Flaxseed Grinders

Flax seed is usually sold in one of two forms. Either you can buy the whole flaxseed and grind it yourself or you can buy flax seed which is already ground. Ground flaxseed is sometimes called 'flaxseed meal' or 'flax meal' or 'linseed'. In Europe, the most common English name for flaxseed is in fact linseed.

The advantage of buying flax seed whole and then grinding it yourself, is that you can be assured that the maximum nutrients are still in the seed. The whole flax seed will last much longer in your cupboard.

If you do buy flax seed which is already ground, make sure to check the preparation date on the package. It should not be more than a couple of days old. Once you bring it home, store it in in an airtight container in your fridge (or preferably your freezer) and don't use it for more than two months. Ground flaxseed will go rancid and will lose nutritional status with time.

Flaxseed grinders are available at kitchen stores and online, but an electric coffee grinder will work just as well.

Here are two examples of flax seed grinders. The top one is called the OXO Grind-IT Organic Flax Seed Grinder. This is sheer marketing genius, eh? To call it "Organic" although there is nothing organic about the product itself ;-).

The OXO grinder has received poor reviews on Amazon. I wouldn't recommend it. People say that it takes forever to grind a tablespoon of flax seed using this grinder. It's only useful if you want to sprinkle just a bit of flaxseed over something.

The second grinder pictured here is the William Bounds Electric Flax Seed Mill. The product is not yet available, but you can pre-order. Because it's brand new there are no reviews yet on Amazon. If someone buys it, I'd appreciate your comments about it here.


If you already have a coffee grinder at home, this should work perfectly well for grinding your flax seeds. A very popular coffee bean grinder is the basic Braun model pictured here. The price is right at $15 and it is a very durable grinder and should last you for several years.