Spice Grinders

With a body that is constructed out of sturdy cast iron and grinding plates fabricated from hard iron alloy, the Quaker City Model F-4 Grinding Mill is built to last. In fact, it is so strong that it can even be used to grind ores, coal, soil, and iron turnings. It is for this reason that there is a specific model for those intended for food applications, which is coated with a special layer. A third variation is a mill with a body made from 316 stainless steel.

The hopper of the F-4 makes has a capacity of 50 cu. in. allowing it to accommodate plenty of your grains. With its wide mouth, it is easy to pour them into the mill.

With interchangeable feeds and plates, the mill can be used for grinding dry, wet, and oily foodstuffs including beans, coffee, corn, grains, and nuts. When processing wet or oily food, you can use the worm feed which resists clogging. For dry grinding, the toothed feed would be appropriate. There are also two available plates, one for pulverizing, and another for granulating. Both of these have a diameter of 4 inches. Unless you specify the type of feed and plate you desire, the F-4 comes with a worm feed and pulverizing plate only. You can, of course, order both feeds and plates but you will have to pay extra for them.

The mill can be set to grind coarse cracking grain or fine flour for making bread. It is often used to make corn meal as well as buckwheat, Graham, rye, and wheat flour. It is also used to make bread crumbs and cracker dust for breading chicken, chops, or oysters. And because it can process nuts, you can use it to make fine peanut butter.

Equipped with quality ball bearings and a crank with a long handle, the Quaker City Model F-4 Grinding Mill is easy to operate. With an output capacity of 10 lbs per hour, you can have your flour in no time.

The mill stands 14 inches high. It is fastened to your kitchen worktable with a C-clamp to keep it from rocking to and from when in use.

In spite of the countless brands and models of electric grain mills, hand-cranked versions like the KoMo Ligno Manual Hand Mill remain popular. Indeed, they do have a number of advantages over their electrically powered cousins.

Foremost among these is that they continue to run even without power coming down from the wires. They are especially useful in rural areas where electric power supply can be erratic, or perhaps nonexistent. In addition to this, hand mills are far less expensive. You can buy one for around a hundred dollars or even less while electric mills can cost up to three or four times as much. Maintenance is more involved with electric mills because of its electric motor. It also has more moving parts than the manual types.

One model of manual hand mills you should check out if you decide to eschew electric mills is the KoMo Lingo Manual Hand Mill. This is a tubular mill that stands up to approximately 14 inches with a diameter of 3.3 inches. The upper section of the tube, about a third from the top, tapers into a neck slightly narrower than the main body. The lip, however, flares outward.

A rod is inserted into the tube to activate the grinders. It is affixed to a metal crank at the end of which is a spherical handle for grasping when grinding. The tubular mill casing is made of solid beechwood, hollowed out in the middle for the grinding stones, grains, and flour. The hopper within has a capacity is 6 ounces. A number of grooves circle the tube providing a nonslip hold as well as an appealing look.

The grinding stones are made of corundum and ceramic. They have a diameter of 2.3 inches and are capable of processing wheat or smaller grains. Grinding at 80 RPMs, they can produce 1 to 2 ounces of finely ground flour per minute, or 2 to 4 ounces of coarse flour.

The KoMo Ligno Manual Hand Mill weighs 2 pounds and 10 ounces.

Equipped with cone burrs that are made of extra hard alloy, Stromberg’s Heavy Duty Hand Grist Mill can be expected to last a whole lifetime of continuous grinding. Owing to its use of burrs, it produces grounds of even and consistent sizes. Also, unlike blade grinders that repeatedly cut through grains, it does not produce as much friction that could adversely affect the grounds. This is because grains are, instead, forced in between two abrasive surfaces with a fixed distance between them.

The main body of the grist mill is made of solid cast iron that is resistant to rust and corrosion. It is constructed with heavy ribs that make it rigid and sturdy, thus it can take plenty of abuse and punishment. The base is equally strong and firm. It has four holes through which it can be bolted to a rigid surface.

The crank of the mill is counter balanced. The end of the arm opposite the handle extends beyond the pivot point, and it is weighted. This means that rotating the crank requires less effort, which results to faster grinding. An adjusting mechanism mounted above the spout allows a quick and easy adjustment of ground size from fine to coarse.

The Stromberg’s Heavy Duty Hand Grist Mill can grind all types of small dry grain such as wheat, groats, buckwheat, rye, oats, and barley. It can also handle corn, coffee, peas, and beans. These can be ground into fine flour for table use or coarse grits for livestock feeds. On the average, the mill can process as much as 25 pounds of grains.

Constructed with one-piece die cast aluminum, the Uni-Ark Hand Grain and Seed Mill is a lightweight yet sturdy piece of machine that is expected to have a long service life. For added protection from rust and corrosion, it is electrostatically coated with powdered enamel that is heat-treated. This causes the coating to adhere to the aluminum as if it is a second skin. There are seven available colors to choose from –blue, sands, pink, black, silver, yellow, and red.

The mill employs a bearing design that has no plastic components that are liable to wear, nor loose springs that are easily lost during disassembly. Its grinders can either be in ceramic stones or stainless steel wheels at your option. They have diameters of 4 inches. Both materials are hard and durable and if you limit yourself to grinding grain, they will perform equally well. Indeed, Uni-Ark is so confident of their grinders that they are given lifetime warranties. In case of any damage to them, you can swap them for new units.

The grain funnel or hopper has a capacity of 1.5 quarts. It stands on a single leg that can either be permanently affixed to a base or table, or temporarily clamped using a non-abrasive table lock. The foot is curved inwards towards the table, which allows ample room beneath the hopper for catching ground grain.

