What can you grind with a Marathon or All grain mill (stone mills)
I'm looking to purchase my first grain mill and found a used Marthon uni-mill($150) and a little Jiffy All Grain mill($125). Both are older stone mills. Can either of these grind corn for corn meal? I'm assuming you would use popcorn. I'm also debating whether I should purchase a mill that can mill dry grains and stuff like nuts and seeds and beans. Right now I just make bread and an a novice but wondering how often people grind wet goods and for what purposes. I've seend the miracle electric flour mill and know it comes with steel burr grinding wheels so I'm guessing that should be able to do it all for $200. It has mixed reviews on the finess of the flour and it's pretty slow.
Any thoughts on the grain mills mentioned would be appreciated and any thoughts on when you grind wet nuts/seeds as well. And what about corn on stones?
Hello,
I do not claim to be any expert in milling corn or the devices you mentioned. Are those the big manual crank things you need to bolt down in a garage or a workplace, or are they counter-top electric devices? If they are counter-top electric devices... I have a fidibus/komo milling machine and have successfully milled whole yellow corn into flour successfully, without damage to the machine, but... I don't think you should use popcorn for the counter-top devices. The manufacturer says not to use popcorn.
Some references:
TFL thread:
http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/9206/wolfgang-flour-mill-aka-komo-fidibus-classic#comment-47284
http://www.pleasanthillgrain.com/KoMo_grain_mill_wolfgang_flour_mill_grinder_mills.aspx
Description about the komo mills:
"It will grind a wide array of grains including wheat (both hard and soft), oat groats (dehulled oats), rice, triticale, kamut, spelt, buckwheat, barley, rye, millet, teff, quinoa, amaranth, sorghum and dent (field) corn. It will also grind spices, lentils and dry beans (pinto, red, garbanzo, kidney, etc.) It isn't suitable for herbs, oilseeds like flax or sesame, popcorn, or fibrous materials."
This is what I've used for whole-yellow-corn, which is different from popcorn, and it worked for me:
http://www.purcellmountainfarms.com/Organic%20Whole%20Corn.htm
As opposed to:
http://www.purcellmountainfarms.com/Organic%20Yellow%20Popcorn.htm
Of course, you could try milling popcorn with an electric machine, but it seems the general consensus is to not try it. I don't fully understand the difference between popcorn and whole-yellow-corn. I have a bunch of the whole-yellow-corn on hand but never tried popping it like a popcorn. Would it "pop" at all? Who knows :)
But, if you've got some big ole milling thing that is hand-cranked and bolted to a sturdy surface in your garage, who knows, you could probably mill anything if you tried hard enough.
I've attached a link to the marathon and the All Grain mill. They're both heavy duty electric stone mills - they pretty heavy. I don't know what the stones are made of - ceramic i guess?.
http://salem.craigslist.org/hsh/2788433192.html
http://portland.craigslist.org/mlt/app/2788157589.html
I did read on this site(http://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/marathon-uni-mill-flour-wheat-grain-grinder) where a similar marathon is for sale that it can do corn, peas, lentils, beans and rice. So it sounds like it would do the same stuff the komo would. I'd love to get the komo, but not willing to fork over that kind of cash until I know it will be a well used item.
How easy is the cleaning on the komo? there's quite a bit of flour on the inside of the marathon I'd have to clean out after each use. Not sure about the All Grain one - it didn't look like it was meant to take apart. It just has a shoot where the flour exits and no way to get into where the stones are unless you have a special screw driver head.
I'm leaning toward getting the Marathon for $150 and then if I use it a lot and want something that fits nicely on the counter maybe I'd consider the Komo after I save up some money.
Komo is easy to clean, just brush out the spigot and the insides from time to time.
I'm not suggesting what to buy or what not to buy, all I was trying to mention is that popcorn may not be good for some circumstances if you want to mill that specifically. I think you want to get "whole yellow corn", but I will undoubtably be corrected by more experienced members here. Sorry for the vague answer, but I think you should steer clear of milling popcorn. Or at least try regular corn first.
I appreciate your input. The Komo is what I've been seriously considering, but I found a couple used mills on craigslist so I figured I'd try one of those first to see if I like it since they're so much cheaper.
What kinds of stuff do you grind and what do you make? I'm assuming bread, but what about muffins, cookies, pancakes/waffles? And what do people use bean/lentil flour for?
I have a stone mill made by Retsel. I tried grinding popcorn and do not recommend it. See if you can find regular whole yellow corn, maybe you have a co-op or healthfood store local that can order some for you. The popcorn shatters and is very hard on the mill. The regular whole corn grinds very nicely, and makes the BEST cornbread you have ever tasted.