Olde Thompson Bombay Combo Pepper Mill and Salt Shaker

March 7th, 2010

Olde Thompson Bombay Combo Pepper Mill and Salt Shaker

It is claimed that every day, in 18-second intervals, someone in the world buys an Olde Thompson pepper mill. If the products of Olde Thompson are any indication if this claim is true, perhaps there may be some grain of truth in it. This is because their pepper mills and salt shakers, as well as disposable spice grinders, are indeed excellent products providing you with the freshly ground peppers and spices at the consistencies you desire.

The company has more than 150 different designs of peppermills and salt shakers that are made of plastic, metal, wood, or any combination thereof. Among them is the Olde Thompson Bombay Combo Pepper Mill and Salt Shaker.

The Bombay Combo is made of clear acrylic and chromed plastic. It is a 7-inch tall cylinder that tapers in its middle section. The top and bottom portions have 2.5-inch diameters, the latter intended to provide a solid and stable base to the device.

This is also where the carbon steel grinding mechanism is housed. It is fully adjustable allowing you to choose the consistency and texture of your pepper grounds. A knob at the top adjusts and activates it, while the grounds fall from the bottom.

Immediately above the chromed plastic bottom is an acrylic section where the whole peppercorns are kept. Since it is clear, you can see if you need to replenish the spices.

Above the acrylic peppercorn container is the salt shaker. Like the peppercorn section, it is also made partly of chromed plastic and acrylic sections. The former is at its lower end, abutting the acrylic peppercorn container, and joins the latter in an angle giving the shaker an attractive style. Salt comes from this top acrylic.

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Capresso Infinity Conical Burr Grinder

February 28th, 2010

Capresso Infinity Conical Burr Grinder

Burr grinders consist of two revolving components with abrasive surfaces, called burrs, set at a distance from each other through which food passes resulting in its grinding or crushing. An advantage of this type of grinding is that friction is minimized, if not eliminated, thus preserving the taste and aroma of the food item, whether it be coffee or spices. This is one of the advantages of the Capresso Infinity Conical Burr Grinder.

The solid conical steel burrs of the Capresso Infinity are precision-cut with the aid of computers. This guarantees a smooth revolution even when the burrs, which are adjustable, are set close to each other. The motor has multiple gears which means that you can set the speed of the burrs’ revolution. This can be as slow as below 450 rpm resulting to less generation of heat and also less noise.

The adjustability of the burrs allows the setting of grounds from extra fine, through fine, regular, to coarse. Each of these settings can further be fine-tuned up to four levels. This means that there are 16 possible adjustments for fineness.

The hopper is made of clear plastic giving you full view of its contents. Ground coffee beans or spices fall into another clear container that fits snugly within the body of the grinder. To keep grinding safe, the hopper needs to be locked in position before the motor can start running.

Unlike other grinders where you need to hold a button down to keep them running, the Capresso Infinity Grinder is equipped with a timer that allows you to program it to operate from 5 to 60 seconds. While it is grinding, you can go get the coffee maker ready or the bowl for the spices.

The Capresso Infinity is available in three variations –metal with stainless steel finish, ABS plastic in stainless finish, and ABS plastic in black.

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Nugget Grain Mill

February 21st, 2010

Nugget Grain Mill

With a milling shaft whose hand crank is easily removed and replaced with a pulley wheel sized 12 – 14 inches, the Nugget Grain Mill can be operated in a number of ways. In addition to the hand crank, you can connect the pulley wheel to a bicycle, windmill, water wheel, a gas engine, or an old electric appliance motor and have all the freshly ground grain you want.

The mill is made of one-piece cast aluminum that could either be with a silver metal or a white powder coating finish. The former is called the Silver Nugget while the latter, Sunshine Nugget. Apart from differences arising from the finish, the two are identical. The Sunshine Nugget has the advantage of the superior protection form rust provided by the powder coat. It is also easier to clean.

