Linden Sweden Crushgrind Tulip Spice Grinder

**UPDATE Mar 25, 2012: I found a spice grinder here on Amazon that does flax seeds: Krups 203-42 Electric Coffee and Spice Grinder with Stainless-Steel blades, Black. If you're looking for a good flax seed grinder, take a look at my review of the Krups grinder.**

I purchased this grinder specifically to grind flax seeds two tablespoons at a time. It works... if you've got all day. I put two tablespoons of fresh flax seed into the grinder and twisted...and twisted....and twisted... After about a minute of grinding I had a litte bit of flax seed dust. So I tried grinding with various coarseness settings. Same result: very few of the seeds were ground. Desiring to be "fair", I filled the grinder with as much seed as it could hold, thinking the added weight of seeds would push the others into the grinding wheels to produce more ground product faster. Nope. This grinder still produced little product for the effort. Finally, I decided to stand there and grind away for as long as it takes to get my two tablespoons of ground flax seed. My wrists began to ache after 3 or 4 minutes and I still didn't have quite the two tablespoons full, but it was enough to get on with breakfast.

Out of curiosity, I put some sea salt rocks in this grinder and wow! It grinds sea salt like a champ. Then I put some peppercorns in this grinder and wow again! It's great with peppercorns, too. I wish I'd known this before I bought the two expensive salt and pepper mills I already own.

With my curiosity now out of control, I broke a couple of cinnamon sticks into shorter pieces and popped them into this grinder. it works well enough for those rare occasions that I need freshly ground cinnamon. Wanting to be thorough, I covered a couple of sticks of cinnamon with a paper towel and crushed them with two or three whacks of a hammer (a meat tenderizer would work, too) and put the pieces into this grinder. Phenomenal! It did a great job of grinding crushed cinnamon sticks.

Summary: If flax seed is what you want to grind, don't buy this grinder unless you have plenty of time and strong wrists. If you're looking for something that looks great on the casual dining table and happens to do a great job of grinding salt rocks, peppercorns, and crushed cinnamon sticks at a great price, buy this grinder. I wanted to give zero stars to this grinder because it does a terrible job of grinding flax seeds. But because it does a great job grinding salt, pepper, and cinnamon AND is reasonbly priced, I give it 5 stars and plan to buy two more.

This is a nice spice grinder to keep on your counter. I have only used it for cumin seeds so far and it is fantastic for that. You will never buy pre-ground cumin again. It does require a lot more turning that you would expect (maybe 40 turns for a 1/4 teaspoon), but it's worth it for freshly ground spices.

24Apr2012 I am removing a star because the number of turns required for grinding is just too high. I ended up replacing this with an OXO Good Grips Pepper Mill that has a crank.

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I purchased the mill to use for grinding flax seeds. While it does an excellent job, I gave it 4 starts because it is impractical for this use. It takes about a minute to get a teaspoonful of flax seeds ground up, so it's useless for those wanting to grind the daily recommended amount of 2 tablespoonfuls. I tested it on peppercorns, red pepper flakes and dried basil, and was very impressed by the result.

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great little grinder for salt or whatever. this design is just better and this is a well made example of that design.

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This is a splendid little grinder. I'm up to three of them one for sea salt, one for mixed peppercorns, and one for a favorite herb blend. I'm considering adding a couple more for dried chipotles and smoked salt. Absolutely no complaints, a terrific product. Very easy to use and clean, and I like red. ;-)

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KitchenAid Gourmet Reserved Hard Base Round Grill Pans

I've been wanting a grill pan for quite some time and since putting my outdoor grill 'to rest' for the winter decided it was a perfect time to purchase one. An excellent decision as this deep sided grill pan exceeded my expectations! The secret to using the grill pan is to only use medium to low heat and always use a splatter guard. Steak, pork and chicken, turn out perfectly cooked and juicy. Beats using the oven broiler as there is less clean-up and no smoke. This was an excellent purchase with a great price.

