Burr mill
Encyclopedia
Devices with rapidly rotating blades which chop repeatedly (see food processor
Food processor
A food processor is a kitchen appliance used to facilitate various repetitive tasks in the process of preparation of food. Today, the term almost always refers to an electric-motor-driven appliance, although there are some manual devices also referred to as "food processors".Food processors are...
) are often described as grinders, but are not burr grinders. Burr mills do not heat the ground product by friction as much as blade grinders, and produce particles of a uniform size determined by the separation between the grinding surfaces.
Food burr mills are usually manufactured for a single purpose: coffee
Coffee
Coffee is a brewed beverage with a dark,init brooo acidic flavor prepared from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant, colloquially called coffee beans. The beans are found in coffee cherries, which grow on trees cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in equatorial Latin America, Southeast Asia,...
, pepper
Black pepper
Black pepper is a flowering vine in the family Piperaceae, cultivated for its fruit, which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning. The fruit, known as a peppercorn when dried, is approximately in diameter, dark red when fully mature, and, like all drupes, contains a single seed...
, coarse salt
Salt
In chemistry, salts are ionic compounds that result from the neutralization reaction of an acid and a base. They are composed of cations and anions so that the product is electrically neutral...
, spice
Spice
A spice is a dried seed, fruit, root, bark, or vegetative substance used in nutritionally insignificant quantities as a food additive for flavor, color, or as a preservative that kills harmful bacteria or prevents their growth. It may be used to flavour a dish or to hide other flavours...
s, and poppy seeds, for example. Coffee mills are usually powered by electric motor
Electric motor
An electric motor converts electrical energy into mechanical energy.Most electric motors operate through the interaction of magnetic fields and current-carrying conductors to generate force...
s; domestic pepper, salt, and spice mills, used to sprinkle a little seasoning on food, are usually operated manually, sometimes by a battery
Battery (electricity)
An electrical battery is one or more electrochemical cells that convert stored chemical energy into electrical energy. Since the invention of the first battery in 1800 by Alessandro Volta and especially since the technically improved Daniell cell in 1836, batteries have become a common power...
powered motor.
Coffee grinders
The uniform particle size is desirable for the specific case of coffee preparationCoffee preparation
Coffee preparation is the process of turning coffee beans into a beverage. While the particular steps needed vary with the type of coffee desired and with the raw material being utilized, the process is composed of four basic steps; raw coffee beans must be roasted, the roasted coffee beans must...
by any of the various methods. Some methods may be more tolerant of a range of sizes produced by a blade grinder; this may be the case for drip (percolated) and French-pressed coffee.
Burr coffee grinders are especially significant for keeping the flavor and aroma of the coffee beans intact. Burr mills differ from blade grinders in not producing as much heat from friction—this is especially important for coffee aficionados looking to get the most flavor from the freshly ground beans. Friction heat would lessen or taint the natural flavor. Burr grinders use a combination of lower friction, and in the case of electric grinders even use low motor RPMs, to reduce any potential flavor loss due to heat.
Manual coffee grinders have been supplanted by electrically powered ones where the object is simply to get the job done; manual grinders are used more for their "traditional" appearance: they are made to look good, and are often more costly than the cheaper electric models. An exception is the manual Turkish
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
coffee grinder; these are inexpensive, and can grind coffee to fine powder for Turkish coffee
Turkish coffee
Turkish coffee is a method of preparing coffee where finely powdered roast coffee beans are boiled in a pot , with sugar according to taste, before being served into a cup where the dregs settle...
, unlike the cheaper electric models.
Many grinders are free-standing; some larger coffee grinders are fixed to a wall.
Manual burr grinders
Manual burr grinders are turned by hand, rotating one grinding surface against the other. Coffee mills usually have a handle, providing leverage for the many turns required to grind enough coffee for a cup. The ground coffee is collected in a container which is part of the mill.Salt, pepper, and spice mills, essentially the same as coffee mills, usually do not have a handle, the entire top rotating instead. While this is less convenient, only a few turns are required to grind enough. The ground product falls directly onto the food being seasoned; the mill has no container. A few mills have abrasive surfaces which do not rotate; each squeeze of the handles moves one flat plate past another, then the plates are restored to their original position by a spring
Spring (device)
A spring is an elastic object used to store mechanical energy. Springs are usually made out of spring steel. Small springs can be wound from pre-hardened stock, while larger ones are made from annealed steel and hardened after fabrication...
. Many hard spices are available in containers incorporating a simple cone burr grinder, intended to be discarded when empty.
Most grinders can be adjusted to set the fineness of grind.
Manual mills can be used for grinding other food products than they are intended for. Be aware that mills designed for pepper grinding are inappropriate for grinding flour. However, coffee mills are a suitable substitute. Laura Ingalls Wilder
Laura Ingalls Wilder
Laura Elizabeth Ingalls Wilder was an American author who wrote the Little House series of books based on her childhood in a pioneer family...
