Wet grinders are widely used for processing the idli and dosa batter. Unlike mixer grinders, wet grinders come with a stone roller powered by a motor. This grinding stone turns the grains of rice and dal into a smooth batter without any food clumps. It is capable of reducing food particle size into nanometer and micrometer ranges.
The best wet grinders have high efficiency and can make well-mixed batter for dosa and idli. In this article, you will learn how to use a wet grinder and its various applications.
Step-by-step process to use a wet grinder
Step 1. Surface wetting
In the process of grinding, you have first to wet the surface to reduce air and raw feed from the surface. In this way, all individual particles come in touch with the liquid slurry. And proper contact fulfilled the first criteria of the finest grinding.
However, you would require a liquid that will have low surface energy compared to the free surface area of the solid. Based on the item you would grind, you can use the appropriate liquid from solvent or aqueous liquid. However, if you know of any other solvents, you can also use them.
Step 2. Add the ingredients through the lid
Once wetting the surface, it’s time to add the ingredients to your wet grinder with the help of an open lid. However, don’t add the items in excess to the grinder. Add first, in smaller quantities, and often wet the ingredients to keep them humid with moisture. Then repeatedly add the ingredients in the container until the amount of preferred consistency comes.
Step 3. The Deagglomeration process
Often food items have a common tendency for clumping together. And the process of clumping together is also known as agglomeration. So, you have to prevent it from clumping. You can deagglomerate with the help of applying mechanical energy, which will turn the powder raw material into liquid.
The process is completed with the help of a blade mixer or a media mill. The process of Deagglomeration, in general, involves eliminating the solid particles into the liquid milling slurry. And this completes the second step to use a wet grinder!
Step 4. The making of liquid slurry
After the deagglomeration process, the dispersion of the solid particles ensured uniform milling. However, the process of dispersion is also possible with a blade dispersion blender and a media miller. And if you want to avoid the process of sedimentation, then you’d have to stabilize the liquid slurry from the raw feeds.
However, you should be careful in choosing the quantities of stabilizers, additives, and surfactants for the smooth wet grinding process.
Step 5. The wet grinding process with recirculation
Once you complete the dispersing of solids and ensure the liquid slurry process, the slurry mixture is circulated to the grinding mill until the items get the final most acceptable particle size.
Sometimes while grinding, you have to take care of the grinding gauge and other surface traits. The only concern for wet grinding is that it needs to be handled by the expert operator to adjust speed. The grinding part of the machine is time-consuming and takes less energy than the dry milling process. Due to this, it is cost-effective for the users.
To prevent any mistakes, you can make the process effective by analyzing the material sample before grinding the actual item.
Step 6. Separation of the final ground products
The grinding process comes somehow to an end process when you have to separate the final grinds from the mill. Once the material gets the target particle size of your wish, then you can screen out the material.
But, before that, you have to continue your circulating as well as the recirculating process. Screen out the product once down in a container from the miller. You can use the batter cleanser for removing or pouring out the mixtures from the drum to a grinder.
Step 7. Drying process
In case you are planning to make a liquified batter, then you have to continue the process of degassing. In this process, you have to release the entrapped gases.
And other than that, you have to continue the flash-drying process if your desired result needed to be in powder form. The method of drying consumes time as well as is a costly process. But if you are looking to ship the dry powder, it would cost much less than liquid results.
Step 8. Clean the wet grinder
For you, the obligatory part of the best way to use a wet grinder! After every use of a wet grinder, the process is to properly clean it so that it can continue to work efficiently. For that, you can take two tablespoons of vinegar over the grinding stone and clean it with water.
After that, switch the device for some time. It will be you to spread the vinegar solution thoroughly in the grinding machine. After that, you can also dislodge the drum and the stone in water to keep it clean. Remember, the more you keep the wet grinder clean, the better the chances for the grinder’s longevity.
What can we grind using a wet grinder?
Wet grinder machines can grind more or less every raw food ingredient with their high-power. It is suitable for the de-agglomeration of food items to enhance the taste of the food and improve the food quality. Before knowing how to use a wet grinder, it is essential to know the type of food you can grind in the machine.
Soaked grains as well as lentils
You can grind several food grains ranging from rice, wheat, corn, maize, and barley. It is handy for grinding food grains. Other than that, you can also grind lentils and pulses in the machine. It is an expert way to blend and grind the food grains to no more significant food ingredient remains.
Scraped coconuts
Scraping coconuts are done with the help of a wet grinder. Scraped counts are productive for Indian cuisines for making Idli, Dosa, and other south Indian dishes. Restaurants efficiently scrap coconut to add good taste to Indian dishes.
In general, a wet grinder has the advantage of grinding food items compared to electronic blenders and mixer grinders. Comparing wet grinder vs. mixer grinder will help to understand more differences. Notably, wet grinders produce low heat compared to motor-fit grinders and give a fresh taste to the batter. You would know the best way to use a wet grinder for scraping coconuts and other ingredients here.
Masala Grinding
If you are a lover of spicy foods, then arranging up a wet grinder in the kitchen will guarantee you masala-inclusive spicy foods. Masalas like saffron, turmeric black pepper are usually ground into powder to make delicious dishes. You can also make the ground paste for making chutney which is finely assured with a wet grinding machine.
Grinding loaf and bread
Sometimes, you would need to break down the bread into a powder-like product for baking desserts and other types of dishes. So, you can use a grinder to grind crumbled bread and loaf. It will help you in making delicious pudding and desserts.
Crushing fruits
You can even grind fruits like apples, guava, etc., into tiny particles. Though a grinder is not often used for this reason, if you want, then you can also grind fruits.
All these ingredients can be transformed into liquid or slurry forms with the help of powder-like results. The batter you make with this grinder is smooth and doesn’t have my clumps in them. You can also make the pastes of different lentils as well as grains with wet grinders.
Because of their finest quality food products, these machines are widely manufactured by companies since the early nineteenth century. For getting the accurate flavor of the food, wet grinding always has the upper hand over any mixer or electronic grinding. The guide on using a wet grinder will clarify all your doubts about the machine’s usage.
Conclusion
Unlike a juicer mixer grinder, a wet grinder is one of the essential kitchen tools for getting smooth and finest particles of food ingredients. You can grind a wide range of food ingredients in the device like breaks, food grains, and scraped coconuts, among others. With this article, you would also get to know how to use a wet grinder! Use all the steps correctly, and then you are one step away from tasting some of the incredible wet ground dishes.