At first I thought this pan was too light, but after using it have found it to cook quickly and evenly. The coating has held up well too and I use this pan a lot. Comes in very handy when the weather outside isn't cooperating with grilling outdoors. Kitchenaid comes through again with this pan.

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Pizzacraft PC0100 15" Square Cordierite Baking/Pizza Stone

Not the most expensive stone you can buy, but it has all the quality you need. The product discription doesn't say so but this stone is over 1/2" thick, which is way better than the 3/8" thick stones generally found in this price range. The stone arrived intact and well packed in 2 boxes, one from Amazon and the OEM box. The manufacturer says this stone is not susceptible to thermal shock and will not crack due to changes in temperature going from the oven to the table and vice versa. I don't intend to test this claim; but it gives me a warm fuzzy to have this assurance. I have only made one pizza since the stone arrived on 1/4/12 so I will update this after I have more data, so far so good though.

As far as appearances go, this pizza stone is utilitarian all the way. It is just plain pinkish beige-ish stone. But that's probably not why a person buys a pizza stone anyway, right? So, to the real matter at hand. This stone is a half inch thick, which is nice considering that most stones with a lower price point tend to be 3/8 of an inch thick. The result is a stone that is more durable and resists thermal shock (aka....doesnt crack due to extreme changes in temperature). Most notably, you can use it and then take it out of the oven with your pizza and place it on your stove or what have you without any ill effect. I dont use a paddle, so i can attest to its thermal shock resistance, as it goes back and forth between the oven and stovetop at least once a week, and often twice. Which segues into my next part, which are the pizzas themselves. The idea is to cook a pizza whose dough cooks all the way through if possible with even heat distribution. This stone definitely does that like a champ. We make pizza doughs without oil or dairy and with alternative flours such as tapioca and garbanzo flour...they can be problematic without a good stone. Ours come out delicious each time. So, for us, at the sale price of $28 at the time we bought it, this stone has been great. It is both durable and effective, and really, what more could we ask for? Glad to own it for sure.

Enjoy!

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We purchased this product to replace a Pampered Chef stone that randomly cracked one day when removed from the oven to cool. This product is superior due to being almost 1/2" thick and unlike the old stone, the manufacturer actually recommends preheating it in the oven. We haven't owned it long enough to see if it survives the test of time, however we've taken it out of the hot oven and placed it on the countertop numerous times without incident. This item is packaged really well and was received promptly. As with any stone, until it is fully seasoned there will be a slight odor when using it (new stone smell..haha).

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The Pizzacraft 15" Square Baking/Pizza Stone was exactly what I had been looking for. So far, I've made Stromboli and pizza on it. We LOVED how the crust turned out. I realized I should have purchased a paddle while I was ordering the stone, and probably a proper scraper to get "gook" off it. All in all I am very pleased with my purchase and will recommend it to my friends who like home-made pizza, their way!

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I have had other products in the past, but this is the best, the heat is the same from the corner to the center, easy to clean and all baked products turn out perfect.

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Lodge Logic L8GP3 Grill Pan, 10.25-inch

I own this pan and it's handy in my Lodge collection. The lid can be used on other 10" Lodge pans, such as the 10.25" skillet, 10.25" deep dish, and even the 10.5" flat griddle. The ribs in this pan are tall enough to help drain off fat from a steak cut, or a piece of hamburger. However, you can only cook a few pieces of meat before the liquid fat rises up to the level of the grill bars. Also, it's quite a job to clean it after all the cooking is done. Currently (7/19/12) Lodge shows only 3 types of grill pans on its web site. They have manufactured one other grill pan, if you can get your hands on it, and the grill bars are twice as high and thinner, almost like a dull knife. The pan is round and about 11.25" diameter. It's easier to clean and will hold more liquid under the surface of the grill bars. If you grill a steak indoors expect a lot of smoke. Heat the pan to at least 450F. Oil from previous cooking (and seasoning) will smoke off and you will lose a considerable amount of seasoning. Use peanut oil to help restore the pan surface while cooking. If cooking outdoors throw the pan on a full size gas grill and heat it to temperature. You can throw it on a Camp Chef-type gas stove also (preferably 30,000 B.T.U. or greater). To reduce smoking, oil the steak only. Cast iron cooking is great but the pans are like old people, they require a lot of restorative care but they will keep working for you. To clean up, let the pan soak in hot water for about 20 minutes. Don't use soap or any other chemical. If scraping is needed, use something made of wood or plastic. Metal on metal will rip off your seasoning and expose the bare cast iron. You don't want that to happen.

