I posted on Facebook a while ago about a new toy I got online on the Andrew James Worldwide website. (I had to use Parcel Motel for delivery as they don’t offer delivery to Ireland, which is ironic, given the name of the site!) and a few of you contacted me at the time to find out what I thought of it. I wanted to try it out for a while before giving it the thumbs up (or down!).
My previous spice grinder was a coffee bean grinder, and it lasted about a year before giving up the ghost. I really liked the sound of this as it has a dry grinding function for spices and a wet grinder for making pestos and curry pastes. I always follow Liam’s curry paste recipes (there are loads in the new book, which you can pre-order here!) and this has been the perfect tool for those. I hate chopping garlic and grating ginger so I always just bunged everything into my food processor. They usually came out a bit too coarse for my liking but since I’ve started using this machine, I’ve been getting really smooth curry pastes. Spices like cumin seeds also come out really finely ground as well, which is great. I usually buy spices whole and then grind what I need for an individual recipe. I’m not sure if it’s my imagination, but I just find it tastes fresher and stronger that way.
I can’t say that I’ve used this piece of equipment every day but we make curry at least once a week and chicken and pasta pesto is a firm favourite with the kids, so it’s been great to be able to make my own with oil, pine nuts and basil. It’s great knowing exactly what goes into their food, even the quick easy ones like pasta pesto – it’s our own version of a ready meal without the junk. I use the wet grinder when making stir fries too as I’m too lazy to chop the ginger, chilli and garlic together! It’s quicker and it’s easy to clean as well, so win win. I’m hopeful that after using this for a few months that it will last well – it’s got a two year guarantee anyway, so that’s reassuring.
As with a few other people (I read some mixed reviews on Amazon before ordering) I did notice a smell from the machine the first few times I used it, but apparently that’s normal and due to lubricants used. I don’t notice it anymore, though I’m not sure if that means it’s gone away or I’ve become immune to it.
Overall, for the price of this (£23.99) I’m really pleased with the purchase and I’m giving it a thumbs up. HERE is the link to where I got it, but I think you can buy it on Amazon as well. Would love to hear if anyone else has this product, and if so, how do you find it?