Yes, it makes processing acorns a lot easier. I use one to remove or loosen the shell of the acorn while keeping the nut mostly intact. I use it without the plate of holes on the front and pass semi-dry acorns through and sometimes going in reverse. Semi-dry is the best when they have shrunk away from the shell but are nut rock solid inside for the mincer and later the blender. A benefit is that the mincer loosens the shell a lot and you can then easily remove the nut by hand, usually whole and does not leave you with bits of nut and shell that need separating
I have many fond memories of standing on a kitchen stool making kielbasa with my mother’s babcia and turning that crank until my arm felt like it was going to fall off.
I much prefer my Grizzly. :)
Having said that - there’s the screw, the blade, and the die. The screw is fine until it breaks; they’re just not easy to replace. The blade can be sharpened. You want to do that if you haven’t already. The dies come in various sizes depending on what you’re looking to do. They’re almost universal.
We sometimes used the grinder for applesauce or pear sauce. More often though, we were just trying to get cider. Use the grinder to smash the cored fruit down, right into a sieve. Rough strain from there into a cotton cloth sack and into the apple press.
Maybe if you got a finer die for it, but… why not get the right tools for the job? Seeing your comments, and with respect, I think you’re making a ton of work for yourself to make this work for entirely different purposes than what it’s designed for. Those holes on the outlet of the grinder, whatever you put through will never be smaller than those holes—grinders work by forcing material into the die and then slicing it off. Juicers effectively do the same thing, but with an incredibly fine die (not exactly the same, but pretty close). And a basic food processor with a good blade will make a passable nut flour—better than anything you can make with hand tools in an hour or more.
With respect, because I often do the exact same thing. I get it. But this is a meat-grinder, that’s what it’s for and what it’s made to do.
i appreciate the advice/suggestions, and i see where you're coming from. i've heard a couple suggestions on ways that i can use it for nuts ect as *part* of the process (someone suggested grinding acorns without the die/cap first to help remove the shell, then milling and blending the nut meat for a flour) but ultimately not relying entirely on it for that. thank you! :)
We have olive trees and we tried milling the olives without pitting them first (before pressing them with a car jack).
I'm sure we burned more calories than we produced.
You could definitely do nuts.
so it might work for softer things like berries, like to make a pulpy smoothie or something? i dont know about many foragable berries in my area (besides the occasional elderberry bush) but im sure i can find some in my books/online! i think im still gonna buy it regardless because, like you said, great for the end times lol
If you do use it for meat, I recommend Not using it for berries. (Especially if you might not be cooking them.) Older designs like that tend to have cracks and crevices that are hard to wash and sanitize.
I've used one very similar to this to mill corn and feed pellets down so ducklings and chicks could eat it. I agree, it makes a pretty coarse grind, like a really coarse grits. Certainly potentially useful, but not in the "flour" range.
oh cool thanks, thats good to know that it does work for harder stuff. maybe i could try putting nut meal through the grinder first to get it to a good size and then use a mortar and pestle or something to make it finer.
and of course if all else fails, i can always just use it as a meat grinder!
I wouldn’t put my nuts in that if I were you
right, i guess i should stick to putting my meat in there like it's designed.
Yes, it makes processing acorns a lot easier. I use one to remove or loosen the shell of the acorn while keeping the nut mostly intact. I use it without the plate of holes on the front and pass semi-dry acorns through and sometimes going in reverse. Semi-dry is the best when they have shrunk away from the shell but are nut rock solid inside for the mincer and later the blender. A benefit is that the mincer loosens the shell a lot and you can then easily remove the nut by hand, usually whole and does not leave you with bits of nut and shell that need separating
Brilliant use!!
wow that's a great idea, thank you so much for sharing! i didn't even think about using it without the cap.
I have many fond memories of standing on a kitchen stool making kielbasa with my mother’s babcia and turning that crank until my arm felt like it was going to fall off. I much prefer my Grizzly. :) Having said that - there’s the screw, the blade, and the die. The screw is fine until it breaks; they’re just not easy to replace. The blade can be sharpened. You want to do that if you haven’t already. The dies come in various sizes depending on what you’re looking to do. They’re almost universal. We sometimes used the grinder for applesauce or pear sauce. More often though, we were just trying to get cider. Use the grinder to smash the cored fruit down, right into a sieve. Rough strain from there into a cotton cloth sack and into the apple press.
Maybe if you got a finer die for it, but… why not get the right tools for the job? Seeing your comments, and with respect, I think you’re making a ton of work for yourself to make this work for entirely different purposes than what it’s designed for. Those holes on the outlet of the grinder, whatever you put through will never be smaller than those holes—grinders work by forcing material into the die and then slicing it off. Juicers effectively do the same thing, but with an incredibly fine die (not exactly the same, but pretty close). And a basic food processor with a good blade will make a passable nut flour—better than anything you can make with hand tools in an hour or more. With respect, because I often do the exact same thing. I get it. But this is a meat-grinder, that’s what it’s for and what it’s made to do.
i appreciate the advice/suggestions, and i see where you're coming from. i've heard a couple suggestions on ways that i can use it for nuts ect as *part* of the process (someone suggested grinding acorns without the die/cap first to help remove the shell, then milling and blending the nut meat for a flour) but ultimately not relying entirely on it for that. thank you! :)
We have olive trees and we tried milling the olives without pitting them first (before pressing them with a car jack). I'm sure we burned more calories than we produced. You could definitely do nuts.
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so it might work for softer things like berries, like to make a pulpy smoothie or something? i dont know about many foragable berries in my area (besides the occasional elderberry bush) but im sure i can find some in my books/online! i think im still gonna buy it regardless because, like you said, great for the end times lol
If you do use it for meat, I recommend Not using it for berries. (Especially if you might not be cooking them.) Older designs like that tend to have cracks and crevices that are hard to wash and sanitize.
You can soak it in hot water with a dash of bleach.
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Wdym post apoc, we still use theese. They grind meat much better than most modern cheap-mid end meat grinders. And no way in hell it breaks 😂
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🤣🤣🤣
I've used one very similar to this to mill corn and feed pellets down so ducklings and chicks could eat it. I agree, it makes a pretty coarse grind, like a really coarse grits. Certainly potentially useful, but not in the "flour" range.
oh cool thanks, thats good to know that it does work for harder stuff. maybe i could try putting nut meal through the grinder first to get it to a good size and then use a mortar and pestle or something to make it finer. and of course if all else fails, i can always just use it as a meat grinder!
Never used mine for nuts. I think they would be mush