What is a Mixer Grinder?

A mixer grinder is an electrical appliance used to grind, mix, and blend different food ingredients. A mixer grinder can also grind soaked food grains to a fine paste.

Functions of Mixer Grinder

Mixer Grinder offers a variety of functions primarily based on wet and dry grinding. It depends on your cooking requirement as to which method to go for. Let's check these out.

1. Wet Grinding
   Wet grinding involves mixing water with the ingredients. This method is used for making the dosa-idli batter, gravies, and soup, to name a few.
2. Dry Grinding
   As the name suggests, dry grinding is where ingredients are ground dry into a powder without using water. This method is applicable for grinding spices like cardamom, red chillies, cumin etc.
3. Whipping
   In whipping, the blades move in a zig-zag manner at a very high speed to render the ingredients smooth. This process works best to beat fatty liquids like milk or coconut cream, eggs etc.
4. Blending
   Although blending is quite similar to mixing, they work differently. Compared to mixing, blending is a gentler process by creating a uniform distribution of ingredients.
5. Grating
   Vegetables like carrots, cucumbers etc., can be reduced to their fine uniform particle form. Doing this can make a nice salad.
6. Pureeing
   Will finely chopped tomatoes make good soup? Of course not! Tomatoes only in a liquid gravy form would work here. Mixers can also wet-grind an ingredient into a smoothie-like puree.

Parts and Their Uses

Have you wondered what makes mixer grinders different from each other? It's their parts. Let us know these in brief.

1. Number of Blades
   The number of blades can vary from two to six depending on what type of food processing you want to do. It can be juicing, mincing, grinding etc.
2. Number of Jars
   An appliance with three jars is sufficient for a small family or bachelor. With more members, the need for jars goes up accordingly.
3. Incher or Pulse Facility
   Incher or pulse is a feature where the user holds the switch for a short running. It is used for chopping delicate food such as boiled eggs or onions.
4. Speed Levels
   A domestic mixer has three speed levels - low, medium, and high. Speed ranges from 18000 to 23000 RPM, sufficient for home use.
5. Overload Protection
   Sometimes your mixer suddenly stops while grinding, leaving you clueless about what's wrong. Check the stick-like switch at the under surface of the device. Press it and restart after 10 minutes. Your mixer is back to work.

Types

Mixer grinder fall in to four categories depending on the number of jars offered.

1. 1-2 Jars
   If you are a bachelor staying alone, a jar for dry and wet each grinding is enough.
2. 3-4 Jars
   A nuclear family of four or five members would have varied taste of foods. So, the requirement of jars catering to different tastes would be more.
3. More than 4 Jars
   It is hard to manage with two-four jar appliances when it's a joint family. A six-jar grinder would be ideal for a family of more than ten people.

Popular Mixer Grinder Brands

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