Good morning everyone! As promised a couple weeks ago, I am doing a review today on the differences and similarities between a Nutrimill and a WonderMill, both of which I have been blessed with in the last couple of years.
I feel that between the Grain Mill Wagon Challenge, and steady use of the WonderMill since September, that I have had enough experience now to give you my honest opinion between the two mills.
When we decided to really start cutting down on our grocery bills a couple years ago, due to necessity (and the thrill of the challenge), I scrimped and saved for a grain mill. I can see many of you wondering WHY IN THE WORLD I would spend money on a grain mill when I could just purchase bread at the store, or even purchase the flour to make my own bread for cheaper than that. Grain Mills are expensive items, and there is a large number of brands out there to choose from.
Well, the answer to that is two-fold.
Whole wheat berries, stored properly, have a 30 year shelf life,
which beats a loaf of bread from the store any day.
Secondly, for every cup of wheat berries, which is (or was) an inexpensive investment,
I would get 1 1/3 cups flour out of it.
Same weight, different volume.
So I could not store ready made bread, or flour for 30 years, and would get exactly what I paid for. With wheat berries they are good when I need them, even thirty years from now,
and I get more for every cup I have already purchased.
I did hours of research, talked to friends, used friends' grain mills to decide which one I wanted the most. I had originally decided on a Whisper Mill, only to have them stop making them. So finally it came down to two mills: The NutriMill and the WonderMill.
The NutriMill grind at a lower temperature, and has a large hopper, enabling you to grind more at a time, and also, they say, to cause the least amount of loss of nutrients from the grain you choose to grind.It is also supposed to grind the finest flour of any mill on the market.
The WonderMill is said to be the quietest Mill on the market, and have the smallest space requirement. It also grinds wheat and "shoots it" into a separate, storable and stackable container, meaning you can grind wheat, and store the fresh ground flour for a short time right in the container it grinds into.
So what decision have I come to over the last few months?
Pretty easy one to decide actually.
The Nutrimill took up a huge amount of space on my counter, and while it would grind 20 cups of grain at one time, it also would shoot the finely ground flour all over the counter if you didn't get the storage container (grain bin)
Now, I know that where the storage container is, it has a little imprint that tells you yes and no (as in, YES it is in the right place and NO, you idiot, NOT THERE) but..
I still found it frustrating for my husband and children would always have trouble
putting it exactly right.
I have a large kitchen, with lots of counter space....but I also am an avid dehydrator, canner, and cook and bake almost everything from scratch. That means my counter space is precious for prep space, and much of it is already taken up by my Excalibur dehydrator (worth its weight in gold), and my Kitchen Aid mixer (which gets used almost every single day). Throw in my pressure cooker, which I use almost every day as well, a coffee pot, and a few other items, and frankly, space is a premium.
So the Nutrimill takes up a LOT of space.
A LOT of space.
Good points about the Nutrimill? Its capacity is wonderful, as it makes 20 cups of flour at once. If you have a large family and need a lot of flour at once, this Mill is spectacular. Due to the lower grinding temps, it takes longer, but does a good job at everything from fine flour to coarse flour or popcorn. It comes with a lid, that personally, I feel is not build the best because when grinding popcorn for cornmeal or cornflour, the force of the Mill grinding it would still shoot kernels out of the top of the mill. That can get dangerous. LOL. But since it was my first mill, its kinda like a first love type of feeling. I am sad to replace it, but thankful to have more space for rolling out pie dough in my baking section of my kitchen.
Is it a great mill, like I was convinced of when I first purchased it a few years ago?
Yes, it is.
But with everything, I would now give it only four stars out of five.
Now, lets talk about the WonderMill.
When a friend told me about the Grain Mill Wagon Challenge, and shared how they often give bloggers a free WonderMill in exchange for creating new recipes and showing how you can use the Mill for many things, then talk about it, I was, honestly, skeptical.
Knowing how much grain mills can cost,
I figured there must be some sort of catch in the whole process.
You know, the fine writing right before you sign the dotted line that you cant read, and probably couldn't understand if you COULD read it?
I am so SO thankful to be completely, totally, and utterly WRONG on that account.
