I was intrigued by Ipac Italy’s Prezzemolina’s parsley mill. I thought it could save me from having to take out the food processor if I could make a pesto by grinding up some nuts and basil in the mill, then mix in a light and fruity olive oil to hold it together.
First I tested the mill on a small bunch of curly-leaf parsley. The parsley goes into the hopper on top of the mill, then you turn a crank to rotate the blades. At first it was a little cumbersome to push down on the parsley while holding the device, but once the leaves got caught in the blades everything went through smoothly, even the stems. The ground pieces produced were nice and tiny.
When I tried it again, the stems wrapped around the blades and I had a harder time turning the crank. But the problem was easily remedied by turning the crank in the opposite direction. So for that batch I had to keep switching directions every few turns.
Next I tried basil with a few almonds. This also worked well, as long as the nuts were wrapped in the basil, not placed at the bottom, which made the crank hard to turn. Plus the nuts helped hold down the leaves so I didn’t have to push on them while turning the handle. I added a little oil to the ground mixture and that made a good spread for some crackers.
Then came clean up. Ugh. It’s a pain to clean this mill. I was hoping I could just flush out the leaves with water. Not so. I had to turn the handle both ways under running water, then stick my fingers near the blades to get out some small pieces.
The nuts were worse — a lot got stuck between the blades and were hard to pick out.
>> Does it work?: Yes.
>> Pros: Grinds herbs quickly. Safer than a knife. Easy to use.
>> Cons: Herbs in big bunches need to be broken down to fit within the 2-by-3-inch grinding compartment. Takes a little coordination to keep some types of herbs in the compartment while turning the handle. Smaller hands may have a harder time cranking and keeping the mill steady, so it may be easier to rest the device on a tall bowl to steady it. You’ll still have room for the crank to make full rotations.
>> Cost and availability: Mine was marked down to $5.99 at T.J. Maxx at Ward Village Shops. It’s also available for $23.17 (plus $7.50 shipping) at amazon.com. A variety of more expensive mills are also available. I’m going to see if I can find one of those to test for another column.
>> Worth it?: Although it was cheap, I’m not happy with the cleanup.
Got a gadget that you love? Curious about one you’d like us to test? Email crave@staradvertiser.com or write Crave, Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, Honolulu 96813.