Grinding stones come with the Nugget Grain Mill with which you can process most dry grain like wheat, oats, rice, or barley; but you can purchase stainless steel burrs as an option if you need to grind oily grains, coffee, soy, or sesame seeds. The consistency of the grounds is easily adjusted with a turn of a knob from very fine to coarse.

The hopper has a capacity of approximately one quart. Once the grinding mills start turning, grain or beans from the hopper are immediately ground to the set consistency without the need to feed them again into the mill. And since the mill is designed to provide ample room for a pan or any container to catch the grounds beneath the grinders, you are assured of a clean and spill-free table.

Special bearings are incorporated with the drive shaft which reduce wear and tear thus extending the useful life of the Nugget Grain Mill even when used with gas- or electric-powered motors. The mill is bolted to a solid table or countertop, but you can purchase an optional clamp kit so you can move it to different locations.

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Jupiter Stone Flour Mill

February 14th, 2010

Jupiter Stone Flour Mill

Manufactured in Germany, the Jupiter Stone Flour Mill boasts of the vaunted excellence of German engineering. The boast is not entirely empty. The mill is indeed durable, efficient, and versatile.

The Jupiter Stone Flour Mill is actually a close sibling of the Jupiter Steel Flour Mill sharing the same base and motor. Indeed, both steel and stone mills can be installed interchangeably with the same base. The only difference they have is their grinders. While the steel mill features hardened surgical stainless steel burr grinders, the stone mill uses carborundum, an extremely hard compound of silicon and carbon.

Both types have their own advantages and disadvantages. For one thing, while stones may last longer than steel (even stainless steel) grinders, they operate more slowly and are not suited for oily seeds as these could clog the stones. Steel burr grinders can handle oily seeds but will not grind as finely as stones.

If, for whatever reason, you prefer stone grinders, the Jupiter Stone Flour Mill is worth a look. With its all-white premium Lexan plastic housing, it makes a graceful and refined addition to your kitchen regardless of its décor and motif.

The caborundum grinders can process up to 15 pounds of flour at the finest setting per hour without generating heat. This preserves your grains’ nutrients. As a bonus, it does all its grinding quietly.

Although the stone grinders cannot handle oily seeds, it can take on most dry grains such as wheat, rice, corn, spelt, and barley. A knob mounted next to the grinding mechanism enables the adjustment of grounds from coarse to fine.

The stone grinders are easily detachable from the base allowing the installation of other Jupiter attachments such as a flaker mill, fruit press, vegetable shredder, and food processor. In case of a power outage, the supplied wooden base with a hand crank mechanism can be used to run the mill.

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PepperMate Pepper and Spice Mill

February 7th, 2010

PepperMate Pepper and Spice Mill

Ina Garten consistently uses the PepperMate Pepper and Spice Mill in her show, the Barefoot Contessa. Rachael Ray, in an earlier issue of her magazine Everyday with Rachel Ray, featured the mill ranking it as one of the top five. Paula Deen, the restaurateur, author, and TV personality, loves it. If these celebrity cooks use and are familiar with the PepperMate Pepper and Spice Mill, there must be something good about it.

Made of impact resistant plastic the pepper and spice mill is a sturdy kitchen tool that lasts. It is shaped like an ellipse whose long sides are flattened. It has a knob mounted on the side which operates the grinders. These are made of ceramic stones that do not generate heat when operated, thus they will not adversely affect the taste and aroma of your grounds.

The size of the grounds is fully adjustable from super fine to coarse. Once you have set the mill to the desired texture, you can be sure of consistent and even grounds as the adjustment does not change until reset to a different setting.

The top lid is a snap-off kind which opens to a 2.5″ x 1.5″ hole that reduces the possibility of spilling peppercorns or other spices while filling the mill. At the base is a clear cup that catches the grounds. This is useful if you need to measure the amount of spices you want. Otherwise, you can simply detach the cup and pour the grounds directly into your food.

