Design and Development of a Portable Spice Roaster Cum Grinder

Abstract

Spices play a vital role in food products by enhancing the flavor, aroma, and nutritional value. The overall quality of the spices relies on a proper roasting and grinding process. By using methods, we can’t achieve the best quality of spice powders because these processes may lead to the damage of volatile compounds, excessive moisture removal, and uneven roasting of spices. To avoid such problems, we have designed a portable spice roaster cum grinder in a compact size for the usage of households and small-scale industries .Our system integrates roasting and grinding using Arduino-based control mechanism to ensure controlled time and temperature during the processing time. Experimental trails were done for the coriander and cumin seeds.
For coriander (initial weight: 25 g), the efficiency increased gradually from 1.6% to 6.4% with increasing roasting time. The optimum condition was selected at Trial 7, where the final weight was 23.5 g with an efficiency of 6%. At this stage, uniform light brown color, strong aroma, and absence of burning were observed, indicating effective roasting.For cumin (initial weight: 25 g), the efficiency ranged from 2.0% to 6.8%. The optimum condition was achieved at Trial 6, with a final weight of 23.4 g and an efficiency of 6.4%. Cumin showed slightly higher efficiency due to its smaller size and higher surface area, allowing faster heat transfer and moisture removal.Grinding efficiency reached 100% at 25 seconds for coriander and 20 seconds for cumin, producing fine powder of uniform particle size. The developed system demonstrated improved efficiency, consistency, reduced processing time, and better retention of flavor and aroma.