Blade grinder

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Blade grinder for home grinding of coffee beans and similar things Electric coffeegrinder.JPG
Blade grinder for home grinding of coffee beans and similar things
Blade on a rotary lawn mower Electric mower underside.jpg
Blade on a rotary lawn mower

A blade grinder, [1] also known as propeller grinder, [2] 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 (including immersion 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.

Contents

Design

A blade grinder may be considered a type of hammermill. A blade grinder resembles a meat grinder in that both have propeller-shaped cutting blades. However, meat grinders (and food mills) use a scissor cutting action as the blades rotate against a perforated metal plate. Meat grinder blades rotate at a much slower speed than blade grinders, which may rotate at speeds as high as 20,000 to 30,000 rpm; for example, the Steele model mixer-grinder by Indian appliance manufacturer Preethi has a no-load speed of 23,500 rpm and loaded speed of 11,500rpm. [3]

Blade grinders also resemble industrial blade (propeller) mixers, which like meat grinders rotate at much slower speeds. Unlike blade grinders, these mixers do not alter (break, cut, shred, macerate, pulverize) the material being mixed. [4] The high speed of rotation of blade grinders is necessary to achieve their cutting action. In a blender application, the high speed of rotation contributes to shearing, which in turn contributes to aeration and the formation of emulsions. [5] These are desirable qualities in many food preparations. A blade grinder can run on batteries or more commonly on utility electricity.

History

Blade grinders are a 20th-century innovation that followed the adaptation of propellers to small motorboats.[ citation needed ] Blade grinders exploit a feature of propellers that is undesirable in the propulsion systems of boats and airplanes: the higher the rotation speed, the more energy is spent in shearing and cutting rather than in pushing. Rotary lawn mowers were not developed until small engines became powerful enough to run the blades at a speed high enough to cut.

Commercial blenders were developed in the 1920s. With increasing miniaturization of the electric motor, the first consumer blender, the Waring Blendor, was developed in the 1930s, and a canister blender, the Osterizer, entered the market in 1946. [6] The first immersion blenders were patented in the 1950s.[ citation needed ]

Types

Coffee grinders

Special purpose coffee grinders usually are either blade grinders or burr grinders: [2] blade grinders being less expensive and having additional uses, burr grinders giving a better quality of grind. Special purpose spice grinders usually are either blade grinders or mortar and pestle (or related tools).

Low cost coffee blade grinders for use in home kitchens frequently are difficult to clean. The Joy of Cooking (1997 edition) suggests a blade grinder may be cleaned by grinding a few tablespoons of sugar then wiping it out. [7] Another suggestion is to clean around the blade with a soft brush or a damp cloth. [8] Because these blade grinders frequently are used for grinding both coffee beans and spices, cleaning them well is important to prevent unwanted transfer of flavors. [9] Some people keep two blade grinders, one for coffee and the other for spices.

Pharmacy, restaurant, and laboratory grinders

Spice grinder from China - 01.jpg
Side view
Spice grinder from China - 03.jpg
View showing grinding chamber
This model is smaller than most found in Chinese pharmacies, although the design is the same.

Blade grinders for home grinding of coffee beans are commonly used for grinding spices. However, larger, more powerful versions are used, particularly in Asia. Commonly found in pharmacies in China for grinding Chinese traditional medicine, the blades of this style of grinder can rotate at 28,000 rpm or more and are capable of reducing hard dried roots to powder. This type of grinder is also used in restaurants for spices as well as for laboratory use.

Blenders

Blenders are blade grinders designed specifically for use with wet ingredients. Blenders are popular tools for production of purées and pastes, using both the cutting and shearing effects of high speed blades.

Food processor

A food processor is similar to a blender. The primary difference is that food processors use interchangeable blades and disks (attachments) rather than a fixed blade. Also, their bowls are wider and shorter, a more proper shape for the solid or semi-solid foods usually worked in a food processor.

See also

Related Research Articles

Spice Vegetable substance other than leaves primarily used in food

A spice is a seed, fruit, root, bark, or other plant substance primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices are distinguished from herbs, which are the leaves, flowers, or stems of plants used for flavoring or as a garnish. Spices are sometimes used in medicine, religious rituals, cosmetics or perfume production.

