First you have to decide if you want an electric grinder or a hand grinder. Each serve their own purpose.
Electric grinders are quick and easy to use - you can leave it on your countertop and therefore be more likely to use it daily. There are even attachments you can purchase to grind grain using your KitchenAid Mixer.
Hand grinders take a bit more to set up and are a bit more work to use, but if you had no electricity or were trying to limit the use of your electricity or generator, then this would be the way to go.
Our opinion is it is good to have both.
I don't make a habit of grinding grain daily for my baking, but I have a friend who freshly grinds her flour for her baking every day. And I can tell you from first-hand experience her baked goods are absolutely fabulous.
Since I wasn't grinding grain daily, I always just used the grain grinding attachment for my Vitamix whenever I needed small amounts ground for baking bread, etc.
But this year as part of my preparedness budget, an electric grain mill made it on the list. I want one that is dedicated to grain grinding that I can leave on the counter so I'll use it more frequently.
Electric Mill
I did my research and decided to go with a WonderMill. WonderMills are similar to the WhisperMills that are no longer made. It is supposed to be very quiet and very efficient. The makers of the mill say it will grind 100 pounds of flour in an hour. It has a 1.75 horsepower motor. It will grind wheat, rice, small grains, legumes and beans as large as garbanzos. It also has a lifetime warranty. Sounded good to me and came highly recommended from several of my friends.
And, as luck would have it, our friends at FunderFarm sell these and have been running them on sale recently from $239.95 (retail $269.95). I placed my order last week and my mill arrived late yesterday afternoon. I will definitely be posting again to let you know how well it works!
Hand Mill
There are just as many different kinds of hand mills out there too. You really have to look at what you want to grind and in what quantities, how much room you have, where you want to set your hand mill up, how fine will it grind the flour, etc.
Many people agree that the king of hand mills is the Country Living Hand Mill. I also have several friends who have this mill and say it is the best one they have ever had. I can't personally say, since I don't own one, but I can say that it is on my list for future preparedness purchases. You'll have to do your research to find a price on these that fits your budget, as you can sometimes find them on sale various places online. The website above for the mill has some good videos on their product as well.
These are the two mills that I've done the most research on and that come most highly recommended by friends of mine who use them on a daily basis. I'd love to hear from other readers who have used different mills that they really love!
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1 comment:
I had a Whispermill for many years. The main problem with it is that if your 9yo puts grains in it before starting it the grinder will freeze up and require husband to take it apart and fix it. Then, if a child turns it off while it's still grinding and there's grains inside said now annoyed husband will take it apart again and fix it.
The NUTRAMILL though, has a different design and can have grains put in before starting and can be accidentally turned off while grinding and not kill the grinder.
Love my new Nutramill. I SO want that hand grinder though. Oh so much!
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