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Oat Roller / Flaker Mill Comparison Review

Rolled Oat from an Oat Roller

Rolled oats are convenient, inexpensive, and versatile, but there is nothing like the taste of fresh rolled oats. To obtain this freshness, you must have an oat roller. There are several rollers or flakers on the market. I have personally tested and sell three of them. The Marga Oat Roller, Norpro Grain Grinder, and the Family Flaker Mill.

 

Marga Oat Roller

Marga Oat Roller

The first oat roller our family purchased was a Marga Oat Roller. It is a very simple machine which is used to roll oats and other grains. This roller clamps on a table or counter and is operated by a hand crank. The mechanism used consists of three roller bars which the grain is forced through. It can be operated on setting 1 for a coarse flour or settings 2 and 3 for flakes. Oat groats flake better than any other grain using this machine. Other grains are harder and tend to crack before they flake. They must be soaked before attempting to roll them. I have enjoyed cracking wheat to get a whole grain cereal similar to Cream of Wheat. I also crack other grains such as rye or buckwheat groats for a similar texture.

Marga Oat Roller Is Trouble-free

This machine operates so easily that a four year old has no trouble turning out a hopper full of oats. During the more than 5 years I have owned this oat roller, I have never had a problem with the machine, nor has it required any maintenance to keep it fully functional. The rollers are made of aluminum that release absolutely no metal residue. The only troubles reported by customers I have sold these to were simple defects in the clamp or hand crank. The company quickly sent out a replacement part with no cost to the customers.

Find Your Setting

This machine is one that I had to play with to find the right setting for me. The oats coming out on setting three are thick, and hearty. They resemble old fashioned oats. We prefer this, as you actually get to chew when you eat them instead of them being mushy. One drawback of the machine is that it does not come apart so oily grains cannot be run through it alone or they will clog the rollers.

Marga Oat Roller Can Mill Flour

While it usually is not marketed as a grain mill, this machine is capable of making a coarse flour. It will never be fine enough to make a light and airy bread, but if no other grinder is available, it will make a coarse meal that can be used. I’ve gotten spoiled by some good quality grain mills, so I don’t use this for grinding flour.

Purchase the Marga Oat Roller / Grain Flaker at KitchenKneads.com

Norpro Grain Grinder

Norpro Grain Grinder

A little over two years ago a company named Norpro came out with a machine they marketed as a grain grinder that is identical in appearance to the Marga Oat Roller. This machine is made in China, whereas the Marga is made in Italy. This roller performs identically to the Marga in all ways, but it does have textured rollers made of hardened surgical steel, instead of the aluminum of the Marga. It has a three year warranty.

Norpro is Versaile

The company says it will grind wheat, rye, barley, soy and other dry seeds or legumes. I have not attempted to grind all of these grains. Since it has only been on the market for a little over two years, its long-term durability is still being tested. To date I, nor any customers of mine, have had any issues with this model.

Purchase the Norpro Oat Roller / Grain Flaker at Amazon.com

Family Flaker Mill

Family Flaker Mill

A third grain roller I have used is the Family Flaker Mill. This also operates with a hand crank, but there is a motor base available as well as adaptors to use it with a Bosch Universal Plus and Bosch Compact Mixer, Kitchen Aid stand mixers, Viking mixer, and the Kitchenetics Kitchen Machine. It is very easy to operate by hand, but the motor does cut the time to complete the rolling in half.

Family Flaker Mill Flakes Many Grains

This flaker will flake other grains besides oats without the extra step of soaking. It will easily handle wheat, rye, spelt, kamut, and flax seeds. One great feature is that it is quick and easy to take apart for cleaning. This makes it ideal for those with someone in the house who is gluten intolerant and doesn’t want the gluten from one grain to contaminate a gluten-free grain. Simply roll or flake the gluten containing grain, wash the machine, and then roll or flake the gluten-free grains.

Family Flaker Mill is Trouble-free

The product is made of Lexan with hardened surgical steel rollers. Like the other rollers, I have never had a problem with this roller nor had any customers with complaints. This is only a roller/flaker, not a grain grinder of any kind. It will not make flour, but there is another attachment that can be bought to make flour.

