Wet grinder

A wet grinder can refer either to a tool for abrasive cutting of hard materials or to a food preparation appliance used especially in Indian cuisine for grinding food grains to produce a paste or batter. A wet grinder for abrasive cutting uses fluid for lubrication or cooling; for food preparation, a wet grinder combines water to grain as it is ground to produce a batter.

The tabletop wet grinder is derived from the melanger, which was developed by the chocolate industry in the early 19th century.^[1]

^ Making Chocolate: From Bean to Bar to S'more: A Cookbook. Clarkson Potter/Ten Speed. 2017. p. 84. ISBN 9780451495365. Melangers typically have a smaller capacity than other industrial mills, so most large makers don't use them; Hershey did, but abandoned them in the 1950s for larger-capacity ball mills. This was about the same time that the electric motor reached India, where melangers were co-opted for making dosas (fermented rice-and-bean creps) because they produce less heat than other mills and preserve the living enzymes in dosa batter.

[1] Making Chocolate: From Bean to Bar to S'more: A Cookbook. Clarkson Potter/Ten Speed. 2017. p. 84. ISBN 9780451495365. Melangers typically have a smaller capacity than other industrial mills, so most large makers don't use them; Hershey did, but abandoned them in the 1950s for larger-capacity ball mills. This was about the same time that the electric motor reached India, where melangers were co-opted for making dosas (fermented rice-and-bean creps) because they produce less heat than other mills and preserve the living enzymes in dosa batter.

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