In short, I would say ABSOLUTELY yes, the Nutrimill Harvest Grain Mill is definitely worth the money. Milling your own flour at home is a thrifty and nutritious way to feed your family, but there are so many grain mills on the market and they aren’t cheap! In this post, I aim to outline why I chose a Nutrimill Harvest Grain Mill and how I scored a good deal.
My Journey To Choosing The Nutrimill Harvest Grain Mill: Learning What I DIDN’T like
Let me begin by saying that at the beginning of my interest in milling my own flour, I was actually more interested in a hand crank grain mill like this. I was concerned about long term sustainability and desired a grain mill that I could use even if electricity wasn’t available. However, after watching some reviews on YouTube I decided a hand mill would not be the best option for various reasons. This video was what convinced me that I needed to find a different option as I wanted to use einkorn wheat and the hand crank mill wasn’t compatible with it unless motorized.
I began looking into other brands of grain mills but before I splurged and made the purchase, I wanted to make sure that my body would respond well to freshly milled flour. I had gone gluten free 6 months prior and was nervous to reintroduce gluten.
My mom had purchased a Nutrimill Plus Grain Mill earlier in the year but had been too busy to use it. I asked if I could borrow it and try a test run on how my body responded. I quickly found that I could handle the freshly milled flour! However, the Plus model wasn’t for me.
The Nutrimill Plus Grain Mill Pros
I will begin with the pros just so I don’t sound like a complete crabby pants:
The Plus model has a very large hopper and catching container which makes it nice for people who mill large amounts of flour at once.
The settings are easy to use and it mills a nice fine flour
Everything fits compactly together for easy storage and transportation if you plan on traveling with it or using it communally.
The catching container can hold a storage bag making cleanup slightly easier.
Now for the cons:
If you are someone who plans on milling flour as needed for maximum nutrient retention, the plus grain mill is not for you. If not cleaned properly the catching container lid does not seal. Knowing how much grain needed for a recipe depends on a lot of factors. Opening the lid to see how much flour I had always created a mess. The lid would not reseal unless thoroughly cleaned and flour would spurt out.
The Plus model has a lot of pieces that must be removed in order to clean properly. It was too much of a hassle if you needed to use the mill on a daily basis.
Although the Nutrimill Plus Mill does fit compactly together for storage, it was still too much to have out on my counter top. Being the girl that I am, I also wanted something that would be decent to look at if it was going to live on my counter. The Plus mill just didn’t fit the bill.
The Nutrimill Plus mill also seemed to operate fairly hot which isn’t the best for nutrient retention.
A Summary Of My Opinion On The Nutrimill Plus Grain Mill:
The Plus Model is a great option for those who would prefer to mill their flour in bulk. However, if you are like me and prefer to mill as you go, the Plus Mill is bothersome to continuously put together and disassemble for cleaning.
Enter The Nutrimill Harvest Grain Mill
After my experience with the Plus grain mill, I knew I wanted a grain mill that would be:
◆ Easy to clean
An included brush makes it simple to clean the mill. The millstones can’t be wet, it only takes a few moments to brush off and it’s very easy to put back together.
◆ Easy to see how much flour you have
The flour pours out of the spout directly into whatever container you are using. No lid to get in the way!
◆ Decent to look at on my counter and small footprint
After poking around YouTube and reading about the different models and companies of grain mills, I decided to go with the Nutrimill Harvest Grain Mill. It ticked all of the boxes on my list.
In addition, I also liked the fact that it uses a stone rather than a metal blade to mill the grain. This means it mills the grain at a lower temperature and is more durable. The corundum is nearly as hard as a diamond!
The mill housing is made from bamboo instead of plastic. Prettier to look at and more sustainable!
How I I Scored A Fabulous Deal On My Nutrimill Harvest Grain Mill
I’m a thrifty gal, and although I was willing to spend the $319 if I had to, I wanted to see if I could do better. Naturally, I searched on Ebay. Sadly, I found that some people were selling their Harvest Mill for only a little less than retail. Some of the listings tacked on $40 or more for shipping. Nutrimill has free shipping on their mills, so I knew buying from Ebay wasn’t my best option.
I decided to scroll all the way down on the Nutrimill website to see if they sold any refurbished mills. Sure enough they did! The Harvest model was available and had many different color options.
A refurbished Harvest Grain mill was listed at $199! They also had a $10 off coupon at the time, so my total was only $189. Saving $130, and free shipping, and I still get a warranty and free 30 day return if I don’t like it? Sign me up! I really couldn’t lose!
What Does Refurbished Mean?
According to the Nutrimill Website:
Our NutriMill certified refurbished products are pre-owned unused or lightly used appliances that have been inspected, cleaned, and tested by our in-house experts to meet NutriMill’s quality standards.
Due to the nature of refurbished mills, Nutrimill cannot guarantee that the mills are gluten free. If you are a person with Celiac, or have severe gluten intolerance, the refurbished program may not be for you. I couldn’t tell that my mill had ever been used. Either it was an unused return, or their cleaning process is very thorough. A brand new mill would be in your best interest if you must avoid gluten. There are so many gluten free grains that you can use to make your own gluten free flour at a fraction of what you spend at the store!
Naturally, the availability of a refurbished mill depends on if they have people returning mills. At the time I purchased my mill, they had refurbished mills from all of their models, but that has changed somewhat since I began to write this post. If you are in market for a Nutrimill grain mill (or any other brand) make sure to look for a refurbished program. It can save you a lot of money and still get a quality product with all the benefits of a new machine.
Cons Of The Harvest Grain Mill
I’ve already listed the pros of the Harvest grain mill, and even though the cons are few, I do feel the need to list them.
The machine is loud when in use. I’ve read conflicting views on which mills are the loudest and quietest. Some people have said that the Harvest is louder than the Plus and Classic grain mills, while other people say it is quieter. The fact is, it’s grinding a very hard grain. It’s not something you want to use while babies are sleeping or people who are sensitive to loud noises are around. This is something I can work around and it doesn’t bother me. My family knows not to talk to me while I’m milling ;P
The hopper is much smaller than other models from Nutrimill. It holds approximately 3-4 cups of grain at a time (this obviously varies on what is being milled). I usually only mill that much for most of my recipes anyway, but the few times I do need to mill more than that I don’t mind to stand and feed in more grain. It isn’t a bother and only requires a minute of my time.
The control settings took me a few tries to finally get down. I had been used to flipping a switch and turning a knob with the Plus mill. Getting the texture of flour I want is easy now that I understand how the Harvest mill works.
In Closing
Milling my own grain has been a wonderful way to feed my family nourishing food. The upfront cost of the Harvest grain mill is well worth the health benefits (and money savings!). Wheat berries and other whole grains store nearly indefinitely if kept dry and protected and are an excellent source of fiber, vitamins, minerals, and healthy carbohydrates. I have found that buying wheat berries is considerably less expensive than flour and the taste of fresh flour is unparalleled. I hope to write more on this subject in the future. Let me know in the comments if you have any more questions about the Nutrimill Harvest grain mill!
You can read more about the health benefits of freshly milled whole grain flour here.
Shalom and happy milling!
Olivia
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