No seriously. " from Jestei. Cinnamon I'm out of ground cinnmon and want to know if I pulverize a few cinnamon sticks in my mini food processor or...

... with a nutmeg grater with the same results? Otherwise, I will hop in the car now

sexyLAMBCHOPx
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8 Comments

sexyLAMBCHOPx October 20, 2012
My sticks werent Saigon, so I would say bottled. But there was NO taste difference or textual issues and plan on using what I have now at home.
 
susan G. October 20, 2012
...smell the bottled vs the home ground -- what's the verdict?
 
sexyLAMBCHOPx October 20, 2012
Hmm, found my ground cinnamon like the jack ass I am. But good to know I could swing it with the sticks, fml... : )
 
Greenstuff October 20, 2012
I have some big chunks of cinnamon, and I grind them up all the time. ChefOno is right that it doesn't get as fine as commercially processed cinnamon, but in some recipes, that texture is an enhancement. I've made a Dutch ontbijtkoek (a breakfast spice cake) with my ground cinnamon that surpasses anything I ever ate in the Netherlands--at least I think so--largely because of the more coarsely ground spices. Besides grinding it electrically by itself, I keep cinnamon, cloves and allspice in a little hand grinder (like a pepper mill) so I can add a little at will.
 
susan G. October 19, 2012
In my meager experience grinding whole sweet spices, a gentle pan roast until they are fragrant seems to make a difference in grindability.
 
sexyLAMBCHOPx October 19, 2012
It worked grinding in my mini processor but had to use an entire bottle for them to become truly ground. I will put the extra in a spice jar. Thanks for the help.
 
ChefOno October 19, 2012

Cinnamon is the one spice I don't grind myself. When it's commercially processed, they run it through a *very* fine sieve (60-mesh to be precise). Otherwise it feels dry and gritty and tastes woody. In cookies though, maybe it won't matter so much?


 
Sam1148 October 19, 2012
Yes you can do both...

But here's a trick I use for a coffee grinder. "They" (whoever they are) say not to use coffee grinder for spices. That's because they're very hard to clean.

To clean them after grinding spices, use a couple of tablespoons of raw rice, and a tsp of baking soda. Grind it to a paste..that will collect all the smell of the spices. You might need to repeat a couple of time, but it's cheaper than having a dedicated spice grinder/coffee grinder.

YMMV depending on the blade, and composition of your grinder tho. Worth a try.
(and you'd probably want to do it before grinding spices to remove the coffee smell--but heck, a little cinnamon back note in a coffee grind might be very good).

 
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