people who need to grind a small amount of a food, such as spices or grain, for their own cooking often use a hand-powered mortar and pestle or a hand-powered grinder, such as a pepper grinder. in the 2000s, many people also used electric-powered grinding mills. these kitchen appliances have a metal blade that grinds the food into small pieces. electric-powered grinding mills are often used for grinding nuts or coffee.