Family Grain Mill or Flaker Mill W/ Kitchenaid Adaptor & Hand Crank

    Family Grain Mill - I have only used the mill on two occasions with my 400W Kitchen Aid (not hand crank). It works well. The KA did not overheat. I milled 4-5 cups, running it through 2 times (coarse, then fine) each occasion. The grain is not as fine as store bought, but my cookies turned out fine. The only thing about the grain mill that I did not like was that the feeder (corkscrew rotating piece) that delivers the wheat to the grinder was made of ABS? plastic. After the first use, it was nicked, scratched and rough. I was afraid tiny plastic pieces may have been ground with the flour. No chunks of plastic were missing though. I think if it was made of metal it would have been better. I also would have appreciated more instructions, i.e. should I run some wheat through and throw that away, wash each part before and after use, will metal rust? Overall, I am happy with it.

    Excellent for the money! - If you have a KitchenAid, it's hard to go wrong with this unit. It's not terribly fast, but it grinds fine and cool; nearly as fine as my Wondermill and much cooler. The ability to add the flaker or hand operation is also a plus.

    Family Grain Mill/Flaker Mill/Gods Processor/Grind - This is the finest new kitchen system I have ever owned. I have over 20 years in the restaurant business. I purchased the motor base, hand base, and KitchenAid attachment. From my many years of food experience I know that the only way to insure that I am getting the highest quality organic diet is to be able to have control of the very basics. I am so pleased with the quality of the breads, cereals, and pastas I am able to create with my Family Mill system. And I now have the added security that no matter what happens with the global and local markets I am set to sustain my healthy lifestyle.

    Go for the motorized base - Readers of this review should keep in mind that I have had this grain mill for less than a year, so I can't comment about its long-term durability or the amount of use one gets out of a single grinding blade/burr. That said, this is a fantastic product. It's the first grain mill I've ever owned, but the quality of the materials seems to be very high. The plastic (PVC?) body is thick and durable, while the stainless steel burr is actually stainless (although I am always careful to wash and dry mine immediately after using). I used it every week to make enough bread to last until the next grinding. It works as well now as when I got it five months ago. I bought mine with the wooden hand-crank base, which served me pretty well for making flour for bread, but it took a long time and a lot of cranking. Within a couple of months, I bought the attachment for the KitchenAid mixer and haven't been sorry. The reasons for wanting a motorized base for this grain mill are fairly obvious, but a few details might make the purchasing decision easier for some: when grinding wheat berries for flour, I found that I usually needed to grind the grain twice to get it fine enough. That's not to say that I couldn't make bread with flour from only a single hand-cranked batch. I can and did, but the bread turned out pretty "Wheaty". Still good, definitely edible, just not as chewy and nice. An option for anyone who doesn't want to buy a motorized base is that the hand-crank that fits into the wooden base is a pretty standard hex size (can't remember the size, but it's included in a typical hex wrench set). It would be pretty easy to cut the hex wrench with a hack saw and fit it to a power drill. You'd have to hold the drill while grinding, up to five minutes or so, but it would work, and for much less money if you don't already have a stand mixer. I gave this Family Grain Mill four stars because I think a five-star rating should be reserved for truly inspired products. iPods get five stars. This is not the iPod of grain mills, but it's still a great product.

    Great product! Great service! - I order the grain flaker attachment late Monday night and received it on Friday! Fast service even with free shipping! I love it. The flaker has been great. We use it almost everyday. Easy enough for my children to operate the hand crank. I haven't tried the Kitchenaid attachment yet, but overall very satisfied. Thanks!