Customer Reviews

Cuisinart SG-10 Electric Spice-and-Nut Grinder

5 star:		(49)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(53)

 

 

I bought it specifically for grinding whole flax seed. It grinds it to perfection in seconds. Although I use it for other nuts too, which I am extremely happy with it all. It is a snap to use, and is super super easy to clean, takes up little space on the countertop. Note that not wanting the lid to become foggy (as some plastics do in high heat) I no longer use the drying/heat function on my dishwasher, so after going thru the cycle it comes out like new everytime. If you are the kind of person who likes to have the cords tucked into the appliance then you may be a little disappointed as the cord takes a little fiddling to get it coiled back into the housing unit. In my personal opinion I think this product is superb, and I would not hesitate to recommend it.

So I'm a spice freak. I have more than a hundred spices in my pantry and like to grind my own spice mixes using whole spices. After breaking two coffee grinders trying to grind spices in them, I tried this little gem. I've had it for almost 6 months and it works wonderfully well! I've ground hard and soft spices in it and it breaks them all down in a few pulses. I've even used it to grind wet spices in small quantities with equal success.

Pros:

1. It works for both wet and dry spices.
2. The cup and the lid can both be put in the dishwasher- no need to risk cutting your hands on the blade!
3. The cup has an inner rubber lid that can be used to store spices in the cup if you want to (I never do, but still..)

Cons:

1. After grinding, there is always spice dust on the outer edge of the grinder and in the crevices that has to be cleaned.
2. Because the lid itself is used to push down and grind, it does not fit securely on the body of the grinder when not in use. I'm always scared that the lid is going to fall off and break one day.

All in all, I'm happy with the product and would purchase it again.

Edited to add (08/01/10):

After more than a year of regular use (bye bye warranty), the cup has jammed into the base and will not come off. The machine still works, but since the grinding base is jammed and the cup itself is loose, spinning around when you hold the lid down, you can't grind anything. So long, Cuisinart. It was good while it lasted.

This spice grinder is exactly what I was looking for. It ground all my spices, even cinnamon and nutmeg, to a fine texture. I have a Cuisinart coffee grinder which I tried to grind spices, but it didn't grind spices as fine as I wanted.
The lid did not "cloud" over like it does with some grinders when you grind some hard stuff in it (cinnamon, nutmeg).

My Krups GX4100 kicked the bucket after less than one year of moderate to heavy use and I decided it was easier to repurchase than to bother with the warranty. I got this Cuisinart to replace it. The difference is immense. Not unlike the Krups, the Cuisinart is very handsome and worthy of display in a contemporary kitchen. Where it excels though is function. In seconds it grinds whole spices to a fine powder. What would take 2 minutes in the Krups takes less than 30 seconds in this baby. With the Krups there would be a few pieces that didn't get ground, but with the Cuisinart there is nothing but powder. It even ground whole turmeric without breaking a sweat (if you've ever worked with whole turmeric you will know that short of perhaps solid granite this has to be the ultimate test of a spice grinder's worthiness). Add to that the detachable basin for easy clean-up, the cool factor of the on/off mechanism (lightly press down the lid for on and release for off), and the spice oil protection (the clear cover does not contact the spices directly so no clove/allspice/cinnamon stains) and you've got yourself a perfect and flawless spice grinder.

I grind spices regularly, especially dried chili's, and found this product well-designed for that task. Easy to use, and easy to clean...

As with other reviewers I was very excited to finally own a spice and nut grinder. For years I had been using my electric coffee grinder to do the job and it really works very well but you have to clean the residual coffee grounds out every time you use it. At first glance the design of the Cuisinart SG-10 Electric Spice-and-Nut Grinder had everything I was looking for: One touch easy use, removable stainless steel grinding bowl for easing cleaning and a nice slick stainless steel outer case. The bad news is that what is on the inside, mainly the motor,evidently has some sort of design defect. I noticed a strange smell eminated from the motor the very first time I used it. I continued to use it once every day for 15-second intervals to grind small amounts of flax seed. I also attempted to grind almonds once and the grinder did not grind them at all, but just chiped them up. The last straw came when I ground my morning flax seed and the motor began to audibly vary its speed until finally a plume of smoke snaked its way out of the power cord hole, an aparent indication that the motor had bid its final farewell and had burned out. I should have listened to the earlier reviewer who after having a similar problem, ended up rewiring the darn thing himself! Do yourself a favor and buy a second coffee grinder. It works infinately better for smaller batches of nuts. Unless of course you want to go nuts.

Halfway through the first use of this product - grinding sunflower seeds per product directions - the motor began to smell like burning plastic and it promptly died. I returned it to Amazon who issued a prompt refund.

I am extremely pleased with the nut and seed grinder. I purchased the cuisinart coffee grinder a little under 2 years ago for grinding flax, pumpkin, sunflower and seseme seeds and the inner cup blade broke, the nut and seed grinder is much faster and quieter. Very, very, very happy with this purchase.

This is a great little machine. It's a step up for me from a coffee grinder I had been using to grind my flax, almonds, pumpkin seeds, etc. It quiet enough, strong enough for the almonds, and does the flax well. I tried grinding licorice slivers I get from chinatown to make tea but they kept jamming up the blades. I use it everyday for bout two months now. Comes with a nice little recipe book too.

I actually tried this product twice, first one last 60 seconds, second one almost 2 minutes. Smelled something burning, then the motor quit.
Do NOT try and grind cashews -- they get caught under the cheap little blades.