Hand-Powered Food Grinder

This is something exciting which I think may benefit busy moms like me, in the kitchen. It doesn't have a specific name therefore, I shall call it, Kimmy - the mini food grinder.

Ok... I found this baby by accident while shopping for groceries in Giant Mall, Kelana Jaya about a month back. Usually, I wouldn't really pay any attention to those sales people along the walkway/lobby. But somehow, the heavenly smell of garlic and onions (sorry people... I DO love garlic & onions so much hehe...) caught my attention.

The salesman, Calvin, demonstrated to many interested patrons how simple it is to use it. And I was so amazed at how easy it was to grind even carrots and peanuts! Of course, those tougher items like carrots and peanuts should be dipped in hot water first to soften them a little.

Why was I so interested in this appliance? Well... not only is it not necessary to be plugged in for such simple grinding/processing task, it is also extremely easy to dismantle and care for. The best part is, it retails for only RM15 and comes in various candy-coloured covers!

A side view of Kimmy

So, how does it work?

Firstly, you chop them onions. In this cooking session, I had chopped both onions and garlic for my Ratatouille dish.

chop chop chop...

Then, just nicely place them in the see-through bowl (which, I was told by Calvin, is made of fibre glass).

you can see the cover and the attached blades just behind the bowl.

After that, close the bowl by pushing down the three clasps that lock the cover to the bowl. I find that the clasps and the design of its bowl must be one of its most brilliant features simply because you could just lock them together without having to search for the right position - no matter which turn you place the cover, you can just press down the clasp on the bowl and it locks! Brilliant. However, the clasps are of plastic material and I am not sure how long it can last under wear and tear of pushing them up and down repeatedly. I have only used it twice and will update on that again.

view of the brilliant feature.

Then, start twisting the top and the bowl.

Surprisingly, twisting the bowl isn't as difficult as one might think. I tried it before buying Kimmy and I was twisting it the wrong way, as pointed out by Calvin. You see, I have a peppercorn grinder in the kitchen and my arms went stiff when I was adding ground pepper to my homemade burgers during preparation. Thus, I was a little apprehensive when told that I'd need to twist the bowl to grind them onions. So, after Calvin showed me the right way to twist it, my arms didn't feel the strain at all...

the twisting efforts can be pretty smooth, actually, if you do it the right way -

by using only the fingers...

this is the wrong way to twist - do not use your palms or you'll strain your wrists.

Tadaaaa... in just a few twists, I have in front of me, the finished product...

if you want them finer, you can twist it longer...

I think it makes my life (in the kitchen) so much easier as I do not need to chop them onions finely nor do I need to take out my pestle/mortar to pound them... they all take too much energy and focus. But this... this is as easy as 1, 2, 3... A, B, C... hehe...

My only complaint would be the design element in its attachment blades... how or where do you store it dry after you use it, without any risks of injuring anyone, including myself? So, after several attempts at drying it, I decided to keep it attached to the cover and place it on the drying rack, as per below...

the blades are fine and extremely sharp... that's a good and bad thing ;)

I was told that this 'gadget' can be found in many shops selling kitchen appliances in the Klang Valley and if you are interested to get one, I can furnish you with Calvin's handphone number for more information. They also sell additional blades for just RM10.

Do you have any useful gadgets/tips in the kitchen that you'd like to share?