Grinding Spices

[Marzoli]

I would like to grind some dried lemon grass, but I haven't managed to get it into a powder yet. I bought an electric grinder that advertised being for spices as well as coffee-I don't grind my own coffee , but I thought it should work out well for spices. It's easy to clean and has a lot of power. Unfortunately, I never get all the pieces ground up. I can't use the kind of grinder that you twist by hand-hand issues-so I hoped an electric one would work.
I looked for lemon grass powder, but I can't tell by the write up if it is powder or more of the pieces.
Any ideas?

[foodpump]

Uh, why do you want to grind up DRY lemongass? Kinda like those little glass bottles of dried basil at the Safeway and fresh basil--night and day.

That being said, lemon grass is very tough and stringy. For marinades I like to chop it coursely and then run it through the meat grinder. For soups and stews I bash/bruise the he** out of it with the back of a heavy knife, tie it up with butcher's twine and throw it in the pot.

[Marzoli]

Well, it's like this. Fresh lemon grass is not available. The dried stuff is hard--really hard-and it stays that way after cooking-like in a soup.
I'd thought of putting it in an empty tea bag, but I didn't know if the flavor would come out that way.
And most of all, my husband hates things that resemble hard yard clippings in his food.
So . . . that's why.

[cliveb]

Originally Posted by Marzoli

Well, it's like this. Fresh lemon grass is not available. The dried stuff is hard--really hard-and it stays that way after cooking-like in a soup.
.

Try drying it out even more in the oven ( on min) for about 30 minutes or so, then blitz it in the coffee grinder. It'll become more brittle with the heat and therefore a little easier to grind.

If it doesnt grind up completely, not to worry - just pass it through a fine sieve and discard the big bits afterwards!

[foodpump]

Trot off to the dollar store and get one of those tea balls. You know, the kind that looks like a s/s ball perforated with holes that you can screw together.
I use them all the time ' cause I'm too lazy to fish out bay leaves, etc from my soups....

[scott123]

My lemon grass recipes invariably have some form of liquid. I combine the lemongrass and the liquid in a blender and blend it for a while. Does the trick.

As the previous poster mentioned, I highly highly recommend fresh lemongrass. Missouri has to have something in the way of an Asian grocer. Most Asian grocers have fresh lemongrass.

[mudbug]

Originally Posted by Marzoli

Well, it's like this. Fresh lemon grass is not available. The dried stuff is hard--really hard-and it stays that way after cooking-like in a soup.
I'd thought of putting it in an empty tea bag, but I didn't know if the flavor would come out that way.
And most of all, my husband hates things that resemble hard yard clippings in his food.
So . . . that's why.

Exactly what city are you located in?
What dishes are you attempting to make?
Where are you getting dried lemon grass?

[MikeLM]

Marzoli-
Penzey's has - presumably ground - lemon grass. I would suppose they got grinders that can handle it.

Mike

[Mezzaluna]

Mike, they do- but cross-cuts of dried lemon grass only, nothing ground.

http://www.penzeys.com/cgi-bin/penze...emongrass.html

[MikeLM]

Mezz' - I only looked in their catalog; they don't specify the condition.

Mike

[Nentony]

A few months ago I got the lemongrass from penzeys. I was curious. I'm chewing on a piece right now. It's dried stalks, cross cut as Mezzaluna said. I can't imagine it being powdered. You could steep it as mentioned or tie it in a bouquet garni. Pleasant flavor but none of the brightness you get with fresh.

Tony

[Yuesang]

We use a lot of fresh lemon grass in Asian cooking.
You do not get the same refreshing fragrance from dried lemon grass even if they are not grinded to powder. It is unlike other herbs.
Anyway, try to locate the ready bottled dreid lemon grass under 'Master Foods'

[Suzanne]

Thai Kitchen brand makes a dried lemongrass -- it's not completely powdered, but rather like teeny-tiny fibers. Not very noticeable in a dish as "hard yard clippings."

The sachet or teaball idea would work well for the dried crosscuts -- but would need long cooking in liquid to release the flavor.

In any case, as Yeusang said, you won't get quite the same effect from dried as you would from fresh. But it still beats substituting lemon peel.

[Yuesang]

Suzanne
I agree that lemon peel is not totally a good substitute for lemon grass as the fragrance of the former is different although they share the same name.
Yuesang

[Marzoli]

I found a squeeze bottle of lemongrass at the store. I haven't used it yet, so I don't really know what I have bought. But I plan to try it in the near future. Anybody had any experience with that?
I really like the flavor of lemongrass in the Thai food at restaurants. Now if I could just manage to try it at home . . .
We have no shade in our yard at all, and I know nothing about trying to grow it. I don't know if it would even grow in southeast Missouri. I have thought of looking into that.
Thanks for all the responses!