meat grinder

Modern hand food grinder (Alfa Inc) A meat grinder in operation

A meat grinder (also called a "meat mincer" in the UK) is a kitchen appliance for mincing (UK) or grinding (US) meat, fish, vegetables and other foods, raw or cooked. It replaces tools like the mincing knife. The food to be minced is placed into a funnel on the top of the grinder. From there, the material enters a horizontal screw conveyor, which may be hand-cranked or motorized. The screw compresses the food against a set of knives pressing against a fixed plate with holes in it. The fineness of the mince depends on the size of the holes.