In addition to pepper, the PepperMate Pepper and Spice Mill can also grind other spices such as salt and nutmeg and any other spice up to the size of a coffee bean.

The mill is available in three colors –black, white, and aqua. It is 3¼” long, 1½” wide and 5½” tall.

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Toastess DLCG-559 Intelligent Coffee and Spice Grinder

January 31st, 2010

Toastess DLCG-559 Intelligent Coffee and Spice Grinder

Plenty of people prefer freshly ground spices to season their food in much the same way that they prefer freshly ground coffee to jolt them awake in the morning. With the Toastess DLCG-559 Coffee and Spice Grinder, they can have both in a single machine.

The grinder is outfitted with a powerful yet quiet motor that spins precision blades. The blades slice through coffee beans and practically all types of spices quickly and uniformly. This avoids the build up of friction adversely affecting the beans or spices, and provides for a consistent texture. They are made of stainless steel which makes them easy to clean and maintain.

The grinding chamber is also made of stainless steel. It is removable for washing in a dishwasher, a feature that is important if you opt to use the same machine for grinding your coffee and spices, although the ideal would be to have one for coffee and another for spices as a less than thorough cleaning might result in spicy coffee or coffee-flavored spices. A transparent lid covers the grinding chamber and allows you to peer into it.

It is easy to operate the DLCG-559. One button will activate the blades. Before you do that, though, you can choose the texture of your grounds by rotating a dial on the face of the grinder. One end of the dial is labeled “coarse” while the other is “fine”. If you are grinding coffee beans, you can also program the grinder to process just enough for 2, 4, 8, or the maximum 12 cups using a slider just below the dial adjusting ground texture.

With its gray body and a stainless steel grinding chamber visible through the transparent lid, the Toastess DLCG-599 can be left on display on your kitchen counter. The power cord will not clutter up the counter as it is retractable.

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Eschenfelder Table-Mounted Manual Flaker

January 24th, 2010

Eschenfelder Table-Mounted Manual Flaker

There is nothing like a bowl of fresh muesli or porridge made of freshly-rolled or flaked oats for breakfast in terms of their health benefits. These are known to combat cancer, hypertension, and diabetes. To be able to prepare them, you need an efficient flaker. If it also looks good, that would be a bonus.

The Eschenfelder Table-Mounted Manual Flaker would appear to fit the bill. It has two shiny stainless steel rollers that are easy to clean. They are also resistant to rust or corrosion. One of the rollers is activated by a long hand crank. This terminates in a wooden handle that is comfortable to the grip. And because of its length, it is practically effortless to rotate.

The second roller is friction driven. Once the grain fall from the hopper and are embedded in between the rollers, it starts rotating to produce, along the with the first roller, rolled grain. As the rollers are infinitely adjustable, you can have the thickness or thinness you prefer with your flakes.

They do not just process oats. This Eschenfelder flaker can also handle wheat, rye, buckwheat, rice, barley, spelt, other wheat-sized dry grain, and even oily seeds like sesame, flax, and sunflower seeds. Based on an average of 80 revolutions of the rollers per minute, the flaker can produce 110 grams of oat flakes.

The rollers are securely affixed to an elegant-looking frame finished in beech wood. The frame consists of four posts standing on a solid wood base and supporting the hopper. In between these are the rollers and the funnel catching rolled grain and directing them to a receptacle. For the hopper, you have a choice of either wood or metal.

The flaker is 9 inches long including the handle. It is 5 inches wide, and 9.75 inches tall.

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Waldner Biotech Silence Grain Mill

January 17th, 2010

Waldner Biotech Silence Grain Mill

Encased in a neat tastefully designed shell of solid beech, Waldner Biotech Silence Grain Mill blends seamlessly with kitchens that feature wood cupboards and cabinets, as well as work tables and chairs.

