Awet grinder can refer either to a tool forabrasive cutting of hard materials or to afood preparationappliance used especially inIndian cuisine for grindingfood grains to produce a paste orbatter. A wet grinder for abrasive cutting uses fluid for lubrication or cooling; for food preparation, a wet grinder combines water to grain as it is ground to produce a batter.
The tabletop wet grinder is derived from themelanger, which was developed by the chocolate industry in the early 19th century.[1]
Someangle grinders, mosttile saws, and some grinders forsharpening blades used in woodworking are wet grinders. The fluid helps withlubrication of the cutting process and with cooling to avoid cracking or damaging the cutting tool or the workpiece.
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Wet grinding is rare inwestern cuisine but common in Indian cuisine.[2][3] Wet grinders are used to make pastes from grains and lentils and is used extensively inSouth Indian cuisine for preparation of popular dishes such asdosa,idly,vada,appam andpaniyaram.[4][5][6][7][8][9] It consists ofgranite stones which rotate inside a metal drum with the help of anelectric motor and the food grains get crushed between the stone and drum.[10] Wet grinders have two advantages overelectric mixers orblenders. First, the stone grinder generates less heat than a mixer; heat affects the flavor of the food. Second, the stones remain sharp for a greater time than do metal blades.
Originally stones manually operated, modern wet grinders are available for both home usage and larger-scale commercial production. A wet grinder consists ofgranite stones rotating inside a metal drum with the help of anelectric motor. Food grains are crushed between stones in the drum.[10] Modern wet grinders may use grinding stones that are circular or conical. Wet grinders have some advantages overelectric mixers orblenders. A stone grinder generates less heat than a mixer, and heat can affect the flavor of the food. Unlike mixers, which cut food into smaller pieces, a wet grinder crushes the food, resulting in different consistency.
In 2005, theGovernment of Tamil Nadu applied forGeographical Indication for Coimbatore wet grinder.[11] Wet grinders are largely manufactured inCoimbatore because granite is easily available in this region.[9] Beginning in March 2006, the label "Coimbatore Wet Grinder" is a registeredgeographical indication forTamil Nadu.[12]
Melangers typically have a smaller capacity than other industrial mills, so most large makers don't use them; Hershey did, but abandoned them in the 1950s for larger-capacity ball mills. This was about the same time that the electric motor reached India, where melangers were co-opted for makingdosas (fermented rice-and-bean creps) because they produce less heat than other mills and preserve the living enzymes in dosa batter.