When grinding flaxseeds in a coffee grinder, is it safe to add some water inside?

Question

http://www.drdavidwilliams.com/how-to-relieve-constipation-naturally/ says

Flaxseed is inexpensive and you should be able to find it at your local health food store. Keep in mind that if the seeds aren't crushed, ground, or broken, they will pass through your system intact and you'll lose the benefits. Except for decorating the outside of bread loaves or muffins, I would recommend grinding the seeds in a small food processor or a blender. Small, inexpensive coffee grinders also work well for this purpose. (If you intend to use a blender, adding a bit of water or liquid to the seeds will make the blending process much easier.)

When using a coffee grinder to grind flaxseeds, is it also advised to add some water to the seeds? Or will adding some water cause danger and damage to the coffee grinder due to short circuit caused by water?

My coffee grinder is KRUPS F203 Electric Spice and Coffee Grinder with Stainless Steel Blades, 3-Ounce, Black:

I have what looks like the same grinder, and I’ve been grinding flax seeds in it for 15 years (to make an egg replacement for vegan cookies) and I’ve never had any problems grinding them dry. I just shake the whole thing while I’m grinding, and after a little bit the sound changes to tell me it’s done — Joe, Dec 26 '20 at 13:27

score 5 · Answer 1 · answered Jan 05 '17 at 07:13

5

Coffee grinders are designed for dry grinding, not wet grinding. The mention of water in your quote is for a blender, not a grinder. There are also wet-dry grinders, but that's not one.

So, I'm not sure if it's actually dangerous, but it's certainly not designed to have water in it. And either way, since it's not meant for wet grinding, it's not likely to grind wet things well.

Blenders, on the other hand, are designed for liquids, so it makes sense that blending a slurry might work better than something dry.

answered Jan 05 '17 at 07:13

Cascabel

58,065
24
178
319

Thanks. Which tool grinds nuts and seeds better, blenders with added water, or grinders? – Tim Jan 05 '17 at 07:15
1

Seems like a separate question, maybe post it as one? But be clear about what you want: it's only really a choice if you're okay with both dry powder and wet paste or slurry. – Cascabel Jan 05 '17 at 07:17
Powder or paste doesn't matter. I can add water to powder and then have paste, right? what matters is which way can produce results better absorbed with better health benefits. – Tim Jan 05 '17 at 07:23
@Tim Well again, ask new questions as new questions... but we don't do health here, so you're going to have to find another way to define "better". – Cascabel Jan 05 '17 at 07:29
1

I did it. With exactly this grinder, if I recognize the picture. Worked. **But** I would **not advise** anyone to do it. It has seal, but it looks more like dust seal than water one. On the other hand, all you touch is plastic so the worst thing that could happen is blowing your fuses, or maybe some fire. Not big deal if you have a fire extinguisher nearby and know that doing what you're doing is essentially stupid ;) – Mołot Jan 05 '17 at 09:26

Chris H · Answer 2 · 2017-01-05T16:09:05.323

I can't speak for yours directly but coffee grinders are usually sealed. The dust generated by grinding is bad for motors, and they have to be washed without large amounts of water being held in the mechanism to run down into the motor.

I have a small grinder of this type, like yours marketed for coffee and other things. Mine is in the form of a food processor attachment. It is properly sealed. You could use it as a blender so long as you put it together in the right order. The manual ought to be clear if you can't use liquids as they're marketing it as a spice grinder, and it wouldn't be unreasonable to grind sources with oil for a marinade (for example).

Having looked at the pictures in a bit more detail it seems like you shouldn't use a lot of liquid as there doesn't seem to be much of a seal where the top attaches.

I have roughly the same grinder, and with dry things it sprays all over inside, so if you put water in I imagine it'd not work very well as a blender - no vortex, just everywhere. — Cascabel, Jan 05 '17 at 16:02

score 2 · Answer 3 · answered Jan 05 '17 at 08:47

The article you quoted from only says

adding a bit of water or liquid to the seeds will make the blending process much easier

It doesn't say that you have to add water. I have the same grinder as you and mainly use it for grinding spices (it's not really suitable as a coffee grinder unless you like bad tasting coffee).

So, grind the seeds dry and use how intended (either by adding water or adding the ground seeds to something else).

score 1 · Answer 4 · edited Dec 25 '20 at 17:55

I ground peppermints in my grinder (the same type as shown above) and it did well but left peppermint stuck to the bottom. It was difficult to get out with a damp cloth, so the only way was to either melt the peppermint out with hot water or chip it out with a knife and I did not want to scratch up the inside. I was wondering if water was safe to put in the grinder, which is how I came across this. I wanted to pour hot water out of my electric kettle with a little dish soap and then turn it on to spin around inside until the peppermint was gone.

I poured the water and dish soap inside, and luckily all I had to do was swish it around a little a few times and the grinder was cleaned perfectly. I did not turn the grinder on at all, and it was unplugged the entire process.

The part I wanted to mention was that around the edge, I am seeing where water seeped inside a little. I have no clue if it got to the motor at all, but I am leaving the grinder upside down to dry out before I use it again in case. The edge around the silver pan that holds the blades is where the water seeped in. I also noticed that when I poured water in, some bubbles came up from around the blades which tells me water was able to get through around them as well.

While I cannot 100% say that I know how safe this is or what will happen (because I cannot see where exactly the water seeped into) I would not recommend putting liquid into one of these and starting it as it can easily seep through. I realize the question at hand was about a few drops of water into dry substance which is a bit different, so I’m not sure how that would work. But I can say that water is able to get through into the casing of the grinder, so keep in mind when trying these things. As mentioned above, a blender is a better option if you have one.

If you are using more than a few drops that is already soaked into something else and likely won’t drip much, I’d highly advise against it (at least based on my experience).

When grinding flaxseeds in a coffee grinder, is it safe to add some water inside?

4 Answers4