Wet grinder

Last updated January 23, 2024

A wet grinder can refer either to a tool for abrasive cutting of hard materials or to a food preparation appliance used especially in Indian cuisine for grinding food grains to produce a paste or batter. A wet grinder for abrasive cutting uses fluid for lubrication or cooling; for food preparation, a wet grinder combines water to grain as it is ground to produce a batter.

Abrasive cutting wet grinders

Some angle grinders, most tile saws, and some grinders for sharpening blades used in woodworking are wet grinders. The fluid helps with lubrication of the cutting process and with cooling to avoid cracking or damaging the cutting tool or the workpiece.

Food preparation wet grinders

Wet grinding is rare in western cuisine but common in Indian cuisine.^[2]^[3] Wet grinders are used to make pastes from grains and lentils and is used extensively in South Indian cuisine for preparation of popular dishes such as dosa, idly, vada, appam and paniyaram.^[4]^[5]^[6]^[7]^[8]^[9] It consists of a granite stones which rotate inside a metal drum with the help of an electric motor and the food grains get crushed between the stone and drum.^[10] Wet grinders have two advantages over electric mixers or blenders. First, the stone grinder generates less heat than a mixer; heat affects the flavor of the food. Second, the stones remain sharp for a greater time than do metal blades.

Types of wet grinders

Originally stones manually operated, modern wet grinders are available for both home usage and larger-scale commercial production. A wet grinder consists of granite stones rotating inside a metal drum with the help of an electric motor. Food grains are crushed between stones in the drum.^[10] Modern wet grinders may use grinding stones that are circular or conical. Wet grinders have some advantages over electric mixers or blenders. A stone grinder generates less heat than a mixer, and heat can affect the flavor of the food. Unlike mixers, which cut food into smaller pieces, a wet grinder crushes the food, resulting in different consistency.

Geographical indication

In 2005, the Government of Tamil Nadu applied for Geographical Indication for Coimbatore wet grinder.^[11] Wet grinders are largely manufactured in Coimbatore because granite is easily available in this region.^[9] Beginning in March 2006, the label "Coimbatore Wet Grinder" is a registered geographical indication for Tamil Nadu.^[12]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mortar and pestle</span> Equipment consisting of a bowl in which substances are ground using a pestle

A mortar and pestle is a set of two simple tools used to prepare ingredients or substances by crushing and grinding them into a fine paste or powder in the kitchen, laboratory, and pharmacy. The mortar is characteristically a bowl, typically made of hard wood, metal, ceramic, or hard stone such as granite. The pestle is a blunt, club-shaped object. The substance to be ground, which may be wet or dry, is placed in the mortar where the pestle is pounded, pressed, or rotated into the substance until the desired texture is achieved.

An abrasive is a material, often a mineral, that is used to shape or finish a workpiece through rubbing which leads to part of the workpiece being worn away by friction. While finishing a material often means polishing it to gain a smooth, reflective surface, the process can also involve roughening as in satin, matte or beaded finishes. In short, the ceramics which are used to cut, grind and polish other softer materials are known as abrasives.

A dosa is a thin savory crepe in South Indian cuisine made from a fermented batter of ground black gram and rice. Dosas are served hot, often with chutney and sambar. Dosas are popular in South Asia as well as around the world.

Sandpaper, also known as glasspaper or as coated abrasive, is a type of material that consists of sheets of paper or cloth with an abrasive substance glued to one face. In the modern manufacture of these products, sand and glass have been replaced by other abrasives such as aluminium oxide or silicon carbide. It is common to use the name of the abrasive when describing the paper, e.g. "aluminium oxide paper", or "silicon carbide paper".

Idli or idly is a type of savoury rice cake, originating from South India, popular as a breakfast food in Southern India and in Sri Lanka. The cakes are made by steaming a batter consisting of fermented black lentils (de-husked) and rice. The fermentation process breaks down the starches so that they are more readily metabolised by the body.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grinding machine</span> Machine tool used for grinding

A grinding machine, often shortened to grinder, is a power tool used for grinding. It is a type of machining using an abrasive wheel as the cutting tool. Each grain of abrasive on the wheel's surface cuts a small chip from the workpiece via shear deformation.

