How To Use A Coffee Grinder For Spices

By Philip Yiga | August 12, 2015

The secret to creating high-quality restaurant dishes at home is using freshly ground spices. By grinding your own spices, you will be able to create fresh and flavored spices that can stay for longer than spices bought from supermarkets. It is even recommended to grind as much spices as needed to create a perfect meal. on the other hand, pre-ground spices from supermarkets sit for an undefined amount of time on the shelves before you buy them and they can even sit for months unused at your home hence the by the time need to use these spices, they would have lost almost their original flavor. This is the main reason as to why you should create your own spices at home if you really want to have a quality dish. In fact, professional chefs may not use spice-grinders but instead use coffee-grinders and below are some the steps to follow when using a coffee-grinder to create spices.

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STEPS TO FOLLOW WHEN USING A COFFEE-GRINDER TO EXTRACT SPICES:

1. Choose a good coffee-grinder: when it comes to grinding spices, not all coffee-grinders are equal and this is mainly because most spices are much smaller than an average coffee-bean and you will even have to grind fewer spices than coffee-beans at any time. So, it’s recommended to select a small coffee-grinder with 0.5 to 1 cup capacity and any grinders larger than this capacity may not be able grind your spices. Additionally, look for a coffee-grinder with sharp blades that are positioned close to the bottom of the grinder because grinding hard-spices such as peppercorns requires a sharp blade. Some spicy-seeds like celery or poppy seeds are very tiny and fine that only a blade close to the bottom of the coffee-grinder will be able to grind them nicely. In fact, in case the blade is too-high and off the bottom of the grinder, it won’t be able to reach and grind the tiny seeds at the bottom. In conclusion, you will need to take note of the blade-sharpness and size when purchasing a grinder that is to be used for grinding spices.

 

2. Save the grinder for crushing spices only: in case you decide to use a coffee-grinder for spices, then don’t use that grinder for crushing coffee-beans. This is because the coffee-bean oils can actually permeate the interior of the coffee-grinder and then taint all the spices with a coffee-flavor after grinding. Likewise, using a grinder for crushing spices to grind coffee can also alter the aroma of your coffee which you will not actually like. All in all, purchase a grinder for specifically grinding coffee or spice but not both products if you really wish to achieve best results.

 

3. Cool the spices before grinding: in case you plan on roasting the spices before grinding them, then allow these spices to cool so that they don’t melt or warp the interior of the grinder during the entire grinding process. Additionally, cooling spices also helps to make them safer to handle to handle during the grinding process. However, not all spices should be cooled and always check whether a particular spice you have purchased can be cooled or not.

 

4. Pulse the spices: most spices tend to lose their flavor quickly in case there is heat applied to them. So, when grinding your spices only pulse the grinder instead of holding down the power-button for a consistent grind because can actually lead to overheating and this is not good for your spices. In fact, pulsing the coffee-grinder will help to keep the blade from overheating and leaching flavor from the spices. However, a consistent grind will only heat the blade quickly and end-up reducing the flavor of your freshly ground spices.

 

5. Store the unused ground spices: after grinding and using your spices to create a favorite dish, you may decide to store the unused/remaining ground spices in your pantry for several weeks in case they are poured into an air-tight container. Additionally, try to keep your spices away from the oven and out of direct sunlight because this will help to preserve their natural flavor which is required to create a perfect dish. However, the longer you keep your spices, the less flavorful they will become. So it is best to grind a small amount of spices so that you can be able to finish them quickly before they lose their natural flavor.

 

6. Store your grinder properly: most spices are actually aromatic and flavorful. In case you want to prevent the contamination of your spices from previous grindings, regularly dust-out the grinder after using it for grinding spices and then store it without a lid. In fact, removing the remaining/residue spices form the grinder will help to air-out any scent while the air-flow will help to dry-out any oils may have been left behind within the grinder. So, it’s always recommended to thoroughly clean and dry the grinder after grinding spices and remember to keep the lid open in order to get rid of any remaining scent.

 

TIPS TO CONSIDER WHEN USING A COFFEE-GRINDER FOR SPICES:

• Most spices can actually be ground using a coffee-grinder and these spices include; cloves, cinnamon, peppercorns, cumin, caraway, cardamom and many more. So don’t be afraid to use a coffee-grinder to prepare your own spices at home.
• Always store the remaining spices in an air-tight container because this will to sustain their flavor for some good time. However, don’t store your spices for a long period of time because they will lose their natural flavor.
• Try to keep your spices away from heat like on top of the oven or within direct sunlight because this actually affects their flavor. Always keep these spices in a cool and safe pantry because this will help to preserve their flavor.
• Only pulse your spices when grinding in order to preserve the natural flavor of the spices. In fact, you should avoid consistent grinding of spices because it heats-up the blade quickly and the heat produces reduces the flavor of freshly ground spices.