Recommendations for a dedicated spice grinder?

[cptnding]

Could anyone give me a recommendation for a good spice grinder. I plan to use it only for spices. There are so many out there on Amazon ect it's beginning to make my head spin. I would love to hear from so of you who have real experience with one and not just bs internet reviews.
Thanks!

 

[Fueling Around]

Here's what I use

https://www.amazon.com/KRUPS-Electric-Coffee-Grinder-Stainless/dp/B00004SPEU/ref=sr_1_5?c=ts&keywords=Coffee%2BGrinders&qid=1702243843&s=kitchen&sr=1-5&ts_id=289750&th=1

Pulverizes red pepper flakes, coarse ground black pepper, dried chilis, salt crystals, fried ginger chunks, onion flakes, etc. I haven't been disappointed. I do have to share with my wife for her morning coffee, but a cheap chip brush cleans it up.

 

[SmokinEdge]

This is what I use. It’s dedicated to spices only.

 

[Fueling Around]

This is what I use. It’s dedicated to spices only.
...

What's the old saying?
"Great minds think alike!"

 

[Brokenhandle]

Can't help you out but didn't one of master enablers have one in one of his latest posts... namely Steve H and I was gonna check it out but got busy and forgot.

Ryan

 

[SmokinEdge]

What's the old saying?
"Great minds think alike!"

Absolutely

 

[civilsmoker]

We use an older model….the grinding cup is removable so it’s easy to wash between grinds. Which I like to do to keep from spice flavor carry over…..

Here it is with dried chili pods…..

 

[WaterRat]

Me too, cheapo coffee grinder, pay more than about $15 youre paying too much

 

[cptnding]

Thanks fellas. That will give me something to look for. I like the idea of the removable bowl in case I need to clean it.

 

[Steve H]

I have an ancient black and decker smart grinder. Works great. The one Ryan is thinking about is the one I bought from Flatiron pepper company. It is hand operated. And for flakes only. It does good for that.

 

[mr mac]

I use the Mr Coffee version. We have two. One, naturally, for coffee.

Mr. Coffee 12 Cup Electric Coffee Grinder with Multi Settings, Black, 3 Speed - IDS77 https://a.co/d/aCGhgWX

 

[PulledPorkSandwich]

I did some research on this topic myself awhile back. I had been using an old blade coffee grinder but, somehow, spices had crept into the area where the blade spins and it seized up. In the course of my research, I learned that "burr" grinders are generally preferred because they tend to produce a more uniform grind than blade grinders. With that in mind, I bought a cheap Mr. Coffee burr grinder at Walmart and dedicated it to spices. It works great. It has a selector for the size of the grind, so you can grind spices coarsely or finely.

One thing I don't like is the burr grinder can be a pain to clean. The part that stays in the machine can't be submerged in water so I use a can of compressed air to blow it out after using it.

 

[cptnding]

I did some research on this topic myself awhile back. I had been using an old blade coffee grinder but, somehow, spices had crept into the area where the blade spins and it seized up. In the course of my research, I learned that "burr" grinders are generally preferred because they tend to produce a more uniform grind than blade grinders. With that in mind, I bought a cheap Mr. Coffee burr grinder at Walmart and dedicated it to spices. It works great. It has a selector for the size of the grind, so you can grind spices coarsely or finely.

One thing I don't like is the burr grinder can be a pain to clean. The part that stays in the machine can't be submerged in water so I use a can of compressed air to blow it out after using it.

Thanks for the reply. My wife has a fancy burr grinder for our coffee and it works like a champion. But just like yours the grinding part can not be removes or submerged. Makes me a bit worried about the residual build up. I think I'm going to go with a blade type now. May try a cheap burr one in the future.

 

[forktender]

Around here, you can find old coffee grinders at thrift stores for $2 - $8.00.
I buy the cheapest I can find and use it until it dies, then repeat.
I rinse them off under hot running water, without worrying about damaging the motor. I try not to get the motor wet, but if it does I don't worry about it.

 

[cptnding]

Around here, you can find old coffee grinders at thrift stores for $2 - $8.00.
I buy the cheapest I can find and use it until it dies, then repeat.
I rinse them off under hot running water, without worrying about damaging the motor. I try not to get the motor wet, but if it does I don't worry about it.

That's a really good idea. I'm no stranger to pawn shops ect when it comes to tools or guns but I almost never go to thrift stores. Thanks for the suggestion.

 

[Hockeydudde]

About a year ago we found what looked like any other blade coffee grinder at a thrift store.
Turns out the great thing about this one is the actual blade and "bowl" part is removable and goes in the dish washer.
The left over un-cleanable residue always drove me crazy with the normal types, especially after Indian food. No matter what I did, the next time I used it, my food tasted a little like curry.

I highly recommend finding one with a removable, dishwasher safe bowl.

 

[old sarge]

We have a cuisinart nut and spice grinder; cost about $40. Does a fair to middlin' job.

 

[smokebuzz]

I did some research on this topic myself awhile back. I had been using an old blade coffee grinder but, somehow, spices had crept into the area where the blade spins and it seized up. In the course of my research, I learned that "burr" grinders are generally preferred because they tend to produce a more uniform grind than blade grinders. With that in mind, I bought a cheap Mr. Coffee burr grinder at Walmart and dedicated it to spices. It works great. It has a selector for the size of the grind, so you can grind spices coarsely or finely.

One thing I don't like is the burr grinder can be a pain to clean. The part that stays in the machine can't be submerged in water so I use a can of compressed air to blow it out after using it.

Could you run dried bread through it? I've been considering 1 for the ability to get a uniform grind, not powder..


I grab coffee grinders at garage sales, typically for a couple bucks.

 

[PulledPorkSandwich]

Could you run dried bread through it? I've been considering 1 for the ability to get a uniform grind, not powder..


I grab coffee grinders at garage sales, typically for a couple bucks.

I don't think it would work for dried bread, at least I don't think mine would. Mine has a cover over the grinding area intended to keep the spices from flying all over the place as they're being ground, meter their flow into the burr area, and force the ground spices into a container. There's enough of a gap between that cover and the grinder to allow peppercorns and allspice, for example, to fall into the burr area. Chunks of dried bread would be way too big to ever end up in the grinder. Also, if the bread were not really dry, like croutons, it would likely gum up the grinder.

The grinding area is cylindrical, about an inch deep and a little more than an inch wide. Large items wouldn't fit and hence wouldn't be ground even if you removed the cover.

 

[Hockeydudde]

You can grind minute rice to clean out the grinder. Commonly used for coffee grinders. You can use standard rice, but it's much harder and they say it can be bad for the grinder. I have grind normal rice and never had an issue.