The Incredible Versatility Of An Electric Herb Grinder

By Frank Morgan


These days you can find a kitchen appliance for almost anything. With so much choice, the challenge is not to spend your money on ones you will use only a few times before you let them gather dust on the shelf. One gadget that is a really good investment and that will pay for itself over and over again, however, is an electric herb grinder.

If you've ever tried to crush herbs or spices by hand, using a mortar and pestle, you'll know how time consuming it can be. An alternative that works with electricity is almost like a small blender that can chop up anything in seconds. It's easy to use and easy to clean, since you only need to wipe it with a cloth or paper towel once you're done. More importantly, though, it's incredibly versatile.

The obvious use for an herb grinder is to chop up herbs. For fresh herbs, you'll need to use the pulse mode so that you don't end up with a sticky paste. Dried herbs will become fine so that your cooking will be filled with flavor but without leafy green bits. Many people even use the appliance to chop up herbs for smoking, since a finer texture makes it easier to roll an herbal cigarette.

Buying spices that are already ground may be convenient but can also be wasteful, since spices quickly lose flavor once they're ground. If you buy whole spices instead, you only need to grind a little bit at a time, enough to meet the requirements of your recipe. Your stock of spices will last longer and you won't have to spend hours crushing them by hand.

If you have leftover, stale bread, simply grind it to make breadcrumbs that can form a coating for meat or vegetables. Cookies can be crushed to make crusts for pies and cheesecakes. You can also make small batches of special flours like buckwheat, lentil or almond flour.

For a tastier cup of coffee, you need to use beans that are freshly ground. Your grinder is also handy for making your own confectioner's sugar, grinding regular sugar until it is powdery. Instead of buying different textures of salt, buy a large pack of coarse salt and then grind it into a finer texture when you need it.

Even if you don't like cooking, you will find that a good grinder can get your creative juices flowing. Add some finely ground herbs or flowers such as lavender, calendula or chamomile to homemade, all-natural cosmetics and deodorants. You may also want to add some taste and breath-freshening properties to a baking soda tooth powder by mixing in some powdered mint, anise or cloves.

For a special touch when you wrap gifts, add some paper confetti or sweet-smelling potpourri. You can make the confetti by grinding pieces of colorful paper. Potpourri will also get a wonderfully even texture if you grind the dried flower petals for a few seconds.




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