Marination Process of soaking foods in a seasoned, often acidic, liquid before cooking

Marinating is the process of soaking foods in a seasoned, often acidic, liquid before cooking. The origin of the word alludes to the use of brine in the pickling process, which led to the technique of adding flavor by immersion in liquid. The liquid in question, the marinade, can be either acidic or enzymatic, or have a neutral pH. In addition to these ingredients, a marinade often contains oils, herbs, and spices to further flavor the food items.

Small appliance Portable or semi-portable machine in use to accomplish household task

A small domestic appliance, also known as a small electric appliance or minor appliance or simply a small appliance, small domestic or small electric, is a portable or semi-portable machine, generally used on table-tops, counter-tops or other platforms, to accomplish a household task. Examples include microwave ovens, toasters, humidifiers, food processors and coffeemakers. They contrast with major appliances, such as the refrigerator and washing machine, which cannot be easily moved and are generally placed on the floor. Small appliances also contrast with consumer electronics which are for leisure and entertainment rather than purely practical tasks.

Metalworking Process of making items from metal

Metalworking is the process of shaping and reshaping metals to create useful objects, parts, assemblies, and large scale structures. As a term it covers a wide and diverse range of processes, skills, and tools for producing objects on every scale: from huge ships, buildings, and bridges down to precise engine parts and delicate jewelry.

Mortar and pestle Equipment consisting of a bowl in which substances are ground using a pestle

Mortar and pestle is a set of two simple tools used since the Stone Age to the present day 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, and rotated into the substance until the desired texture is achieved.

Blender Home appliance used to mix or crush food

A blender is a kitchen and laboratory appliance used to mix, crush, purée or emulsify food and other substances. A stationary blender consists of a blender container with a rotating metal blade at the bottom, powered by an electric motor that is in the base. Some powerful models can also crush ice and other frozen foods. The newer immersion blender configuration has a motor on top connected by a shaft to a rotating blade at the bottom, which can be used with any container.

Mixing (process engineering) Process of mechanically stirring a heterogeneous mixture to homogenize it

In industrial process engineering, mixing is a unit operation that involves manipulation of a heterogeneous physical system with the intent to make it more homogeneous. Familiar examples include pumping of the water in a swimming pool to homogenize the water temperature, and the stirring of pancake batter to eliminate lumps (deagglomeration).

Meat grinder

A meat grinder is a kitchen appliance for fine chopping ('mincing') and/or mixing of raw or cooked meat, fish, vegetables or similar food. It replaces tools like the mincing knife. The food to be minced is placed into a funnel, which sits on top of the grinder. From there, the material enters a horizontal screw conveyor; the screw conveyor may be hand-cranked or powered by an electric motor. The screw squashes and mixes the food. At the end of the screw, the food is passed through a fixed plate, where it exits the machine. The fineness of the minced food depends on the size of the holes in the plate.

Food processor Type of home appliance

A food processor is a kitchen appliance used to facilitate repetitive tasks in the 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".

Grinding machine

A grinding machine, often shortened to grinder, is one of power tools or machine tools 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.

Burr mill Mill used to grind hard food products between two burrs

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.

Wet grinder

A wet grinder can refer to either a tool for abrasive cutting of hard materials, or 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, whereas one for food preparation uses water to combine with ground grain to produce batter.

Grinder may refer to:

Kenwood Chef

The Kenwood Chef is a food mixer developed by Ken Wood in Britain. It is a single machine with a number of attachments that allow it to perform many functions. The Chef, based on the earlier A200, was introduced in 1950. Kenwood mixers, along with most other Kenwood products were originally manufactured in the UK by Kenwood Limited. The Chef Mixer was an instant success in the UK and is still Kenwood's top seller today.

