March of the Tools: Marga Mill

Tonight we took a trip to the grocery store and I finally gave in and bought a flour mill (aka wheat grinder). I chose the Marga Mulino mill from Italy (Marcato brand - I suspect mulino is just "mill" in Italian). However, since I'm a little strange and love to experiment, the first thing I milled was not wheat but black beans:

Here is the mill in the only spot in my kitchen that it will clamp to - next to my shallow sink. I had to take out the drawer to get it to work, but I'm glad it fits somewhere. My antique dining table is much too thick to accommodate the c-clamp.

I could have got an electric mill for $100 more (from Blendtec - that guy with the YouTube "Will it Blend?" videos), but there really is something romantic about old technology and doing things by hand. I also could have purchased a Victorio for $5 less, but this one seemed sturdier and had a larger reservoir.

It also came with a fetching little brush. Once you take the top cover off, you can see the top two rollers with their diagonal grooves (I believe this is called knurling). There is one more roller below.

I'm rather excited for all the cooking implications this will have (mushroom bisque, fresh homemade bread, rice flour, ground herbs), but I'm really more excited for non-food (yet non-toxic) experiments. I think the first thing I'll try is some finely milled sea salt to make bath salts. I'd love to try crayons for candlemaking, but they'll probably get smashed in the grooves - the wax is probably better suited to a cheesegrater. It would be pretty interesting to send some paper through and see if I can get a nice texture. If you think of anything for me to try, please leave a comment!

Also, if you get one of these and don't get a manual, I found one on Scribd.