Powders are very easy to make and have a wonderful range of uses. Here for example are just a few of them:

• Celery powder can be added to salt to make celery salt
• Strawberry powder can be added to milk, yoghurt, cream or ice cream for a delicious instant real strawberry taste
• Powdered tomato adds great taste to pasta or mashed potato
• Powdered beetroot when added in the tiniest of quantities (literally a small pinch) to clear drinks creates a magical vibrant pink colour without affecting the taste.
• Powdered chillies can be used to make your own spice mixes

Making powders

Step 1 – Gather your Equipment

• Coffee Grinder or Magic Bullet/Nutribullet
• Soft paint brush
• Small funnel
• Storage bottles

Step 2 – Processing

Select whatever you want to pulverise, the drier the better. In this case I am using dried tomato. (putting the dried food in to the freezer for half an hour helps with really sticky stuff)

If necessary cut into smaller pieces to make it easier to process.

Grind until a fine powder forms. (Dont strain the motor – do it in short bursts until all the dried ingredients have been powdered)

Tip: My grinder has a transparent domed lid and I have noticed that the powder is ready when the interior of the dome is completely covered in a fine film of powder.

Step 3 – Transferring to a Storage Bottle

Place your funnel in the bottle you will be using for storage. Using the paint brush, coax the powder into the funnel and tap the funnel against the side of the bottle a number of times to get the powder to drop into the storage bottle. If it clumps in the narrow part of the funnel, you can dislodge the blockage using a skewer or a toothpick.

Brush as much of the powder out of the grinder bowl as possible as if left it can gum up the works and damage your grinder.

Tip: I found that the cut off top part of a plastic drinks bottle makes a great funnel as the width of the narrower end is still wide enough to prevent clogging.

Step 4 – Storage

Commercial powders have various unwelcome additives to keep the powder loose. If you will be using the powder up quite quickly this wont be a problem, but for long term storage I would advise adding a small Oxygen Absorberwhich will help to stop the powder from clumping.

And there you have it – pure, natural food powders!

So far I have successfully powdered the following:

• Strawberry
• Onion
• Tomato
• Garlic
• Celery
• Ginger
• Mushroom
• Chillies