The mortar & pestle does not do a good job on peppers - which tend to stay just a little "leathery". </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
You need to halve, seed the peppers, and place them on a cookie sheet with the inside/cut open side up on the cookie sheet, and into a 225º oven for about 12-15 min to dry them further. I do it with not so dried, dried peppers even when using the coffee grinder, Anchos come to mind. Even if fully dry, a mortar and pestle would be quite alot of work to grind up some peppers IMO. Yes it can be done, but man that's alot of work. HTH
 

 

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