's novel The Long Winter
The Long Winter (novel)
The Long Winter is a Newbery Honor novel by Laura Ingalls Wilder, first published in 1940. The story is set in South Dakota during the severe winter of 1880-1881, when Laura turned fourteen...
describes a family grinding wheat
Wheat
Wheat is a cereal grain, originally from the Levant region of the Near East, but now cultivated worldwide. In 2007 world production of wheat was 607 million tons, making it the third most-produced cereal after maize and rice...
in a coffee mill to make flour
Flour
Flour is a powder which is made by grinding cereal grains, other seeds or roots . It is the main ingredient of bread, which is a staple food for many cultures, making the availability of adequate supplies of flour a major economic and political issue at various times throughout history...
during months of hardship.
Peugeot
Peugeot
Peugeot is a major French car brand, part of PSA Peugeot Citroën, the second largest carmaker based in Europe.The family business that precedes the current Peugeot company was founded in 1810, and manufactured coffee mills and bicycles. On 20 November 1858, Emile Peugeot applied for the lion...
of France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
created the pepper grinder in 1842. The mechanism of case hardened
Case hardening
Case hardening or surface hardening is the process of hardening the surface of a metal, often a low carbon steel, by infusing elements into the material's surface, forming a thin layer of a harder alloy...
steel
Steel
Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...
cracks the peppercorns before the actual grinding process. The grooves on the Peugeot mechanism are individually cut into the metal and then case hardened, making them virtually indestructible. The Peugeot family history dates back to a mill in a small village
Valentigney
Valentigney is a commune in the Doubs department in the Franche-Comté region in eastern France.Valentigney is best known as the place where Peugeot began operations; several members of the Peugeot family still live in the area....
in France around 1793. They have been manufacturing
Manufacturing
Manufacturing is the use of machines, tools and labor to produce goods for use or sale. The term may refer to a range of human activity, from handicraft to high tech, but is most commonly applied to industrial production, in which raw materials are transformed into finished goods on a large scale...
everything from tool
Tool
A tool is a device that can be used to produce an item or achieve a task, but that is not consumed in the process. Informally the word is also used to describe a procedure or process with a specific purpose. Tools that are used in particular fields or activities may have different designations such...
s to bicycle
Bicycle
A bicycle, also known as a bike, pushbike or cycle, is a human-powered, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A person who rides a bicycle is called a cyclist, or bicyclist....
s to peppermills and coffee grinders and much more for about years.
Types of materials
There are several types of materials used in pepper mills. Each has itsown particular advantages.
Stainless Steel
Stainless steel
In metallurgy, stainless steel, also known as inox steel or inox from French "inoxydable", is defined as a steel alloy with a minimum of 10.5 or 11% chromium content by mass....
: One of the most suitable and durable materials for grinding peppercorns. The male and female sections of the grinding mechanism are usually made from powered, pressed metal. This material is preferred by professional chefs. The teeth of the grinder are machined to cut the spice. Stainless steel is not suggested for grinding salt.
Zinc alloy: Perhaps the most common mechanism found in pepper grinders, zinc alloy is composed of a mixture of metals, primarily zinc, with chrome plating to resist corrosion. It is a good choice for grinding pepper, but is not suitable for grinding salt.
Carbon steel: An extremely hard metal, carbon steel provides the sharpest edges and most efficient grinding capability, and is preferred by professional chefs. Carbon steel is not suitable
for grinding salt.
Ceramic
Ceramic
A ceramic is an inorganic, nonmetallic solid prepared by the action of heat and subsequent cooling. Ceramic materials may have a crystalline or partly crystalline structure, or may be amorphous...
: Ceramic is extremely hard and provides the best performance for multi-use grinding. It is non-corrosive and suitable for grinding pepper, salt and spices.
Acrylic: Durable and low cost, acrylic is a non-corrosive material suitable for grinding salt and spices.
Electric burr grinders
Electric burr grinders are powered by electricityElectricity
Electricity is a general term encompassing a variety of phenomena resulting from the presence and flow of electric charge. These include many easily recognizable phenomena, such as lightning, static electricity, and the flow of electrical current in an electrical wire...
from a battery
Battery (electricity)
An electrical battery is one or more electrochemical cells that convert stored chemical energy into electrical energy. Since the invention of the first battery in 1800 by Alessandro Volta and especially since the technically improved Daniell cell in 1836, batteries have become a common power...
or mains supply. An electric motor
Electric motor
An electric motor converts electrical energy into mechanical energy.Most electric motors operate through the interaction of magnetic fields and current-carrying conductors to generate force...
drives the grinding elements against each other. Electric grinders grind faster than manual grinders with no effort, but heat the ground product a little by friction.