How to Grind Your Own Herbs, Spices and Seeds

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I often find myself needing to grind my own spices, herbs and seeds. This summer, for example, I ground comfrey leaves, flax seeds and pennyroyal. So far, I haven't found a single solution that works for all my needs, so I used several different items in my home.

Grinding Your Own Herbs, Spices and Seeds: What Works Best?

• Mortar and pestle: A mortar and pestle works well for grinding dried herbs and spices if you're willing to put in the elbow grease needed.
  
  
  

  

  Image from Wikipedia.

  
  
  
• Manual coffee grinder: Always use a separate coffee grinder for your coffee and spices. The oils from the two don't taste good when blended together. I use the Cozyna Coffee Grinder. This grinder works well for large spices, like chunky salt and sugar, as well as larger seeds and beans. It does not work well for grinding small flax seeds or dried leafy herbs, like crushed comfrey leaves.
  
  
• Immersion blender attachment: An immersion blender attachment, like the one seen here, looks like a mini salsa maker. It's basically a small food processor. This is the best for small seeds, dried herbs, and fresh herbs blended with olive oil. I use this one the most.
  
• Manual herb grinder: A small manual herb grinder is perfect for dried leaves, like comfrey and basil. You place the herbs at the top, replace the lid, twist the lid, and find the ground herbs in the bottom compartment. The process is time-consuming if you have a lot of herbs. I like that it separates the leaf from the stem or twig. I used this to make comfrey poultices.

What tools to do you use?



I received the products mentioned in exchange for an unbiased review. This post contains affiliate links, meaning that I receive a small commission if you click on a product link and make a purchase through Amazon.com.