Victoria Corn Grinder High Hopper High - Case - 3 Units

This hand mill WILL grind nixtamal finely enough for tortillas that puff on the griddle like they're supposed to. You'll get much better results than from a food processor. But here are a few cautionary tips:

1). When assembling the mill, tighten the grinding plates as tightly together as possible. Otherwise the dough will not be fine or smooth enough. If too much play still remains between the plates, use a half-inch-diameter steel O-ring (not included) to secure the plates tightly together.

2). Although the mill comes with a fairly large attachable hopper, I actually believe it best not to use it for tortilla dough. Feed only a few tablespoons of rinsed nixtamalized corn into the mill at a time, dribbling in just a bit of water as you grind. You want to keep an eye on the process, and the mill's main assembly includes a feeding area that's the right size for this. Watch and monitor the corn as it moves down and through the large screw-shaped auger that feeds the corn to the grinding plates.

3). For masa that's fine enough, you'll probably need to grind it twice -- again, keeping the plates tightly together, and again, feeding in just a couple spoonfuls at a time. On the second grind you'll probably have to use a wooden spoon handle to occasionally coax the dough to the auger. A few drops of water will help, but not too much! Masa that's wet and sticky won't work.

The process obviously requires some labor, but if you're wondering if freshly milled masa is dramatically superior to dough made from dry masa harina, the answer is YES.

This mill is awesome. I can't believe it for the price. If this thing were made in the USA, it would be 3X the price at least. I've ground black beans and wheat berries through it so far. The picture is wheat berries (left) and the flour made from it using this grain mill (right). Will it make super fine flour like you buy at the store? No...But I think it can make it fine enough to make a coarser bread with, which is my goal here. The trick is to run whatever you're grinding through it successively to get it finer and finer each time. Time consuming? Yeah, a little. But it's fun work, and the kids love it. Also, super easy to assemble/disassemble to clean. After several time of use, no wear and tear is visible anywhere on the mill. I think this thing will last a long time as it's built very solidly (all the tough parts are cast iron, the handle is real wood, the hopper seems like it's aluminum, the bottom guard on the vice is rubber to keep from scratching any surfaces, and the only plastic piece is the little red cover). Very impressed and will probably buy another as back-up, for non-kitchen uses (like crushing up feed for young chickens).

Happy to have found this it.

Product arrived from Amazon US undamaged. Box was well packed and contents still in the packaging. This review is based on first impressions after unboxing only and will be updated after use.

Product quality is excellent. Material feels high quality cast, no sharp edges or burrs, tin coating is excellent. Everything feels high quality. Instruction manual is well written and informative.

Only thing to note is that there is a lot of metal particles on all parts, which is presumably leftover from the manufacturing process. As with all utensils and food related equipment that you buy, WASH (and thoroughly dry and oil) BEFORE FIRST USE! The instructions also state to grind something cheap (like rice or cheap beans) the first few uses to "prep" the mill to get rid of any final loose particles (which is most likely what these other reviewers see) - this should stop after the first few "prep grinds".

It's working wonderfully, if you follow the instructions, it comes with clear image and text instructions and it doesn't throw out metal shavings if you follow the "before you use" instructions on the back of the pamphlet that states you should wash it with warm, soapy water and run a couple of tests grinds of cheap grain (something like rolled oats) before you use it for making edible flour. This cleans out any manufacturing oils and knocks off any burs on the internals that could result in metal shavings in your flour.