Coffee Grinders for Whole Spices, Dried Shrimp, and Peanuts

Small electric coffee grinders do a grand job of reducing spices and other tiny, hard, tough, and dry foods to a powder, coarse or fine. They turn dry-fried grains of rice into deliciously gritty and aromatic roasted rice powder for northeastern Thai salads. You can also use them to grind a small quantity of peppercorns for a countertop supply in a flash; grind peanuts for satay sauce, panaeng curry, or paht Thai; or grind dried shrimp to a delicate powder. Pulse your coffee grinder on and off if you need a coarse, gritty texture, but for fine powder, just let it rip. You can’t get by with one grinder if you love freshly ground coffee, as even fans of flavored coffees blanch at the thought of dried prawn tidbits in their cups of joe. Dedicate one grinder for coffee, and use the other for everything else.