On Tue 26 Jul 2005 01:34:23p, maxine in ri wrote in rec.food.cooking:

> On 26 Jul 2005 09:52:07 +0200, Wayne Boatwright
> > connected the dots and wrote:
>
> ~On Tue 26 Jul 2005 12:38:44a, Monsur Fromage du Pollet wrote in
> ~rec.food.cooking:
> ~
> ~> Wayne Boatwright wrote on 26 Jul 2005 in rec.food.cooking
> ~>
> ~>> I have no idea how much it produces per minute. It does take a
> ~>> while to grind a pound or two, but I feel it's worth it. I don't
> ~>> know how much 1000g is.
> ~>>
> ~>>
> ~>
> ~> 2.2 lbs it is 1 kilogram
> ~> Poppy Seeds are hard to do...takes a special mill because of their
> ~> small size. A regular grain mill won't do the job...Neither will a
> ~> coffee grinder or food processor.
> ~> Better flavour is achieved when they're only crushed not actually
> ~> ground. There all my knowledge of poppyseeds.
> ~>
> ~
> ~True, Alan. The manual mill in the first picture is just like mine
> and it
> ~does a perfect job of it. I'm very skeptical of the electric mill in
> the
> ~second picture.
>
> Will the poppyseed grinder also grind herbs and spices? Things like
> cinnamon sticks, allspice, or star anise?

It might be possible to grind some other things in it, but they would need
to be very tiny. Think about the size of poppy seeds. The spiral screw is
somewhat conical in shape and has a rather flat surface instead of the deep
spiral you might expect in a meat grinder. The flatness could only
accomodate something. The items you mention would definitely not go
through the mill.

From a supplier: "This small, efficient hand-operated mill is ideal for
poppy seeds, linseeds, flax, sesame seeds and any small dry or oily
grains."

If you look at the photo, you'll notice that unlike a meat grinder, it does
not have a plate with holes. The edges of the exit opening and that of the
"screw" are ridged and the seeds are abraded and crushed as they exit.

http://www.natural-living.com/me560.php

> Are the innards similar to a meat grinder, with a spiral screw or does
> it use some other mechanism for crushing the seeds?

See above.

> So many recipes call for crushing the seeds, and I've been told "it
> makes no difference whole or ground", but would I be here if I wasn't
> curious? <g>

Personally, Maxine, I find a huge difference between whole and ground poppy
seed in most of the recipes I use. The texture of ground poppyseed is very
"un-seed" like. It's more like a fluffy coarse flour. I use the ground
seed in fillings for poppyseed rolls and other pastries. The ground seed
is usually mixed with milk and sugar, and cooked to form a sort of paste.
If you haven't seen it, you can get a pretty good representation from Solo
brand poppyseed filling. It comes in a small can.

Whole poppyseed I usually use as a garnish or for sprinkling on certain
breads before baking.

HTH

> TIA
> maxine in ri
>



--
Wayne Boatwright *¿*
____________________________________________

Give me a smart idiot over a stupid genius any day.
Sam Goldwyn, 1882-1974


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