Westmark Nutmeg Grinder

Overview

Westmark's German-made nutmeg grinder holds a whole nutmeg or nut against a fixed blade with a spring-loaded mechanism and stores the grounds in a built-in receptacle. It suits anyone who grinds nutmeg by hand rather than relying on a microplane.

The spring keeps constant pressure on the nutmeg as the handle turns, which is what separates it from a plain grater, but the same tension can pop the twist-top open if the grinder isn't handled the right way, according to more than one reviewer. It's built for whole nutmeg and similarly sized nuts like almonds or walnuts, not for grinding a nutmeg fragment down to the ultra-fine powder a microplane produces near the end. No care instructions come in the box, so hand washing is the safer default.

• Self-adjusting spring-loaded mechanism
• Clear housing shows remaining nutmeg
• Hand-crank operation, no batteries
• Made by Westmark in Germany

Who it's for

Fits people who cook or bake with fresh nutmeg often enough to want a dedicated grinder instead of a grater. Not a good match for anyone chasing the finest possible grind on small leftover nutmeg fragments, since at least one buyer found it left pieces too coarse near the end.

Pros and cons

Performance notes

A self-adjusting spring holds the nutmeg or nut against an internal blade with steady pressure as the handle turns, so grind consistency doesn't depend on how hard someone pushes. The tradeoff is that the same spring tension can cause the two halves to separate if the unit isn't held flat during use. Grounds collect in the base receptacle rather than falling loose.

Specifications

Closest rivals on specs

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