Having an electric coffee grinder at home doesn’t mean you are limited to just crushing and grinding coffee beans. You may replace your mortar and pestle by using your new machine to crush spices. Spice grinders have been designed the same way as coffee grinders: to crush beans and hard spices into looser, more workable pieces.
If you want to use your spice grinder to grind your coffee beans, you may. Just make sure to clean it generously to prevent the aroma and spice from blending on the coffee’s natural flavor (not unless you like your spiced coffee mix at home.)
Can a Coffee Grinder Be Used as a Spice Grinder?
Without a doubt, a coffee grinder can also serve as a spice grinder. A spice grinder is the compact version of a coffee grinder and could be time-consuming if you’re doing larger batches of crushing your spices. The coffee grinder has enough space to accommodate larger batches of grinding any spice.
Blade coffee grinders that have high-speed rotating blades could also function as a spice grinder. Just like coffee beans, spices placed inside a blade grinder tend to collect on the edges of the machine. The process produces chunks of spices which could affect the solubility and concentration when mixed in food.
If you happen to own a burr coffee grinder, it could provide even granules compared to blade-type ones. Burrs are fan-shaped blades that have higher blade space to grind spices and beans. Consider using burr-type grinders if you want to pulverize your spices into a finer consistency.
Overall, you can use your coffee grinder as an alternative to a spice grinder. If you want to free yourself from deep cleaning of the coffee grinder parts to remove the spices’ sediments and flavor, purchase a separate grinder for your spices.Â
What Else Can You Grind in a Coffee Grinder?
The coffee grinder is a compact version of a blender. The rotating blades or burrs are responsible for crushing and grinding your roasted coffee beans. Aside from creating the perfect texture for your brewed coffee, a coffee grinder could also be used on other food items.
Spices and dried herbs provide the necessary layers of flavor, texture, and aroma for your dishes. It can also elevate the natural flavors of your proteins, vegetables, wheat, and fruit. Crushing them with a coffee grinder will alleviate the distribution of these condiments.
You may also transform your old loaf bread for your homemade breadcrumbs. After toasting your stale bread, place this inside a coffee grinder until it reached the desired consistency. This could also be done for your unused sourdough bread and yeast bread.
Several recipes require a finer texture for an ingredient. Flours and sugars need to be pulverized on specific recipes. If you only need small portions, consider placing them inside a coffee grinder than a blender to save cleaning time.
Homemade tea blends could be easier by pulverizing your dried tea herbs and spices. Mix your favorite dried tea with cinnamon, dried flowers, and even other tea leaves to create an endless array of fruity, musky, and floral tones for your tea.
