Komo Mill

The time had come for us to purchase a grain mill. We wanted to have a good mill that would allow us to buy wheat berries and other grains and to grind them as needed. I was surprised to learn that flour starts to spoil immediately after it is milled. In fact, according to Pleasant Hill Grain:

• wheat flour loses 40% of its vitamin content in the first 24 hours after milling and 85-90% after 2-3 more days. 
• Unsaturated fats in the wheat germ oxidize/go rancid.
• B Vitamins are destroyed by light and air.
• Beneficial enzymes start working and play themselves out.
• Vitamin A is diminished.
• Vitamin E, which is an antioxidant that helps to protect flour from oxidation, deteriorates once milled, especially if the conditions become moist.

So to increase nutrition and decrease the store bought versions with additives and preservatives we opted to grind flour as it was needed at our house. After a long process of evaluating what we features we wanted and the different options of mills we choose the Komo Mill Fidibus 21.

This mill will grind hard or soft wheat, oat groats (dehulled oats), rice, triticale, kamut, spelt, buckwheat, barley, rye, millet, teff, quinoa, amaranth, sorghum and dent (field) corn. It will also grind spices, lentils and dry beans (pinto, red, garbanzo, kidney & more.) It isn't suitable for herbs, oilseeds like flax or sesame, nuts, popcorn, or fibrous materials, but that didn't seem to matter since we have a spice mill for those items.

Results:
I LOVE this mill. More importantly my husband LOVES this mill. It is quiet, does not heat the grain, and works like a charm. I am really happy with our purchase. The mill cost just over $400 which seems like a lot (or at least I thought it was a lot), but considering we use the mill nearly every day, and it makes a huge difference in the taste and texture of our flour, we are very happy.

Tip: 

We live in a small, old, log cabin and we do have ants and other annoying bugs. Bugs really like flour and have a tendency to climb up into the mill to get at the remnants of the flour. To avoid this we cut up a pair of nylons and put a strip of the nylon around the mill. Then when the mill is not in use we pull the stocking strip up to cover the spout. Works like a charm!

Strip of nylon pushed down to use

Strip of nylon pulled over spout