Pepper and Salt Mills/Grinders

**Dave the Cook** · June 19, 2003

Chrome. They had some in wood, but they looked a little cheesy.

:shock:

Fingerprints!

=Mark · June 19, 2003

I use an Olde Thompson mill that I paid about $15 for years ago. It uses a ceramic grinder that has a lifetime warranty. Cheap, durable and reliable. It also saves time as I don't have to stop and search through the food for the top nut that use to always pop off at the worst time with my old mill.

fresco · June 19, 2003

Fingerprints could be a problem, but the wooden models all seemed to be the starter version or something. Priced that way too. BTW, with the promptness and quality of the feedback I got, it did occur to me that Cooks Illustrated and Consumer Reports could be headed for obsolescence.

Edited June 19, 2003 by fresco (log)

**JAZ** · June 20, 2003

I have four or five mills, none of which work very well. I got to wondering what my Mom had, since hers is at least twenty years old, beat all to hell and still works beautifully. So I just called her and asked. Peugeot.
Does anyone have experience with the Magnum?
It's highly recommended by Cook's Illustrated and Alton Brown.

I have both a Peugeot and a Magnum and like them both. My Peugeot is old enough that it has the center core that makes it very difficult to fill, which is my only real complaint about it. Also, since the top know controls the grind, when you refill it you have to play around to find the grind you want. It does a great fine grind but doesn't seem to do so well on the coarser grinds.

The Magnum, on the other hand, is a breeze to fill. It can grind pepper so coarse it's practically just cracked, which can be nice in some applications (steak au poivre, for example), but it doesn't seem to be able to achieve a really fine grind like the Peugeot does. It produces a lot of pepper with each twist, which is good. It also has a little tray to catch the pepper dust, so it's a bit neater.

I use the Peugeot for white peppercorns and the Magnum for black.

mamster · June 20, 2003

I was going to talk about my experience with the Magnum, but JAZ totally nailed it, right down to my using my Magnum for black peppercorns and my old-school (Mr. Dudley, not Peugeot) for white. I'm sure someday I'm going to melt the Magnum on the stove, but it surprisingly hasn't happened yet, and I've had it for years.

jeniac42 · June 20, 2003

A bit late here, but I have one of the Peugeot peppermills (this one) as well as a Zassenhaus (the kind you can buy at Penzey's). I paid $4 for the Peugeot when it was on the clearance table at Williams-Sonoma. :biggrin:

I use the Peugeot heavily every day at work and it has been truly excellent; it produces a very reliable grind. The only problem I have with it is that the screw that holds the top on and adjusts the grind has a tendency to get bumped loose in my apron, and then the top falls off and I've got an apron full of peppercorns. The Zassenhaus is impractical for work because of the crank mechanism, but it also produces a nice, even grind. It hasn't seen the heavy use of the Peugeot so I can't speak directly to its reliability.

Alas, the Peugeot has a ding in it now (unfortunate encounter with my wine key in the apron pocket, I imagine), but it's still one of the prettiest peppermills I know.

nerissa · June 20, 2003

My mother has one made by Cartier that she inherited from her mother; it must be 30 years old. It is excellent.

Suvir Saran · June 20, 2003

Does anyone know anything about William Bounds company? They also make pepper mills. How do they rate? Any good?

neroasoluto · June 21, 2003

I'm most interested in getting a peppermill that can be operated with one hand. I had one years ago but I've never seen one recently. Any info would be appreciated.

tommy · June 21, 2003

I'm most interested in getting a peppermill that can be operated with one hand. I had one years ago but I've never seen one recently. Any info would be appreciated.

i gots this one. works fine for most applications, although if you have a lot to grind, it gets tiring.

neroasoluto · June 22, 2003

I'm most interested in getting a peppermill that can be operated with one hand. I had one years ago but I've never seen one recently. Any info would be appreciated.
i gots this one. works fine for most applications, although if you have a lot to grind, it gets tiring.

