This Electronic Spice Mill Makes Cooking with Whole Spices a Snap

Food & Wine
·2 min read
Ground and whole peppercorns
Ground and whole peppercorns

Shutterstock / KreaFoto / Amazon

I'm a big advocate for buying whole spices. I even wrote a whole print column about it, sharing wisdom from the chef and owner behind one of my favorite spice companies, Spicewalla, Meherwan Irani. Whole spices are simply fresher; they last longer (even in less than ideal conditions, like my small, overly warm apartment kitchen), and their potency blows pre-ground spices out of the water. The problem? Grinding them, of course. It can feel like one step too many to grind spices (and then clean a spice grinder) before you even start cooking, and that's where the FinaMill comes in.

Related: These Are the Essential Spices Every Kitchen Should Have

This one-touch battery-powered spice mill has simple, interchangeable pods for grinding fresh spices with ease. You don't need to guess how much ground spice each star anise pod will yield, or clean out your spice grinder if you need more than one spice and don't want to cross-contaminate flavors. The mill yields fresh evenly-ground spices with adjustable coarseness, perfect for basic black peppercorns or custom blends. They even have specially designed pods for oilier nuts and seeds. I keep a few pods in my spice cabinet, filled with my favorite whole spice blends. I only grind what I need when I need it.

To buy: FinaMill Smart Kitchen Mill and 2 FinaPod Express spice pods, $30 at amazon.com

The FinaMill also doesn't take up too much space and looks just like a (slightly modern) pepper mill. I keep it next to my salt cellar on my kitchen counter and reach for it nearly every time I cook. Whether the recipes call for fresh spice blends, like these Crispy Chicken Thighs with Spice-Roasted Radishes or spicy Blackened Skillet Pork Chops with Beans and Spinach, or I'm throwing together a simple meal with leftovers, it's easier than ever to actually use the spices in my pantry. All I need to do is snap in a pod.

Find the Finamill on Amazon (in white, black, or red), complete with two quick-change spice pods for just $30. Give it as a gift to your favorite home cook or treat yourself and make cooking with fresh spices easier than ever.