It has been a fantastic experience, and I am loving still working with them each week as I use my WonderMill to create or share more recipes on my Blog. To be fair, they also pay me to show that I use my WonderMill, but for this mamma of three kids, who is going to share my recipes anyhow, it is totally a blessing to be able to work with such a great company that really stands behind their product and supports bloggers who do it from home. ;)
Now, lets talk about the WonderMill. When I first got the box, I was thrilled. Then I read on the side it said : " Made in Korea". Seeing that made me really sad, because I push for American jobs and American products to be in everyone's home vs supporting companies that outsource jobs to other places. Honestly, it almost made me return it, but I also knew this was a direction that the Lord was wanting me to take, regardless of my personal feelings about products made in other countries.
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| Do you see it in the lower right hand corner? |
One major difference I had to get used to was that with the WonderMill, you had to turn the mill on FIRST and THEN add the grain. It is the opposite with the Nutrimill, and I tell you what, the first time I turned on my WonderMill and then poured 2 cups of wheat berries into it, and it slowed down and sounded like it was going to quit, I almost had a heart attack.
I thought I killed it. Really.
Instead, a very pleasant short time later, I had ground wheat into flour, and was thrilled to be able to shut it off, put the snap lid on the storage container, and stick it in the cupboard. Then I pushed the "itty bitty" mill back into the huge space the Nutrimill had previously been using, and again, was amazed at the small amount of space it took.
So, it ground flour faster.
It took up less space.
And it was free, which at this time, was a huge bonus for me.
Pretty soon I realized the dial could make the flour finer or coarser, it ground through popcorn like nobody's business, with no flying missles of popcorn kernels seeking to poke my eyes out, and I have had not a single incident of the machine spitting white flour 100 miles a minute out across my kitchen.
My husband and children have all used it
(except the toddlers, who would, I am sure, try to sent the cat through it),
and have all gone on and on about how easy it is to use.
I have used it to grind three different kinds of wheat, and popcorn, rice, and beans, and so far, it has been a champ in dealing with all of them. It is simple to clean, and the storage top fits on both the storage container and the top of the mill for storage. I have started taking the top that fits on the storage container while grinding, and storing it by simple setting it upside down on top of the mill, and slipping the whole thing right under the cupboards on my counter. Perfect fit, small space requirements, and the WonderMill is substantially lighter than the Nutrimill.
Their guarantees are essentially the same, and although the WonderMill STATES that it is the quietest one on the market, I am pretty sure they are equivalent in volume while grinding.
So, if I were to do this whole thing over again, and purchase a grain mill from start to finish, I would choose the WonderMill over the Nutrimill. I would give the WonderMill five out of five stars for where I am in my life, with three kids, cooking and baking everything from scratch, and space requirements. I have chosen to approach a friend and sell her the Nutrimill, because frankly, it is taking up a huge amount of space on top of my cupboards that could be put to better use. I hope that she likes it and uses it with her larger family and the enormous amounts of baking and cooking that she does. Meanwhile, I will take the amount she is giving me for it (substantially less than what I paid for it) and put it towards something I have had my eye on for over a year--a water filtration system for my family. :)
So, for those of you who love to listen and learn about the many things we dabble in around here, I hope that you will find this review honest, refreshing, and informative for you. Just to make your Tasty Tuesday a little happier, here is my recipe for simple cranberry shortbread cookies that I make every holiday season here at our home.
Many Blessings to you and yours,
Heather
Cranberry Shortbread Cookies
1 cup butter
2 1/2 cups flour
(soft white wheat berries are excellent for this,
and OF COURSE I USE MY WONDERMILL TO GRIND THEM!!)
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup craisins
1 egg
1 tsp almond extract
(White almond bark melted)
Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg, then add flour, salt, Craisins and almond extract. If you toss the craisins with flour before adding them, they will stick in the dough much better. This recipe will make a very thick dough that you can press into a pan. I score mine with my ravioli wheel so as to make it easy to cut when done.
Bake in a 350* oven for 15-20 minutes just until the edges are browned and the middle does not indent when you touch it with a finger. Let cool, then cut into small dense squares. I like to drizzle white almond bark over the top for an added pizzazz when making these. They are gorgeous for Holiday platters, and make a nice snack with a cup of coffee. :)
See you tomorrow!!
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