Grinding Nuts with a Hand Mill – It’s Fun!
Written: May 05 '04 (Updated May 06 '04)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: stainless steel blades, lid, grinds nuts into bitty pieces, use this instead of a knife
Cons: If you prefer large chunky nuts in food, then this grinder is not for you.
The Bottom Line: If I grind the Bottom Line in this grinder and sprinkle it over the top of a chocolate cake ... will you eat it?
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| dlstewart's Full Review: Gemco Nut Mill 576 |
My mother first introduced me to the Gemco Nut Mill. She has owned hers for about 15 years. That Nut Mill still grinds nuts as if it were new. So when I saw the same Nut Mill for sale online ... I had to buy it.
Description
Picture an old-fashioned hour glass shape ... only the Nut Mill is wider in the middle to allow the nuts to fall from the plastic top into the glass bottom. The Nut Mill stands 7 1/2" tall. A narrow metal hand crank extends from about the middle of the Nut Mill. On the handle area of the hand crank is an oblong white plastic “bead” an inch long that the fingers hold to turn the crank. It may sound strange, but I find the handle easy to grasp and use.
The top of the Nut Mill is a white plastic bin with a snap-on lid. This bin is about 2" deep with it’s widest point (the top) measuring 2 3/4" in diameter. Open the lid and drop the nut pieces into the bin. The nuts rest on a stainless steel grinding unit composed of a metal grate and two paddles with six stainless steel tines on each paddle. When the handle is cranked, the paddles turn, grinding the nuts against the metal grate.
As the nuts are ground, they fall through the grate into the glass bin at the bottom of the chopper. The glass container is 4 1/4" deep with widest part at the bottom measuring 3 1/4" in diameter. The glass is thick, too, which makes it break resistant.
The plastic upper bin screws onto the glass bottom. The upper bin and hand crank are all part of the same unit. To summarize, this Nut Mill consists of three parts:
1. Plastic upper bin with hand crank
2. Plastic snap-on lid for the upper bin
3. Glass container on the bottom
When the unit is completely assembled, it is closed to dust and dirt. It can sit on a shelf until it is needed to grind nuts.
My Experiences
This Nut Mill is simple to work. A child could easily figure this out and have fun grinding all the nuts in the household ... and then ask for more! When in a baking frenzy, I’ve handed one of the children this nut grinder and asked them to help. “But I’m watching, TV!” My reply, “Then turn the handle while watching TV.” The nuts always get ground with no more complaints. What is even nicer is that since the grinder is sealed with the lid on it, there is no worry about making a mess while grinding the nuts.
The hand crank turns both ways. As a rule, it is easy to turn the crank. Sometimes the crank balks a bit when it encounters a large chunk of nut to grind. The hesitation resembles a jerky movement, but continue to turn the crank, and the Nut Mill will dispose of the rebellious nut in no time.
There are no measurement markings on any part of this grinder. I usually buy shelled walnut or pecan pieces in a bag and grind them. The white plastic top bin will hold 2/3 cup of walnut pieces. The top can be refilled to grind more nuts into the bottom container since the bottom is larger than the top bin. When enough nuts are ground to fill the glass container to its top, the container holds 1 1/4 cup chopped nuts.
This Nut Mill grinds the nuts into very small pieces. Some of the ground nuts are a bit smaller than a pea while other pieces are quite fine and almost resemble a coarse dust.
Another great feature of this nut grinder is that the top unscrews from the bottom. Separate the top from the bottom and fill the top bin with nuts. Then grind the nuts over a cake or brownie for decoration. As the nuts grind, they delicately fall from the grinder onto the food. This also works for dusting ice cream with ground nuts. I’m sure you’ll find lots of fun ways to use this feature.
The lid is a great addition to this grinder. It serves several purposes. The lid keeps dust and dirt out of the grinder when the grinder is not being used. The lid also holds the nuts in the bin while grinding. If you unexpectedly are called away from your nut grinding, the lid protects the contents of the Nut Mill. I’ve been called away from baking projects many times ... and the lid comes in handy to cover the food until I can return to my cooking.
The manufacturer suggests this Nut Mill be used to chop almonds, peanuts, walnuts, macadamia nuts ... and even use it to grind chocolate and hard cheese! I have only used my Nut Mill for nuts, so I can’t say how well it will chop other foods.
Cleaning
When finished with the Nut Mill, some nut bits may be caught in the stainless steel tines. I use a wooden toothpick to free the bits.
I always hand wash the plastic top bin and the plastic lid. Unscrew the two halves and remove the lid. Wash using Dawn dishwashing liquid and a non-abrasive sponge. I never soak the grinding portion of the nut mill. When finished washing, I let the sections air dry. The glass section of the Nut Mill is dishwasher safe, and I have never had a problem washing it in the top rack of the dishwasher. The manufacturer makes a blanket statement that the Nut Mill is dishwasher safe, but I will not place the plastic pieces in the dishwasher. Call me cautious!
When the Nut Mill is cleaned and dried, I reassemble the pieces and place the Nut Mill on a cabinet shelf. It’s compact enough so that it takes little room to store.
Likes
* Easy to use & clean
* Saves fingers from using a knife to chop nuts
* Stainless steel grinding mechanism
* Thick glass container
* Top section can be used to dust foods with ground nuts
* Makes grinding nuts fun!
Purchasing
I purchased my Gemco Nut Mill from www.mileskimball.com for $7.49 when I was ordering other kitchen products. Kitchenetc.com sells this Nut Mill for $3.99! At that price, I’ll buy my mother a new one. She’ll love it. Maybe I should order a second one for me!
Summary
My mother has owned a Gemco Nut Mill for about 15 years, and it still works great. The lid on her nut grinder has turned a cream color with age, and the plastic is showing scratches. The glass container has never broken or chipped. My mother’s Gemco nut grinder works as well as my new one. I’m delighted to own this nut grinder and anticipate the yummy dishes this grinder will help create.
I hope you have found this review useful.
Enjoy your day,
Dawn
http://dlstewart.com
Additional Information
Gemco is a division of Lifetime Hoan Corp.
Corporate Headquarters:
One Merrick Avenue
Westbury, NY 11590
Please read my other reviews:
Kitchenetc.com (online store)
Good Cook Toothpick Holder with Toothpicks
Farberware Cutting Board
Calphalon Flat Whisk
Rubbermaid Stain Shield Round 1.1 Quart Storage Container
Rubbermaid Space-Saver Dish Drainer
Sterilite Ultra Storage Drawer
West Bend Automatic Egg Cooker
Braun Coffee Grinder (and flax seed)
Le Creuset Bean Pot with recipe
GE Top Freezer Refrigerator
Maytag Gemini Double Oven Range
Copyright 2004 Dawn L. Stewart
Recommended:
Yes
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