I love cast iron skillets and pans, so my opinion may be a little biased. I like the "gill" because it is perfect for meat and veggies that you want the grill marks on. The #8 lid from the 10 1/2 inch pots fits perfectly and the Lodge brand is high quality as always. Cast iron is not only healthy, they last a life time, are super easy to clean and heat evenly. Very happy with the purchase.

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This is my goto grill pan in my kitchen. I use this for almost any meat I cook. Its a little rough to get used to cleaning cast iron as opposed to a normal pan. However this cooks my food thoroughly and well and is my most used cooking pan in my house. I was especially pleased with the price compared to the other cast iron pans out there. I have had no issues and use this regularly and often.

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Another great piece of Lodge cast iron; well-made and well-finished. We cooked bone-in sirloins the day we got it, and they were fantastic looked like they just came off a fire.

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I was surprised how well this pan grills steaks, but beware it smokes like the dickens so you beter have an exhaust fan. Either that or heat it outside on your grille burner. It produces a steak close to actual flame grilling.

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Music City Metals 54193 Stamped Porcelain Steel Cooking Grid Replacement for Select Brinkmann Gas G

Purchased this item a little over a month ago. The steel on this product is very thin. After using the grill 10 times the grates have warped. Now it is outside the return window have have a piece of junk to deal with and still will have to buy more grates. Don't waste you money you would better off buying cheep universal grates at a big box store.

They fit on the brinkman grill. I wish they were better quality. They are the same ones the grill came with and they only lasted 2 seasons.

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The grates have touch up paint spots, at least 10, where the finish was bad / pitted. I will be lucky if they last a few months.

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Not heavy duty, but exact duplicate of the original item. It was an exact fit. Used them the first time this weekend. They were great.

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Keeping a nice grill in Central Florida means either buying a new one every two years or rebuilding the one you have.

Even keeping the grill covered and under cover does not keep the internals from rusting. Grill advertisements can use terms such as porcelain coated cast iron, but cast iron will eventually rust. My grill was so bad I was afraid to cook on it but it is a nice large grill and the body is in great shape. I ordered these cooking grids and they are exactly as the originals on my Grill Master. The Amazon price was the best I could find. I also replaced the cross over bars and burner covers. My grill looks great and I did it for less that $100.

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Nordic Ware Grand Reversible Griddle

I purchased this griddle to cook meat and vegetables with score marks, similar to an outdoor grill.

First use: I had the heat on medium high and preheated the griddle. My raw meat was marinated in Italian dressing ahead of time. With cooking underway, the meat stuck to the griddle. I waited some time to give the meat a chance to release itself, just like I do outside on the grill. No luck I had to pry it off. Plus, the Italian dressing and meat juices scorched onto the recessed griddle areas between the grill ribs.

I spent ten minutes cleaning it with a sponge, scratch pad, and lots of elbow grease. Nearly impossible to clean in between the grill ribs. The griddle itself does not fit in the dishwasher, so forget that idea...

Returned it for a refund.

This was a shot in the dark. Make sure not to cook more than 4 slices of bacon at a time, the grease will collect and get almost over filling with 6 slices. Be very careful when it gets full of hot grease. Eggs cook ok. There are better units out there.

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Great way to cook for my family without the large electric gridle to store. The heating is not exactly even between the two burners but much better than I expected. Great product.

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