I prepped a DIY béchamel sauce for my quick white sauce pasta the other day. As I reached out for the store-bought black pepper and took a whiff of it, the stale smell disappointed me so much; that I trashed it.
That night the spice grinder in my kitchen cabinet saved my dinner, and it made me realize its value and why freshly ground spices and herbs have the age-old hype. The difference is in the aroma and flavor, and it is pretty distinct.
It got me wondering, ‘What other things can I crush and powder down to get the best out of?’ I stayed up till 3 am and made a list so you won’t have to. Read on if you want to know some exciting alternative uses of a spice grinder, and maybe pick a recipe or two along the way!
The Best Alternatives
Coffee
If you have a spice grinder lying around that you use once in a while and keep clean – use it to grind coffee. You should keep in mind that the grinder’s blades were designed explicitly for chopping through small chunks of spice finely. So, when you’re planning to ground coffee, make sure the beans are small. Or, if you own the kind of spice grinder that deals with rougher spices like cinnamon, you’re good to crush up some instant coffee.
Rice for Beauty
For the beauty concerned out there, here is a great instant hack! Use your spice grinder to finely grind rice and use it as a scrub for your face and all over your body. It is one of the most popular remedies practiced by Asian beauty enthusiasts for glowing skin. Added to the right type of mask, this ingredient provides all skin types with Vitamin B. It helps aid uneven skin tone, removes dead skin and rejuvenates, and helps you look younger than your years.
Check out this diverse home remedy:
● Rice flour
● Cold milk (as much needed)
● one tablespoon of Honey
Mix all three ingredients. Apply on your face and keep it till it dries decently all over. Wash and gently pat dry to reveal smoother and brighter-looking skin. You’ll discover your younger self in the mirror with consistent regular uses.
Crushing Cheetos
If you’ve grown out of the taste of basic mozzarella sticks, then replace the breadcrumbs with crushed Flamin’ Hot Cheetos chips and taste the burst of flavors! These have rightfully taken over the internet as people can’t get enough finger food. So, if you want to challenge your spice tolerance, here’s what you need:
● Bag of Flamin’ Hot Cheetos
● String cheese
● 2-3 Eggs
● 2 tbsp Flour
● Dressing or Marinara sauce
● Canola oil
Freeze a few string cheese sticks—Preheat the canola oil in a large pot. Whisk and beat a couple of eggs lightly. Crush enough Cheetos with your spice grinder to cover the cheese sticks entirely, and take the flour of your choice to another bowl.
Once the mozzarella sticks are entirely frozen, take them out, dip them into the egg, and then into the crushed chips and the flour. Repeat this dipping sequence until every stick is completely coated with the red-Hot Cheetos.
Now place the sticks carefully into the heated pot and watch the oil fry them until they’re crispy on the outside and gooey on the inside. Serve with ranch dressing or marinara sauce as a dip to your liking.
Homemade Mushroom Powder
There’s nothing quite like homemade mushroom powder! Whether you’re health-conscious or want to enhance your culinary skills- mushroom is worth grinding instead of spice in your kitchen today! Crush your desired consistency and sprinkle it on your soup for the freshest earthy kick. Or mix the readily powdered mushroom in a healthy drink soon after crushing to get the most benefit.
Herbs like Weed
Although cannabis-specific herb grinders exist, you can still rely on the spice grinder in the corner of your kitchen cupboard. It will save time and shred as well as a weed grinder, if not better. If you’re not keen on precision and have a good eye for throwing away bad chunks – this would do a decent job without any mess. It is an emergency tool when you’re about to roll midnight or bake good brownies for a housewarming party.
Recipe: If you’re baking from scratch, infuse ground weed and unsalted butter together, precook in the oven, and can make butter. Cool it and mix it in your regular brownie batter of flour, eggs, melted chocolate, coconut sugar, and some vanilla extract. Please take it into a baking pan, and set the oven for 30 minutes. When it’s fully cooked, let the cake cool down so you can cut and serve freshly baked weed brownies.
Dried Ginger and Garlic
After drying ginger and garlic, you can use the grinder to make flakes with these items. You can give them the perfect size as well. You can add them to your food, slat, or sauce to give extra aroma. By grinding these items, you can store them for a long time, and then again, you can make powder.
Seeds
With the help of a simple twist grinder, you can grind harder seeds. This super seed is an egg substitute and high in nutrients; people who don’t want to use direct eggs in their foods can use those who don’t want to use raw eggs. You can also use the ground flacks for smoothies and as a flour alternative. So, fill up your grinder with your favorite seeds and make smooth items.
Cornflakes
Different types of serials like cornflakes are used in your grinder. You can make breadcrumbs for coating and add some amount to your drinks. You can use the porridge for consistency.
Sugar
You can make the quick powdered sugar by running out of the grinder. You can use this sugar powder for making different baking items and over the cookies.
Crisps
You can add the dry chips for your fancy over food. You can add the ground crisps as a coating instead of breadcrumbs. Then the item will look yummy and tests delicious as well.
Cleaning Hack
After you’ve crushed something like coffee or weed in your spice grinder, wiping with a paper towel alone won’t do. The universal cleaning hack to rid yourself of such a chore is grinding rice until you get a dusty consistency as it removes any lingering smell. Dump it out and wipe it to get a visibly squeaky-clean look.
Conclusion
You have heard some randomly wild alternatives to throwing spice into your grinder. Although texture and hardness matter to get the perfect shred, a spice grinder proves far more versatile than what it is marketed for. With the proper maintenance and technique, you can make this underrated device do more than it was designed for.
Perhaps you got a funny or ugly-looking device that was gifted at your reception. I don’t know who thought a nose-shaped machine would be the perfect gift, but they exist. So it’s a gift, and you can’t throw it out – why not put it to productive use? Or, if you’re looking to get the most out of the one you already love, then you must try at least one project from the above list.
You may also like to read: Review of some spice grinders.