Spice Grinders: Go Manual or Electric?

The use of the traditional mortar and pestle can be quite laborious. Grinding your spices can really drain your energy, especially if there are the ones who come as tiny hard stones. Also, not only does the process of grinding spices through mortar and pestle waste your energy, but it can waste your time as well. Instead of going through the process of cooking itself, you still have to reserve time in preparing the seasonings that you will need. This is the reason why different spice grinders have been popping around the market nowadays.

        There are two kinds of spice grinders, the manual and the electric spice grinders.

        The manual spice grinders are being used by lots of people for quite some time already. They are usually used by mothers and house cookers as they are deemed to be cheaper than electric grinders. They come in all shapes and sizes to be able to suit all the possible spices that would need grinding, but the most common spice that is being grinded through a manual grinder is pepper. Basically, a manual grinder has the following parts: the container and the rotating grinder. The container is the part where the spices are stocked. Most commonly, a manual grinder is also used as the main container of the spices as well. On the other hand, the rotating grinder is the part where the spices are pulverized. The user will only have to rotate it and the spices will already come grinded.

        Although the manual spice grinders are really far more convenient than the mortar and pestle, they still require effort. The rotating grinder can jam especially if you are grinding a hard kind of spice. The pulverized appearance of the spices is not that much fine as well, at least for most models of manual spice grinders. This is because of the fact that result of the grinding will still depend on the manner of how you rotate the grinder. But then again, for non-commercial use, the result of manual grinders can still be acceptable.

        On the other hand, most restaurants already make use of electric spice grinders. They are mostly coffee bean grinders that are designed to accommodate spices as well. Unlike in the manual grinders, this kind does not require any force. Basically, the user just has to stock the spices inside the grinder, press a button and the electric grinder would automatically pulverize the spices. Electric spice grinders also come in different shapes and sizes.

        Regardless of the nature of the spices that are being grinded, electric spice grinders show far more impressive results than the manual spice grinders. They can pulverize almost all kinds of spices. Users have tried them with pepper, chilies, cinnamon sticks, ancho-chilies, peppercorns, allspice berries, and plenty other more spices. The results can even be paralleled to the processed seasonings that are being marketed commercially. However, because electric spice grinders are more high-tech, they are far more expensive than manual spice grinders. But considering its use, it is definitely a good investment.

        Electric spice grinders are more convenient since they save more time and effort than manual spice grinders.