Our "Magic Mill" grain mill! This is the engine side of it. The wood top lifts open and there is a hopper there for the whole grains.
One of the items on our original 'to buy eventually' list was a flour mill. We are working towards having a working pantry (meaning that it's stocked with the things we use and that we are using these things on a regular basis). There a number of reasons for this. First of all, we live out in the country. There is a market about 3 miles away, but it's very expensive and very small. The next closest is about 8 miles away. If we run out of something, it's no longer just a jaunt down to the corner. Secondly, we need a place to store the things we preserve. This goes along with the idea of being sustainable, too. The more we can store, the less we need to buy from other sources. Lastly, we want to have plenty on hand for emergencies. All grocery stores work with very little back stock. If you were to cut off the supply trucks, those shelves would empty in a matter of days (or hours if there was a panic). Think about the water/battery supply in FL when a hurricane approaches....or the milk/bread situation in the northeast when a blizzard is forecasted...it's not fun, is it? I'd rather not contribute to that. If our supply lines got cut off tomorrow, we'd have plenty of food for us and the animals for at least a month or more. I'd like that time frame to be 6 months eventually (easy for humans - harder for animals).
Anyway, as part of this storage plan, a grain mill can really help but the good ones are quite expensive. We prefer whole wheat flour to white for the nutritional benefits. Whole wheat doesn't keep very long before it goes rancid due to the fact that it contains the whole wheat berry - fats and all. Additionally, keeping on top of flour stores is annoying and I admit that if I can cut corners, I will. This means storing the whole wheat berry in it's intact form. These berries keep WAY longer than ground flour, so we don't have to be as dilligent about rotation. We can grind what we need when we need it. Plus, fresh ground flour? How cool is that?!
We were at dinner at a friends house a couple of months ago and jokingly made mention of a good place in their kitchen to put the grain mill. When they mentioned that his parents had one that they used we asked if maybe they wanted to sell it. A week or so later, we find out that they didn't want to sell their current one, but that they had an older model that they no longer use and would be willing to part with! Score for us! So we bought it from them and we love it. It's a Magic Mill grain mill in a wooden cabinet. They stopped making these in the 70's, but it's definitely good quality. They even had the owners manual to it! It is both electric powered and it has a hand-crank which while I know it won't be an easy task, it appeals to the greener side of me. So far, we've only done the one test batch, but it worked well and we look forward to stocking up on whole grains for future grinding.
The flour falls into a stainless steel pan - pulled out the back so that you can see the flour.
This is the back side of it. The little door that I am holding up is where the pan goes. The grains get dumped in the top.
9 comments:
I have the exact same mill, bought back (I believe) in the 70's. Did you get the hand crank with yours? If so, do you know how to attach it? I can't figure it out! You're going to enjoy it. I've used mine constantly all these years and it's still good as ever.
We did get the hand crank with ours, but we haven't even tried to attach it yet. I'll take a look at it this weekend and see if it makes any sense to us. :-)
I was googling wooden magic mills and came across your site. A friend gave me one two nights ago (it looks the same as yours. model # 4K783) I have no idea how to use it. Where do you put the wheat? Do you pour it into the hole that is on the stones? Do you know of any sites were you can find out how to clean and lubricate these particular machines? Thanks!
www.geobobbies.blogspot.com
Hi Tonia!
I think I found one site where we can get parts if we need them, but there was no information on how to operate/care for the mill. I do have the original instruction manual, so I'll take a look at it and see if it says anything about cleaning.
For milling, you just pour the wheat berries (or other such whole grain) unto the metal plate with the hole in it. The grains fall through the hole and onto the grinding stones and the flour comes out the bottom into the stainless pan.
I'll swing by your blog with anything I find out from the manual this evening or tomorrow. :-)
Cat
I still have a one page mimeographed sheet that came with mine which says the motor is maintenance free and never needs oiling. To clean: remove stainless steel inner lid and sweep excess flour dust with a soft bristle brush. I use my vacuum cleaner, though. There's a book still available used from Amazon, The Magic of Wheat Cookery, that I got at the time I bought this mill which has lots of recipes using a variety of grains.
There's also a little handle on the back that allows you to adjust from coarse (cracked) to fine- what I use for bread flour. I still don't know how to use the darned hand crank, though. But I'm hopeful someone will find this post and know.
The crank handle can be attached to the rear of the motor when you remove the plastic sheathing or cap that is covering the rear shaft. Look closely and you will notice there is a groove which has been milled into the shaft. The curved circular end of the hand crank has a blade edge that will slip into the slot and it will maintain itself as long as you apply a circular force to the crank. Hope this helps you.
I beleave the handle is only supposed to be used if the machine jambs with hard grain. If you notice the handle turns the rotating stone in the reverse direction as the motor turns. And, PLEASE make sure the grinder is unplugged from the wall outlet before attaching handle.
I posted the comment on 8/10/09 about having this mill but not knowing how to use the handle. I finally found a website for parts and some instructions online which will answer most of the questions that have been posted since then. I e-mailed them and found out that the little round plastic cover on the back needs to be removed and then the handle does, indeed, attach. My plastic cover pushed in, but I emailed back and was told that would be ok.
http://www.goldengraingrinder.com/parts.html
Hope this will help the rest of you get your mills running and your questions answered!
I posted the comment on 8/10/09 about having this mill but not knowing how to use the handle. I finally found a website for parts and some instructions online which will answer most of the questions that have been posted since then. I e-mailed them and found out that the little round plastic cover on the back needs to be removed and then the handle does, indeed, attach. My plastic cover pushed in, but I emailed back and was told that would be ok.
http://www.goldengraingrinder.com/parts.html
Hope this will help the rest of you get your mills running and your questions answered!
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