By default, the Uni-Art Hand Grain and Seed Mill is operated with a hand crank. However, a kit is available allowing its conversion for motorized operation. This includes a flywheel to which a fan belt can be affixed and whose other end is attached to a motor.

The mill measures 14″H x 6″ W x 7.5″ D.

With a shiny black bowl incorporating an S-shaped hand crank sitting atop a casing made of natural beech with curved moldings, the German-made Zassenhaus Cereal and Grain Mill looks good enough to be used as decorative piece rather than as a mill. The crank culminates in a knob carved from natural beech, while a drawer is installed at the bottom section. A small rounded button acts as the drawer opener.

Inside this fine piece of kitchen tool are a conical burr and cone that are made of precision-machined high carbon steel, an alloy known for its strength and hardness. This guarantees a long service life even when frequently used.

A thumb nut fitted at the shaft of the crank allows the adjustment of the burr grinder, thus giving you the option to choose the consistency of your grounds. You can have any texture ranging from super fine for flour to coarse grits. The mill can grind most dry grains such as wheat, oats, rice, barley, sorghum, and rye. It can also process shelled nuts, soybeans, and coffee. Thus, when grinding coffee, you can have ground beans either for your French press or for a Turkish coffee.

As the Zassenhaus Cereal and Grain Mill is hand-cranked, you need not miss your freshly ground grain for your breakfast or your coffee for your morning jolt while you are out camping, or during times of power interruption.

The mill is manufactured in the city of Solingen in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is thus a product backed up by Germany’s scientific and technological expertise. Its city of origin is called the “City of Blades” because of its production of scissors, knives, razors, and swords that are made of steel of the highest quality. The same kind of steel is used for the mill’s grinders.

Although hand-cranked mills may be more labor intensive than their electric-powered cousins, they have their own advantages. One obvious edge is that you can continue to operate them even during power outages. Another, which is perhaps more important, is that the grinders are never run fast enough to generate heat that could adversely affect your grounds.

One fine specimen of hand-powered mills is the Victorio Hand Crank Grain Mill. It looks like an upright hollowed-out rectangular bar, the top of which is a hopper that holds your grains while the bottom portion houses the grinders. One of the narrower sides of the bar extends further downwards to form a C-clamp designed to grasp a table or counter top. On this same side is the crank handle used to rotate the grinders.

The mill consists of cast stainless steel grinding burrs, shaped like cones, that have been machined to precision. This guarantees evenly and smoothly ground flour. The burrs can easily process wheat, oats, rice, barley, corn, non-oily seeds, peppercorn, and various spices. As the grinders are made of stainless steel they can be expected to last a lifetime.

The consistency and texture of the grounds is easily adjusted and you can have them fine for your breads, or coarse for your corn grits. A normal cranking speed can yield half a cup of fine flour in a minute. If you want the grounds coarse, you can have one cup.

Larch is a tough, durable, and waterproof tree belonging to the pine family. Owing to these qualities, it is often used for building yachts and as cladding for exterior walls as well as interior paneling. It also has beautiful grains that stand out against a backdrop of light colored pinewood. For these reasons, it is the choice wood for the Waldner Biotech Farina Grain Mill.

This Austrian-made grain mill is a hand-operated mill that evokes visions of rustic European villages where people grow their own grain; harvest, thresh, and winnow them; grind them into flour and eventually bake bread with them. Apart from the crank lever and the visible part of the millstones, all you see is the fine wood housing.

The millstones of the Waldner Biotech Farina Grain Mill consist of corundum and ceramic stones. Unlike metal blades, these do not generate heat and thus will not destroy the nutrients of your grains. Also, as the grinding is slow because it is hand-driven, heat is further avoided. The millstones do not require excessive maintenance as they are self-sharpening. And because ceramics are hard and strong and corundum is actually rated number 9.0 in Moh’s scale of hardness, they are both resistant to wear and tear.

The mill can grind 35 grams of your grains per minute with its millstones. It will process all types of dry grains including wheat, rye, barley, rice, oats, and millet. It can also take oilseeds like linseed, sesame, or flax seeds. A hand-rotated knob mounted on the milling chamber opposite the crank allows the adjustment of grounds’ consistency and texture, from fine to coarse.

The square-topped hopper has a capacity of 450 grams which tapers as it attaches to the mill chamber. The millstones are rotated with a drive shaft equipped with ball bearings. These allow the smooth and light running of the crank handle.

The mill has dimensions of 6.3″ L x 5.5″ W x 11.5″ H. It weighs about 4 pounds.

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.

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.

Porridge oats and muesli are increasingly becoming popular because of the health benefits they offer. Oats, which are more commonly used as livestock feed, are now known to lower low-density lipoprotein (LDL) or bad cholesterol as well as prevent heart disease. While you can readily purchase packaged quick-cooking and instant oats in the groceries, there is nothing like rolling the living oat groats yourself for your healthy porridge oats or muesli. Freshly rolled grains are always better in terms of nutrient contents and you can have these with the Waldner Biotech Flocker Grain Roller & Cereal Flaker.

This grain roller and cereal flaker is made of solid ash giving it a traditional and timeless appeal. The round hopper sits atop crushing rollers that are made of stainless steel. These are adjustable so you can have the grade of rolled grains you prefer. A long hand crank with a wooden handle activates the rollers. Because of its length, rotating it is practically effortless.

In a matter of seconds, you can have your freshly-rolled oats either for porridge or muesli. The Walder Biotech Flocker Grain Roller and Cereal Flaker stands on a solid, stable, and strong platform that keeps the flaker from wobbling while rolling your grains.