In the context of machining, a cutting tool or cutter is typically a hardened metal tool that is used to cut, shape, and remove material from a workpiece by means of machining tools as well as abrasive tools by way of shear deformation. The majority of these tools are designed exclusively for metals. There are several different types of single edge cutting tools that are made from a variety of hardened metal alloys that are ground to a specific shape in order to perform a specific part of the turning process resulting in a finished machined part. Single edge cutting tools are used mainly in the turning operations performed by a lathe in which they vary in size as well as alloy composition depending on the size and the type of material being turned. These cutting tools are held stationary by what is known as a tool post which is what manipulates the tools to cut the material into the desired shape. Single edge cutting tools are also the means of cutting material performed by metal shaping machines and metal planing machines which removes material by means of one cutting edge. Milling and drilling tools are often multipoint tools. Drilling is exclusively used to make holes in a workpiece. All drill bits have two cutting edges that are ground into two equally tapered angles which cuts through the material by applying downward rotational force. Endmills or milling bits, which also cut material by rotational force. Although these tools are not made to put holes in a workpiece. They cut by horizontal shear deformation in which the workpiece is brought into the tool as it's rotating. This is known as the tool path which is determined by the axis of the table that is holding the workpiece in place. This table is designed to accept a variety of vises and clamping tools so that it can move into the cutter at various angles and directions while the workpiece remains still. There are several different types of endmills that perform a certain type of milling action.

An immersion blender, also known as a stick blender, mini blender, hand blender, or wand blender, is a kitchen blade grinder used to blend ingredients or purée food in the container in which they are being prepared. The immersion blender was invented in Switzerland by Roger Perrinjaquet, who patented the idea on March 6, 1950. He called the new appliance "bamix", a portmanteau of the French "battre et mixer". Larger immersion blenders for commercial use are sometimes nicknamed boat motors. Uses include puréeing soups and emulsifying sauces.

Coffee preparation Process of turning coffee beans into a beverage

Coffee preparation is the process of turning coffee beans into a beverage. While the particular steps vary with the type of coffee and with the raw materials, the process includes four basic steps: raw coffee beans must be roasted, the roasted coffee beans must then be ground, the ground coffee must then be mixed with hot water for a certain time (brewed), and finally the liquid coffee must be separated from the used grounds.

Grinding (abrasive cutting)

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

A grinder-mixer is a type of agricultural machine used to process livestock feed from grain. A grinder-mixer is a portable mill that combines the mixing and grinding operations.

Wet grinder (food)

A Wet grinder is a food preparation appliance used especially in Indian cuisine for grinding food grains to produce a paste or batter. Wet grinding is rare in western cuisine but common in Indian cuisine. 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. 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.

References

  1. Marie Nadine Antol (2002). Confessions of a Coffee Bean: The Complete Guide to Coffee Cuisine. Square One Publishers. p. 194. ISBN   0-7570-0020-7.
  2. 1 2 Corby Kummer (2003). The joy of coffee: the essential guide to buying, brewing, and enjoying. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. p. 304. ISBN   0-618-30240-9.
  3. "Technical Specification of Preethi Steele". Archived from the original on 3 June 2013. Retrieved 12 June 2013.
  4. Anton Reijnders (2006). The ceramic process: a manual and source of inspiration for ceramic art and design. University of Pennsylvania Press. p. 320. ISBN   0-8122-3932-6.
  5. Remington: the science and practice of pharmacy (21 ed.). Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. 2005. p. 2393. ISBN   0-7817-4673-6.
  6. Laura Lee (2001). The name's familiar II. Pelican Publishing Company. p. 368. ISBN   1-56554-822-1.
  7. Irma von Starkloff Rombauer; Marion Rombauer Becker; Ethan Becker; Maria Guarnaschelli (1997). The Joy of Cooking . Scribner. p.  25. ISBN   0-684-81870-1.
  8. Marie Simmons (2008). Things Cooks Love: Implements, Ingredients, Recipes. Andrews McMeel Publishing. p. 352. ISBN   978-0-7407-6976-4.
  9. Earl Proulx, The Editors of Yankee Magazine (1996). Yankee Magazine's Make It Last: Over 1,000 Ingenious Ways to Extend the Life of Everything You Own. Rodale. p. 416. ISBN   0-87596-296-3.