HOW TO USE A COFFEE GRINDER FOR SPICES

Spices have been used for centuries to bring more flavor to our food.

Spices have been so important than literal wars were fought over obtaining them.

In our modern day, we just have to go to the grocery store. The only war we fight might be for a parking spot.

At the store, we have ground spices available to use that are convenient to use. I say we need to forget that convenience and get back to obtaining our own whole spices that we grind at home.

IS GRINDING WHOLE SPICES WORTH IT?

The reason you want to grind spices at home is that spices lose their flavor over time. Spices contain violate oils that disappear over time once they have been ground.

Who knows how long that container of cinnamon has been sitting on that supermarket self or how long it took just to get there. A lot of the flavor is lost along the way.

What I try to do with whatever spice I can is buy it whole, either from the grocery store, a bulk store, or an online purveyor (usually the freshest option).

Once you have obtained the spices, you’ll need to grind them. For that I use the same thing my wife uses for her coffee beans – a coffee grinder.

A hard to find spice like this Black Cardamom is best purchased whole for freshness. It would be hard to grind these by hand with a mortal and pestle. A coffee (spice) grinder is what you need.

USING A COFFEE GRINDER FOR WHOLE SPICES

A coffee grinder is great for grinding your own coffee beans, but even better for your whole spices. I learned about how to do this from watching Alton Brown’s “Good Eats”.

Here is what I like about grinding spices with a coffee grinder:

1. Coffee grinders aren’t too big. They are small appliances , that doesn’t take up much more space than my Pyrex 2-cup measuring cup.
2. Coffee grinders are a lot quicker to use than a traditional mortar and pestle.
3. Coffee grinders are easy to use. And all I have to do is put the spices in, hold down the button, until it’s grounded up to my liking. I have done cinnamon sticks, cloves, coriander seeds, black peppercorns, cumin, and so many more.