Grinding wheels are wheels that contain abrasive compounds for grinding and abrasive machining operations. Such wheels are also used in grinding machines.

A burr mill, or burr grinder, is a mill used to grind hard, small food products between two revolving abrasive surfaces separated by a distance usually set by the user. When the two surfaces are set far apart, the resulting ground material is coarser, and when the two surfaces are set closer together, the resulting ground material is finer and smaller. Often, the device includes a revolving screw that pushes the food through. It may be powered electrically or manually.

Appam also known as aappam; or āppa is a type of thin pancake originating from South India and Sri Lanka. It is made with fermented rice batter and coconut milk, traditionally cooked in an appachatti, a deep pan similar in shape to a wok. It is part of Kerala and Tamil cuisine found in the Indian states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu, and in Sri Lanka. Appam is most frequently served for breakfast or dinner, often with a topping such as an egg.

Knife making is the process of manufacturing a knife by any one or a combination of processes: stock removal, forging to shape, welded lamination or investment cast. Typical metals used come from the carbon steel, tool, or stainless steel families. Primitive knives have been made from bronze, copper, brass, iron, obsidian, and flint.

A die grinder or rotary tool is a handheld power tool and multitool used for grinding, sanding, honing, polishing, or machining material. All such tools are conceptually similar, with no bright dividing line between die grinders and rotary tools, although the die grinder name tends to be used for pneumatically driven heavy-duty versions whereas the rotary tool name tends to be used for electric lighter-duty versions. Flexible shaft drive versions also exist.

The batán is a kitchen utensil used to process different kinds of foods in South American, Andean and Indian cuisine. It has a flat stone and a grinding stone called an uña. The uña is held in both hands and rocked over the food in the batán. Depending on the process wished, the uña's weight is slightly held back, let loose over, or pressed on. The rocking movements also vary depending on the procedure. The grinding is done dry or with water or oil.

Abrasive machining is a machining process where material is removed from a workpiece using a multitude of small abrasive particles. Common examples include grinding, honing, and polishing. Abrasive processes are usually expensive, but capable of tighter tolerances and better surface finish than other machining processes

Grinding is a type of abrasive machining process which uses a grinding wheel as cutting tool.

Honing is an abrasive machining process that produces a precision surface on a metal workpiece by scrubbing an abrasive grinding stone or grinding wheel against it along a controlled path. Honing is primarily used to improve the geometric form of a surface, but can also improve the surface finish.

A concrete grinder can come in many configurations, the most common being a hand-held angle grinder, but it may be a specialized tool for countertops or worktops. Angle grinders are small and mobile, and allow one to work on harder to reach areas and perform more precise work.

A blade grinder, also known as propeller grinder, is a machine that chops material while mixing it, by means of a high-speed spinning blade. Applications of blade grinders for preparing foods include numerous electric kitchen appliances such as blenders, food processors, some garbage disposals, and some coffee grinders. The terms "blade grinder" and "propeller grinder" are in popular use to distinguish the blade grinder type of coffee grinder from other types. Other consumer applications include rotary lawn mowers.

Coimbatore Wet Grinder refers to wet grinders manufactured in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu. It has been recognized as a Geographical indication by the Government of India in 2005–06. As of 2015, Coimbatore has more than 700 wet grinder manufacturers with a monthly output 75,000 units per every 100,000 produced in India.

Household stone implements in Karnataka, India used for wet grinding, dry grinding and pounding are oralu kallu, beeso kallu, dundagallu and kutni.

A melanger is a stone-grinder that is used in chocolate-making. It typically consists of two granite wheels, which rotate inside a metal drum on top of a granite base. Given enough time the wheels can reduce the particles to sizes measured in microns, therefore making a smooth chocolate paste from cocoa beans.

