Thanks to the development of technology, modern housewives can not waste their time and energy cooking minced meat, and in a matter of minutes using an electric mini meat grinder to process meat, fish and vegetables for their favorite dish.
This practical unit will quickly and safely cope with the preparation of various types of minced meat, chopping vegetables and fruits, and grate cheese. Modern multifunctional devices can both chop meat and, if necessary, perform the functions of a juicer and mill, and with the help of special nozzles you can easily cook home-made sausages and noodles.
In a word, even the smallest electric meat grinder will be a great helper for a good housewife. Moreover, the cost of mini-models is significantly less than their bulky counterparts. In any case, before you go to the store for a new assistant, study the characteristics of this device.
Content
Device power
Experienced customers have long realized for themselves that high power does not necessarily guarantee good performance. This is the case with the electric meat grinder.
Mini meat grinders for the most part do not have high power. But, despite this, they are not inferior in performance to their big brothers. On average, the power of a mini meat grinder ranges from 300-800 watts, although deviations can be found in both directions. This is enough to cook a kilogram of minced meat in a minute, which will easily satisfy the needs of a small family. However, you should not expect that a device with a power of 200 W will be able to efficiently and quickly process large portions of meat.
Power also characterizes the efficiency of the device: more power - more electricity is consumed. From this we can conclude that the mini meat grinder will not only become your faithful assistant in the kitchen, but also take care of saving electricity.
Runtime and reverse
To prevent the meat grinder's engine from overheating, all manufacturers set the operating time of the device. This criterion may vary depending on the mode of operation. Usually for meat it is no more than 15 minutes, and for solid products, for example, coffee beans, the time of non-stop operation can be less than a minute. And this is a lot, since this is quite enough to cook a few kilograms of minced meat or grind grain.
In the future, you will say thank you if you choose an implement with a reverse function. Indeed, thanks to this, if you overload the meat grinder, and this will happen sooner or later, the device itself will cope with the problem that has arisen by scrolling the auger in the opposite direction. Otherwise, the meat grinder will stop working, and you will have to disassemble and clean the jammed section of the mechanism yourself.
Meat grinder body
The main advantage of mini meat grinders is their size. Thanks to this, the space in the kitchen is greatly saved. And since a meat grinder is a very useful thing, but still not used every day, this property is very relevant.
Additional benefits will have instances, the case of which is folding. Due to this property, the size of the device will decrease, and it will not take up much space on the shelf. Also, a few points for convenience can be put to those models that have special places for nozzles and a compartment for the cord.
Of course, it is best if all the elements of the device are made of stainless steel. However, the cost of such an assembly will be significantly higher in comparison with plastic counterparts.Therefore, you can choose a meat grinder with a plastic case, but the knives and grills must be made of metal.
During operation of the meat grinder, it is important that it is possible to put the container for the finished meat as close as possible to the body. With mini-meat grinders, certain difficulties may arise: due to the small size, it is impossible to use deep dishes.
It is very responsible to approach the characteristics of the neck of the meat grinder. This section is the most dangerous in the process, if you do not use a pusher. There is a high probability of damage to the fingers if the neck is not high enough. Therefore, its size should correspond to the length of your fingers.
On the neck of most modern models, a tray is installed in which it is very convenient to fold cooked foods. The tray may be made of plastic or metal. Both materials are quite practical, however, scratches may appear on non-metal trays over time, which will reduce the aesthetic appeal of the device.
The main elements of the meat grinder
The main parts of the meat grinder are auger and knives. The productivity of the whole mechanism depends on the quality of these elements. The auger pushes the meat from the entrance to the knives. Often manufacturers equip their products with plastic and metal screws. They are intended for processing soft foods (vegetables, dough) and meat, respectively.
The functionality of the meat grinder in the process of work will largely depend on the quality of the knives. They are made with two or four cutting edges for the preparation of minced meat of various consistencies. Of course, new meat grinders are sold with sharpened knives. However, be prepared to go to a special workshop over time to re-sharpen your knives, unless your meat grinder is equipped with special self-sharpening blades.
Lattices are responsible for the consistency of the product at the outlet. They must be made of metal. Most mini meat grinders are equipped with two grills for chopping and chopping with holes of various diameters. Thanks to this, you can easily cook both minced meat and pate.
Additional components
A modern electric meat grinder is capable of not only processing meat, but also performing many additional functions. For this, manufacturers have developed a variety of nozzles, the most popular of which, probably, is a nozzle for making home-made sausages.
With the help of a vegetable cutter, you can easily get neat plates or shavings from vegetables. This nozzle will be especially in demand during the autumn harvesting season.
As a standard feature of the meat grinder, some manufacturers include a nozzle for squeezing juice. However, such a meat grinder will not be able to fully replace a juicer. Therefore, if you plan to process a lot of vegetables and fruits, it is better to purchase a special device.
With the proliferation of electric meat grinders, kebbe cooking is becoming increasingly popular. This is a meat dish resembling cutlets stuffed inside. Using a special nozzle with the same name, cooking this dish will not cause difficulties even for a novice hostess.
Also, with the meat grinder or in addition to it, you can purchase nozzles for dough, cookies, homemade noodles and cutters for cutlets.
However, most mini-meat grinders are sold as standard, which does not include additional attachments. Therefore, if you want to expand the arsenal of your unit, then the necessary nozzles will have to be purchased. But thanks to this, your kitchen will not be littered with unused components.
To summarize
Electric mini meat grinder, like any other device, has its pros and cons.
Among the advantages of small models include:
- Of course, the small size of the devices.Mini meat grinders will not take up much space, which is especially important for owners of small kitchens.
- Profitability: due to the weak power, the mini meat grinders do not consume a lot of electricity.
- The cost of a mini meat grinder is significantly less in comparison with conventional models.
However, small meat grinders also have disadvantages, for example:
- The small capacity of the device will not allow to process large pieces of meat just as quickly and efficiently, in comparison with more powerful analogues. Nevertheless, if you need a meat grinder only for periodic cooking of minced meat for the family, then mini-models can easily cope with the task.
- A small model also implies a small container for ready-made meat, which is not very convenient if you need to process a lot of meat.
- Standard equipment often does not include additional nozzles, so they need to be purchased. But due to the lack of unclaimed nozzles, you save additional free space in the kitchen.
- High noise produced by meat grinders. This flaw is common to all models. Unfortunately, nothing can be done with this, except to console yourself with the thought that the duration of the continuous operation of most meat grinders is no more than 20 minutes.
Often consumers are tormented by the choice between a meat grinder and a food processor. Each of these units has its pros and cons: the combine is more functional, as it combines several devices, and the meat grinder processes meat better and faster. Therefore, if your family is one of the active meat eaters, the only right decision for you would be to purchase an electric meat grinder. At the same time, it might be better to prefer a mini-model that can easily process meat and vegetables, but will not take up much space in the closet, which is important for housewives whose kitchen is small.
Whichever model you choose, an electric meat grinder will certainly become a thing of prime necessity for a good housewife.
