The best spice grinders you can buy by James Brains on Feb 1, 2018, 10:31 AM The Insider Picks team writes about stuff we think you'll like. Business Insider has affiliate partnerships, so we get a share of the revenue from your purchase. The Insider Pick: -
Freshly ground spices brighten just about any dish, so if you love to cook, you may want a versatile spice grinder. The Secura Electric Coffee & Spice Grinder is our top pick with its strong motor that is resistant to overheating and two bowls for chopping and grinding. The idea of grinding your own spices may seem like a hassle when it’s just so easy to pick up pre-ground options at the grocery store. Yet, taste test after taste test reveals that freshly ground spices produce dishes with a superior roundness of flavor, vibrancy, and aroma. Therefore, a good spice grinder provides a fairly simple way to step up your culinary chops. There are two main styles of spice grinders: electric and manual. Electric grinders are excellent because they make quick work of a variety of spices. Most can also do double duty chopping nuts and grinding grains and coffee beans. But, they can only be used for a few seconds at a time before the motor starts to heat up, and many models are difficult to clean. Also, electric grinders obviously require the use of electricity, and environmentally-conscious people may have trouble justifying using one when there are several suitable manual options. Manual grinders take the cake when you want a more portable solution that isn’t tethered to an electrical outlet. Most electric grinders use blades, whereas their manual counterparts work by crushing the spices with gears made of ceramic or metal. They commonly have a knob you can turn to adjust the size of the grind. The downside to manual grinders is that they may be a pain for individuals with arthritis, carpal tunnel, or other hand/wrist conditions. Though we did not include any in our guide, the herb grinder is a third type of spice grinder that is mainly designed for larger seeds, teas, tobacco, and herbs, including basil, oregano, thyme, rosemary, and more. Herb grinders are manually operated and generally have trouble handling most whole spices. If you decide to go this route, we recommend Zip Grinders. We looked at dozens of different alternatives while researching the best spice grinders. The grinders included in our guide are highly rated by buyers and experts alike because of their ease of use, consistent performance, and how painless the cleaning process is. SEE ALSO: The best pepper mills and salt grinders you can buy DON'T MISS: The best coffee grinders you can buy The best spice grinder overall Why you'll love it: If you are looking for an effective, mess-free way to grind spices quickly, the Secura Electric Coffee Grinder & Spice Grinder is an excellent option. The Secura Electric Coffee Grinder & Spice Grinder comes with two stainless steel bowls. One has two stainless steel blades, which are designed for grinding spices. The other “chopper” bowl has four blades for chopping vegetables, oats, and nuts. The exterior of the grinder is also made of stainless steel. The grinder is relatively easy to use because there is only one switch for turning the device on and off. For safety, the plastic, transparent lid must be in place in order for the motor to run. And, the motor features built-in overheat protection, which is meant to extend its lifespan. Secura backs up the grinder with a one-year limited warranty. You can use it to grind just about anything from pepper and sea salt, to coffee beans and nuts. Savant Magazine rated the Secura Electric Grinder highly because of the affordable price, versatile and user-friendly design, and the electric motor’s resistance to overheating. But, the testers did find the motor worked slowly and was a challenge to clean. The Secura Electric Coffee Grinder & Spice Grinder has five-star ratings from 70% of the buyers who reviewed it on Amazon. The most helpful reviewer points out that the bowls come off easily for washing and the grinder can handle everything from cumin to almonds. One buyer did note that a piece broke on the four-blade bowl, but Secura quickly replaced both bowls when notified. Other verified purchasers echoed the fact that this grinder isn’t as messy as others, which is a bonus. Pros: Motor resistant to overheating, removable bowls for chopping and grinding Cons: Motor can only run for several seconds at a time
The best manual spice grinder Why you'll love it: The Kuhn Rikon Ratchet Grinder is ideal for people who don’t want to waste electricity on tasks they can easily perform with a little muscle. Unlike most manual spice grinders that utilize a rotating crank, the Kuhn Rikon grinder works using a back-and-forth motion. First, you load the spices you want to grind into the front door. Then, you adjust the desired coarseness by turning the knob on the bottom of the device either clockwise for a finer grind or counterclockwise for a coarser grind. To operate, you move the ergonomic BPA-free hard plastic handle back and forth. This causes the ceramic stone grinder to break the spices into smaller particles. You can use it to grind all kinds of spices, including pepper, sea salt, and more. Its ceramic grinder won’t corrode, and the large capacity makes it easy to grind a lot of your favorite spice quickly. On the finest setting, the grinder produces a true powder. A reviewer from the site All Free Slow Cooker Recipes tested out the Kuhn Rikon Ratchet Grinder and was impressed overall. The tester found it ground spices effortlessly and quickly. Reviewers also liked that it is easy to fill through the little opening on the front. Best Reviews included this grinder on its list of the top five spice grinders, too. On the downside, the reviewers mentioned that its performance is affected by humidity. Around 90% of the people who rated the Kuhn Rikon Ratchet Grinder on Amazon gave it four or five stars. Buyers appear to mainly use this grinder for coarse salts and peppercorns. They are particularly impressed with how easily the ratchet system works as opposed to a pepper mill. Reviewers warn against overfilling the grinder because it then becomes difficult to close the compartment. There was some concern about the product’s durability. A reviewer named Anne noted that her grinder broke after just five weeks of use when the metal broke free from the handle. Pros: Doesn’t require electricity/batteries, easy on the hands Cons: Reports of durability problems
The best spice grinder for fast and smooth grinding Why you'll love it: If you are looking for an electric grinder that makes quick work of spices and produces an even grind, the Cuisinart Electric Spice-and-Nut Grinder is your best bet. The design of the Cuisinart Electric Spice-and-Nut Grinder is similar to our top pick, the Secura Electric Grinder. The main differences are that the Cuisinart grinder only comes with one removable bowl, and the Secura grinder tends to perform better. This Cuisinart grinder features heavy-duty stainless-steel blades that can grind seeds, nuts, spices, and more. The bowl holds 90 grams of spices at a time, and the suggested grind times range from 10 seconds for black peppercorns to 45 seconds for whole cinnamon sticks. The grinder is covered by an 18-month limited warranty. Expert reviewers also like the grinder. Serious Eats was impressed with how easy it was to detach and clean the grinding cup and lid. As for downsides, reviewers found was that spices leak from between the lid and metal cup sometimes, which gums up the motor housing, making it tough to clean. Savant Magazine liked this grinder's powerful motor and superior stability. Around 62% of the people who rated the Cuisinart Electric Spice-and-Nut Grinder on Amazon left a positive review. Verified buyers are impressed with how easy it is to clean and that it grinds quickly and smoothly with just a touch of the lid. One buyer said that the grinder worked well for about a year before the motor died, but the reviewer had experienced similar problems with electric grinders before. This does not appear to be the norm, though. Pros: Dishwasher-safe lid and grinding cup, fast grinding, 18-month warranty Cons: Accumulates spice residue on motor housing, emits an electrical odor
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