To prepare yourself as a perfect chef, you certainly need to know a few techniques that can take your cooking to a different level. Among them, the fine grinding of spices is a major one. Cooking is not only about making a delicious dish rather you need to master your kitchen skills to reach professionalism.
The secret behind the delicious taste and flavor of your food lies within the fine grinding of your spices. If you are still facing difficulties regarding this phase of cooking, then don’t worry because we have got you covered. A summed-up discussion on grinding spices is given for your convenient cooking.
Though the perfect grinding of spices has always been a tough phase for all the chefs, there are some easy and simple methods to grind yours quickly with less effort.
Why Should We Grind the Spices?
Spices are mainly used to enhance the flavor of your delicious meal. Whether you want spicy, gravy, or savory taste, perfectly ground spices are going to be the key ingredient every time. Spices not only boost up the overall taste but also give a catchy fragrance to your dish while cooking that can satisfy half of your appetite.
Let’s check out some of the advantages of grinding spices before cooking:
- When you use grounded spices while cooking, they secret an essential oily texture that ensures deeper flavors. It adds a kick of mouth-watering flavor to your regular meals making them more tempting.
- If you use whole spices without grinding, then they cannot enter the raw meat, vegetables, or fish fillet while marinating. It reduces all the chances of having a delicious meal which results in ultimate embarrassment. In this case, grinding spices before using them will give better results.
- The attraction toward a meal is increased greatly with a flavorful fragrance. This job is done by the ground spices as they bring out a smoky gravy smell that accompanies the taste of your dish.
- Last but not the least, one of the most important advantages of grinding spices is, that it saves a lot of time. You don’t have to worry about grounded spices while cooking if you prepare them earlier. This will help you to cook food more quickly and comfortably.
Keeping the above points in mind, you can provide yourself with a great advantage while cooking and uphold your kitchen skills to a supreme level.
Best Ways to Grind Your Spices
Before moving on to the best ways for grinding spices, we have to make sure about the spices that are needed to be grounded. Although there are lots of spices that can be stored without grinding, some of them must be powdered to achieve excellence in cooking. A list of spice categories for grinding is mentioned below:
Powdered Five-Spices
- Peppercorns
- Fennel seeds
- Cinnamon
- Cloves
- Star anise seeds
Regular Spices
- Hot peppers
- Cumin
- Coriander
- Onion powder
- Garlic powder
- Achiote, salt, and pepper
There are lots of ways to grind spices including traditional and modern methods. So, let’s check out some of the most effective and worthwhile methods of grinding to ensure you some useful kitchen tips:
Coffee Grinder Method
This method is one of the most time-saving and efficient ways to grind your spices. All you need is a regular coffee grinder and a very little amount of effort and you are ready to go. This method is suitable for grinding spices like cinnamon, peppercorns, cumin seeds, etc. A quick knowledge of its working procedure is described here:
- Wash your grinder with water thoroughly to avoid the coffee smell from your spices. Clean the blades with a dry cloth to eliminate the wet grinding chamber.
- Place the whole spices and start to rotate the grinder with the handle.
- Keep on adding the spices one by one to get a perfect mixture of powdered spices. It will reduce the hassle of mixing manually and saves a lot of time and effort.
- Transfer the grounded spices to a different bowl after being grounded properly.
The blades and inner chamber of the coffee grinder must be washed properly to avoid chances of having spices in your coffee later. This process gives maximum output results with minimum effort and is commonly used by all the professional cooks in their kitchens.
Micro plane Grater Method
This low-tech method is another useful process that can help you in tough times while grinding spices. It allows you to grind spices according to your desired sizes. Therefore, whether you want large pieces or a powdered mixture of your spice, the Micro plane Grater can take care of your job.
Ginger, turmeric roots, or cinnamon sticks can be grounded easily with this method. Let’s move on to the directions of this method:
- Take the spices on a plate and hold the grater in an upright position over the plate.
- Then hold the handle of the grater firmly and start to slide the whole spices on the grater gently.
- Keep on sliding the spice pieces until you get the desired size. You can manually adjust the grinding speed by adjusting the position of your grater.
A very important note must be kept in mind about the safety while grating the spices. This process is well-known for its simplicity and convenience as the grater can be stored and washed without any hassle.
Peppermill Method
We all are familiar with this method since a peppermill is present at every dining table. This grinder may be of different styles and is used to make fine grounding of small spices like pepper, salt, nutmeg, etc. The Peppermill method is also known as the modern way of grinding spices present.
- Before filling up the peppermill with spices, wash it thoroughly. After that, pour in the spices. If the size of the spice is too big, chop them before putting them in the peppermill.
- Whenever you find a lack of taste due to the absence of any spice, simply take the peppermill and hold it over your dish.
- Rotate the handle or roller on top of the peppermill and you will see finely grounded spice is sprinkled on your plate.
If you think the spices are still not grounded well enough, place them back into the peppermill and repeat the process to get a perfect size.
Electric Spice Grinder Method
This concept of grinding spices came from the coffee grinder. Grinding spices with an electric grinder are known as the most efficient way to prepare your spices in no time. A fully automatic electric spice grinder can do your job within an instant if you follow the directions described below:
- Plugin your grinder into an electric source and choose a suitable model to adjust the size of your grounded spices.
- Pour the spices into the grinder and cover it firmly.
- Start to grind the spices as directed by pressing the start button on the grinder.
Then your spices are ready to boost up your taste. Keeping the cost of this grinder and the small amount of electricity it consumes aside, the electric spice grinder is truly one of the best ways to grind spices and the best tool in your kitchen.
How do the Chefs Grind Spices?
Though there are many modern methods for grinding spices, professional chefs prefer the traditional style. Most chefs use the Mortar and Pestle method to complete their grinding process. It is a tough method for grinding as a heavy mortar is used to grind your spices into fine powder.
The advantage of this method is that it can grind wet or dry spices at a time like pepper and ginger. Besides, bay leaves and herbs along with spices can be crushed through this method. It brings out the fragrance and tastes oil of the spices accurately due to heavy crushing. So, you can prepare the most delightful dish every time.
- Place the spices in the mortar. Don’t fill the mortar too much to move the pestle comfortably.
- Strike pestle over the spices repeatedly until the desired size is gained.
- Keep another hand on the side of the mortar to prevent the spices from jumping out of the mortar.
This traditional style is still followed in many houses as it gives the perfect taste of the spices and is known as the cheapest way to grind spices. The mortar and pestle must be washed after use.
Conclusion
To conquer excellence in cooking and to make your kitchen skills supreme, you have to think of the easiest and most efficient ways to prepare your ingredients. Grinding of your spices is an essential part of cooking as it simulates the overall taste of your dish.
For this reason, by following the above methods, you can not only beat time but also can gain professional cooking experience.