Including the hopper, the mill stands 360 mm with a footprint of 190 x 190 mm. It does not occupy too much space and neither will it reach up to your hanging cupboards. The bowl-shaped wood hopper sits at the top of the mill and is covered with a lid. It has a capacity of 1.2 kg which the mill can grind at a rate of 130 g per minute when adjusted to a fine setting.

When the mill is powered on, grain from the hopper fall into a milling chamber that is fitted with 90 mm-diameter millstones. These are made out of a combination of ceramic and corundum that do not generate heat which could adversely affect the grains. These millstones are self-sharpening and will remain effective even after extended use. The milling chamber itself is self-cleaning requiring little maintenance.

The millstones are activated by a powerful yet quiet 360W motor. It is rated industrial grade which can be expected to last a lifetime. As all motors exude heat, it is isolated from the rest of the mill by insulation materials.

The Austrian-made Waldner Biotech Silence will grind all kinds of dry grain including wheat, oats, rice, rye, or barley. It can also handle oilseeds such as flax, sunflower, or rape seeds. It can even process bigger grains as maize. By rotating the hopper, the texture of the grounds is adjusted from fine to coarse. An easy-to-read scale at the bottom of the hopper serves as a guide.

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Carl Mertens Maestro Salt and Pepper Mills

January 12th, 2010

Carl Mertens Maestro Salt and Pepper Mills

Plenty of people just love to cook. They have fun mixing different food ingredients and creating novel dishes with extraordinary flavors and presentations. Part of the fun comes from knowing that they have the right tools and appliances to concoct their specialties. When looking for the right tool for adding flavor to their dishes with salt, pepper, or other spices, the Carl Mertens Maestro Salt and Pepper Mills are definitely a good candidate.

The Carl Mertens Salt and Pepper Mills are a pair of very elegant hand-powered grinders that are not only great for the kitchen but for the dining table as well. These are made of tubular high-quality stainless steel with a satin finish. As the gleaming steel can sometimes be slippery to the touch, especially after handling oily food, the mills’ upper section is wrapped in leather providing a comfortable and secure hold. The leather wraps come in two colors –black and brown– so you can tell the salt from the pepper mill.

To help these tubes keep their balance, holders made of blocks of wood with holes drilled in their centers for the mills to stand on are provided. These are colored black and brown to match the leather covers.

The mills utilize ceramic grinders. These rust- and corrosion-free grinders do not generate heat that could adversely affect the taste of your spices. In addition to salt and pepper, the Carl Mertens mills can also grind other dried spices such as basil, garlic, dill, or chili.

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DeLonghi Electric Coffee Bean Grinder KG40

January 3rd, 2010

DeLonghi Electric Coffee Bean Grinder KG40

There aren’t too many electric grinders that were originally intended to mince and mill spices but, fortunately, there are plenty of coffee grinders that can adequately and efficiently grind them to the desired consistency. One of these is the DeLonghi Electric Coffee Bean Grinder KG40.

Using durable stainless steel grinding blades, the KG40 grinds cinnamon, coriander, cumin, peppercorn, basil, rosemary, mustard seed, bay laurels, and other spices. These are contained in a hopper that is covered by a lid with transparent sidings allowing you to see into it. And yes, it also grinds coffee beans.

The top of the lid incorporates the switch that activates the grinder. As a safety measure and to prevent the spices from getting strewn all over your kitchen, the lid has to be properly closed before the switch can be pressed and held down to start grinding. If the grounds reach the desired consistency, simply let go of the switch, otherwise, keep on grinding.

The hopper is removable so you can pour out the ground spice instead of scooping it. A brush, which is stored inside the casing, is supplied for a quick clean. You will need to wash it thoroughly with soap and water though if, after grinding spices, you want to use it for coffee beans.

The DeLonghi Electric Coffee Bean Grinder KG40 is encased in a sleek black cylinder with a tapered waist. The electric cord can be wound and concealed within the casing. It stands 9 inches tall with a diameter of approximately 5 inches. This grinder, therefore, is not only functional but also a fine appliance to display on your kitchen countertop.

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