Purchase the Family Flaker Mill / Oat Roller at homestylemercantile.com

The Best Oat Roller For You

When trying to choose which machine is best to purchase, one must decided what you want your machine to do. If you want the ability to grind flour occasionally, the Family Flaker Mill will not work. If having absolutely no metallic residue in your grains is really important, the Marga is the way to go. It is the only one on the market that has aluminum rollers. Cost can also be a factor. The Norpro machine is about half the price of the Marga. The Family Flaker Mill with the hand crank is close to $150, but you can use the hand crank with other attachments. If flaking grains is your primary goal, the Family Flaker Mill can’t be beat. You can add a mixture of grains, flake them, and in minutes have a super nutritious multi-grain hot cereal on a cold morning or a multi-grain muesli on a hot morning.

      – – Review done by Jodi Hein

 

(check out our Flaking Your Own Grains article)

 

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  • Can you let me have the contact details of NORPRO Company?

    John
  • please let me have address for the above mentioned FOR GRAIN FLOKER MACHINES

    DIMITRIS
  • http://www.norpro.com/forms/82/contact-us

    farvey
  • I have been looking for a good grain mill. So far, favoring the Country Living Mill, even though it is aluminum. Looked at the grainmaker out of Montana; it cost more and Im reading it is harder to use and puts out less.. and fails at nut butters and other grains. Besides needing to have fine enough flour to make breads and pasta, it must be durable enough that I can depend on it when Im way out in the Alaskan bush, far from grid power and supplies. This is true of ALL equipment I buy for the cabin.. but also looking for something at home. I am looking at flakers as well. Your Marga looks incredibly like an the Italian made Atlas pasta maker. What Im wondering is what kind of spacing is used between the rollers to roll/flake grains. Im interested in your opinions on mills, and, roller spacing. Thanks.

    Gary
  • The Marga oat roller is made by the same company as the Atlas pasta maker, quality company in my opinion. I have the Marga roller and it rolls quite flat. I don’t know the exact spacing and the manual does not tell me either. It has 4 settings for rolling oat or grains that range from really flat to slightly smashed, I am sure that home beer brewers would like it. I love my Marga oat roller and would recommend it to anyone looking to roll oats or make real cereal grain. I would not recommend it for use as a grain mill to make flour. I have to run wheat through 3 times and it still comes out very gritty, not good for bread and baked goods.

    Aiden
  • Marga rollers are NOT made of aluminum as the review states above. They are made of synthetic steel alloy. I checked into it because I was concerned after reading this review that they had changed to aluminum. Best to always double check what you read. Honest mistakes happen to everyone.

    Shannon
  • Please note that the flakers made in Italy (by OMC Marcato) have anodized aluminum rollers. There is no metal known as synthetic steel. Synthetic steel is not made from metal at all, but rather synthetic fibers. The fibers are then woven into synthetic steel cable (which floats and is not metal at all) or spun into synthetic steel wool pads (used for cleaning purposes). The sure fire test is that a simple solid magnet will be attracted to hardened steel as used in the original factory specifications for the Marga Mulino. A magnet will not be attracted to aluminum or aluminum alloys. Although aluminum is an excellent choice for many purposes, it should never be used in processing or cooking fresh grains or products made from fresh ground flours.

    Martin
  • I never knew to stay away from aluminum as a material when using grains or fresh ground flour…thanks for the tip!

    Peter Svenson
  • Hi,

    I have a Family Flaker Mill, but when I try to roll anything other than oats, it simply cracks the grain. I have tries wheat, buckwheat, millet, and some others. I even tried the soaking method once, but then the grains got stuck going into the rollers, and it wasn’t practical. Also, the rolled oats are very thick… Even more so than old-fashioned oats. Am I doing something wrong? Thanks for any help you can provide. The rollers are knurled, which affects the appearance, but that’s no big deal. If I could get the results you claim here, I would be very happy!

    Ray Dickinson

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