How to Clean a Spice Grinder

Nothing can be more annoying than taking the time to freshly grind a spice and end up with it smelling like something else entirely. That often happens when you don't clean your grinder in between spices. So here are some tips....

Obviously if you haven't bought a spice grinder yet consider ones like my KitchenAid Coffee Grinderthat come apart easily. The cup separates from the base, so you never have to worry about getting the cord wet. The cup is metal, so no worries about scents lingering. The blade comes out of the cup so washing is a snap - just a little warm soapy water and a rinse.

Barring that...
1. Use a small pastry or paint brush to brush out as much of the remaining grinds as you can.

2. Then just use a damp cloth or paper towel to get out the rest of the loose grounds.

3. Put about an inch or so of water ( just enough to barely cover the blade) into the cup, replace the cover and turn it on to get the hidden grinds out from under the blade.

Hope that helps. If you have any other suggestions, please leave them in the comments.

Please email me any of your kitchen questions, and if I don't have the answer, I'll certainly try find it for you.

Related links: kitchen tips Food & Drink Kitchen Tools coffee/spice grinders