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December 11, 2012 6:50 AM Subscribe
Is this chile pepper mill a good idea? What sort of chilies should I put in there?
I saw a small article in the NYT about a chile grinder which had actual chiles in there. I thought I might pick one up as a Christmas present with some chillies to put in there. Reading the product description on Amazon it says that it is designed to grind flakes which brings us around to my question:
1) do you think I can put whole chilies in there? If so 2) what sort of chilies should I get for someone who just likes a bit of heat, but is not a chili aficionado?
I saw a small article in the NYT about a chile grinder which had actual chiles in there. I thought I might pick one up as a Christmas present with some chillies to put in there. Reading the product description on Amazon it says that it is designed to grind flakes which brings us around to my question:
1) do you think I can put whole chilies in there? If so 2) what sort of chilies should I get for someone who just likes a bit of heat, but is not a chili aficionado?
Best answer: 1) do you think I can put whole chilies in there?
I would personally take dried chiles and use clean scissors to snip off the stems and cut them into smaller pieces.
2) what sort of chilies should I get for someone who just likes a bit of heat, but is not a chili aficionado?
Dried chipotles, which are jalapenos that have been smoked and dried.
posted by Juliet Banana at 6:58 AM on December 11, 2012
I would personally take dried chiles and use clean scissors to snip off the stems and cut them into smaller pieces.
2) what sort of chilies should I get for someone who just likes a bit of heat, but is not a chili aficionado?
Dried chipotles, which are jalapenos that have been smoked and dried.
posted by Juliet Banana at 6:58 AM on December 11, 2012
From here I see this and at the bottom of the page in the "Customers also looked at these" section options like this.
Don't worry too much about the chili's themselves. The recipient can always replace them. (I think almost any dried chili is tasty!)
posted by oddman at 7:03 AM on December 11, 2012
Don't worry too much about the chili's themselves. The recipient can always replace them. (I think almost any dried chili is tasty!)
posted by oddman at 7:03 AM on December 11, 2012
Response by poster: I would personally take dried chiles and use clean scissors to snip off the stems and cut them into smaller pieces.
That certainly seems wise.
Dried chipotles, which are jalapenos that have been smoked and dried.
When I have bought dried chiles in the past they have sort of soft, not totally dessicated. Is there a variety which is particularly dry?
posted by shothotbot at 7:05 AM on December 11, 2012
That certainly seems wise.
Dried chipotles, which are jalapenos that have been smoked and dried.
When I have bought dried chiles in the past they have sort of soft, not totally dessicated. Is there a variety which is particularly dry?
posted by shothotbot at 7:05 AM on December 11, 2012
You can also get chipotle flakes.
This site has a lot of varieties of flake, including the even milder ancho.
posted by aimedwander at 7:12 AM on December 11, 2012
This site has a lot of varieties of flake, including the even milder ancho.
posted by aimedwander at 7:12 AM on December 11, 2012
Other than the image that ran in the NYT, all the other images of the mill around the web show pepper flakes, not whole peppers. But I don't see why you couldn't use whole peppers. It's not like the world would explode, it just might not work exactly right.
The thing that seems a little weird to me about this product is that chilies have some amount of oil in them, and I'd imagine that it would clog the mechanism when mixed with the pulverized flakes.
It's certainly a fun color though.
posted by Admiral Haddock at 7:15 AM on December 11, 2012
The thing that seems a little weird to me about this product is that chilies have some amount of oil in them, and I'd imagine that it would clog the mechanism when mixed with the pulverized flakes.
It's certainly a fun color though.
posted by Admiral Haddock at 7:15 AM on December 11, 2012
Best answer: Arbol is the name of the standard dried chile that gets sprinkled on pizza and so on. When whole, they're smallish (less than 2"), often flattened, dark red, and have hard stems that should be removed.
posted by Sunburnt at 7:30 AM on December 11, 2012
posted by Sunburnt at 7:30 AM on December 11, 2012
My dad has one of these and it (at least the design that he has) doesn't work. At all. Chile pepper flakes, unlike peppercorns, are too light/not dense enough to press down hard enough on the grinder to get ground up. They just stay on top of the grinder and nothing comes out.
posted by goethean at 7:36 AM on December 11, 2012 [2 favorites]
posted by goethean at 7:36 AM on December 11, 2012 [2 favorites]
I would second what goethean said... they don't engage well with the grinding mechanism if they're not densely packed. If the grinder were adjustable to take a bigger bite, it might work, but mine did not work and I would up just tipping the peppers out and chopping them on a cutting board.
I also had some "gourmet pink peppercorns" in a grinder like this - they also didn't work because the husks jammed up the mechanism and didn't let the corns in.
posted by sagwalla at 7:46 AM on December 11, 2012 [1 favorite]
I also had some "gourmet pink peppercorns" in a grinder like this - they also didn't work because the husks jammed up the mechanism and didn't let the corns in.
posted by sagwalla at 7:46 AM on December 11, 2012 [1 favorite]
Best answer: I have one of these. It's not a pepper grinder (although it can grind pepper too). The mechanism is different so light chili flakes fall into the grinder more easily, and the workings are ceramic and designed so they can grind wet and dry ingredients without getting clogged.
Whole peppers won't work. The pieces need to be small enough to fall into the grinding mechanism. But you couldn't easily get a whole pepper in there anyway. If you have large dried peppers, just put them in a plastic bag and smash them into flinders, then dump them into the grinder to be further rendered.
It's an awesome kitchen tool. No longer do I have to endure the ignominy of coarse pieces of red pepper scattered randomly over my food. Now I can blanket everything with a uniform dusting of completely homogeneous red pepper powder.
Mmmmmmmm, homogeneous.
posted by Aquaman at 8:36 AM on December 11, 2012 [2 favorites]
Whole peppers won't work. The pieces need to be small enough to fall into the grinding mechanism. But you couldn't easily get a whole pepper in there anyway. If you have large dried peppers, just put them in a plastic bag and smash them into flinders, then dump them into the grinder to be further rendered.
It's an awesome kitchen tool. No longer do I have to endure the ignominy of coarse pieces of red pepper scattered randomly over my food. Now I can blanket everything with a uniform dusting of completely homogeneous red pepper powder.
Mmmmmmmm, homogeneous.
posted by Aquaman at 8:36 AM on December 11, 2012 [2 favorites]
...or you can buy chile powder (not from the spice section at your grocery, that has other spices in it,) and just sprinkle it on like you might sprinkle cinnamon.
posted by leafwoman at 9:02 AM on December 11, 2012
posted by leafwoman at 9:02 AM on December 11, 2012
Of the two reviews on Amazon, one states that they grind whole piquin peppers (which are tiny) with this mill. Seems like a fun gift if it really does work as it seems to.
posted by oneirodynia at 10:40 AM on December 11, 2012
posted by oneirodynia at 10:40 AM on December 11, 2012
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posted by Ideefixe at 6:56 AM on December 11, 2012 [1 favorite]