References

↑ Making Chocolate: From Bean to Bar to S'more: A Cookbook. Clarkson Potter/Ten Speed. 2017. p. 84. ISBN 9780451495365. Melangers typically have a smaller capacity than other industrial mills, so most large makers don't use them; Hershey did, but abandoned them in the 1950s for larger-capacity ball mills. This was about the same time that the electric motor reached India, where melangers were co-opted for making dosas (fermented rice-and-bean creps) because they produce less heat than other mills and preserve the living enzymes in dosa batter.
↑ Diagnostic study of the "wet grinder cluster" at Coimbatore (PDF) (Report). Development Commissioner, Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises . Retrieved 24 January 2016.
↑ Krishna Dubey (2010). The Indian Cuisine. PHI. p. 29. ISBN 9788120341708.
↑ Farnworth, Edward R. (2003). Handbook of Fermented Functional Foods. CRC Press. ISBN 978-0-8493-1372-1.
↑ Charmaine O' Brien (15 December 2013). The Penguin Food Guide to India. Penguin Books Limited. p. 378. ISBN 978-93-5118-575-8.
↑ K. T. Achaya (November 2003). The Story of Our Food. Universities Press. pp. 80, 90. ISBN 81-7371-293-X.
↑ P. Thankappan Nair (2004). South Indians in Kolkata. Punthi Pustak. p. 320. ISBN 81-86791-50-7.
↑ Vir Sanghvi (1 January 2004). Rude Food: The Collected Food Writings of Vir Sanghvi. Penguin Books India. pp. 109–110. ISBN 978-0-14-303139-0.
1 2 Diagnostic study of the "wet grinder cluster" at Coimbatore (PDF) (Report). Development Commissioner, Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises . Retrieved January 4, 2014.
1 2 "How to choose a Wet grinder". indiacurry.com. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
↑ "GI tag: TN trails Karnataka with 18 products". Times of India . 29 August 2013.
↑ Registration Details of G.I Applications 2003 - 18 November 2013 (PDF). Geographical Indications Registry (Report). Intellectual Property Office, Chennai. Retrieved 28 December 2013.

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[1] Making Chocolate: From Bean to Bar to S'more: A Cookbook. Clarkson Potter/Ten Speed. 2017. p. 84. ISBN 9780451495365. Melangers typically have a smaller capacity than other industrial mills, so most large makers don't use them; Hershey did, but abandoned them in the 1950s for larger-capacity ball mills. This was about the same time that the electric motor reached India, where melangers were co-opted for making dosas (fermented rice-and-bean creps) because they produce less heat than other mills and preserve the living enzymes in dosa batter.

[report-2] Diagnostic study of the "wet grinder cluster" at Coimbatore (PDF) (Report). Development Commissioner, Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises . Retrieved 24 January 2016.

[3] Krishna Dubey (2010). The Indian Cuisine. PHI. p. 29. ISBN 9788120341708.

[4] Farnworth, Edward R. (2003). Handbook of Fermented Functional Foods. CRC Press. ISBN 978-0-8493-1372-1.

[5] Charmaine O' Brien (15 December 2013). The Penguin Food Guide to India. Penguin Books Limited. p. 378. ISBN 978-93-5118-575-8.

[6] K. T. Achaya (November 2003). The Story of Our Food. Universities Press. pp. 80, 90. ISBN 81-7371-293-X.

[7] P. Thankappan Nair (2004). South Indians in Kolkata. Punthi Pustak. p. 320. ISBN 81-86791-50-7.

[8] Vir Sanghvi (1 January 2004). Rude Food: The Collected Food Writings of Vir Sanghvi. Penguin Books India. pp. 109–110. ISBN 978-0-14-303139-0.

[diagnostic-9] 1 2 Diagnostic study of the "wet grinder cluster" at Coimbatore (PDF) (Report). Development Commissioner, Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises . Retrieved January 4, 2014.

[How_to_choose_a_Wet_grinder-10] 1 2 "How to choose a Wet grinder". indiacurry.com. Retrieved 24 January 2016.

[11] "GI tag: TN trails Karnataka with 18 products". Times of India . 29 August 2013.

[GI-12] Registration Details of G.I Applications 2003 - 18 November 2013 (PDF). Geographical Indications Registry (Report). Intellectual Property Office, Chennai. Retrieved 28 December 2013.

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