With a couple squeezes of the Mighty Mouse ears, you'll have a freshly ground pepper topping on your favorite dish. Acrylic peppermill comes filled with our own blend of gourmet peppercorns. Grinding mechanism is fully adjustable from a coarse to a fine grind.

This looks great. It goes so well with the rabbit. Thanks Tommy

tommy · June 22, 2003

This looks great. It goes so well with the rabbit. Thanks Tommy

my pleasure. hell, i even kept the pepper that it came with as it wasn't so bad.

Basilgirl · July 30, 2003

On Barefoot Contessa on The Food Network, Ina Garten uses the coolest pepper grinder. It is white plastic with a handle on the side. I have a little dinky wooden one which, while cute, constantly needs refilling, and several larger wooden ones that don't work. :blink:

I saw the name of it on the fan boards on foodtv.com but that thread is long gone. Can anyone help me out?

Toliver · July 30, 2003

On Barefoot Contessa on The Food Network, Ina Garten uses the coolest pepper grinder. It is white plastic with a handle on the side.

Is it a handle that is cranked or is it a handle that is pressed or is it just a handle to hold onto?

My brother gave me a white plastic pepper mill from Bed, Bath & Beyond that is actually battery operated. It has a silver handle on the side that you press to operate. Works like a charm. You can adjust the grind, too. If that's what you're talking about, I can post the maker/brand tomorrow.

babyluck · July 30, 2003

I had one like that -- unrequested wedding gift from Pampered Chef. Used it for 2 years cuz I never found the perfect "real" grinder. Now I have a nice one, and I miss that crappy one. The coarseness dial on the bottom is useless -- you get coarse no matter what, and it has a very flimsy feel to it. But it's totally convenient. I have the pump one from C&B now and it's not nearly as easy to use one-handed. I also miss the coarse cracked pepper taste everything had while I was using it.

I think I've seen another version other than Pampered Chef, but where I don't know.

Basilgirl · July 30, 2003

On Barefoot Contessa on The Food Network, Ina Garten uses the coolest pepper grinder. It is white plastic with a handle on the side.
Is it a handle that is cranked or is it a handle that is pressed or is it just a handle to hold onto?
My brother gave me a white plastic pepper mill from Bed, Bath & Beyond that is actually battery operated. It has a silver handle on the side that you press to operate. Works like a charm. You can adjust the grind, too. If that's what you're talking about, I can post the maker/brand tomorrow.

Sorry to be so vague...the "handle" grinds the peppercorns - you turn it. The grinder is kind of rectangular-shaped and it looks like it grinds a lot quickly. It's on the tip of my brain where you can order it on-line but I've tried most of the bigger on-line stores and it ain't to be found. :angry:

Basilgirl · July 30, 2003

I found it!!!!

It's called a Pepper Mate.

Kind of expensive.

Now debating to buy or not to buy.

:wacko:

Chad · July 30, 2003

Wait! Wait! Before you buy it, take a look at the Magnum Pepper Mill. I have the smaller Magnum (rather than the Magnum Plus), but the thing is amazing. Even my smaller one will hold nearly a full jar of peppercorns, the grind is adjustable (except for very fine, which it doesn't do well), is easy to load and cranks out more pepper in a quarter turn than four turns of my crappy wooden one.

Very cool.

Chad

Edited July 30, 2003 by Chad (log)

dscott · July 31, 2003

On Barefoot Contessa on The Food Network, Ina Garten uses the coolest pepper grinder. It is white plastic with a handle on the side.
Is it a handle that is cranked or is it a handle that is pressed or is it just a handle to hold onto?
My brother gave me a white plastic pepper mill from Bed, Bath & Beyond that is actually battery operated. It has a silver handle on the side that you press to operate. Works like a charm. You can adjust the grind, too. If that's what you're talking about, I can post the maker/brand tomorrow.

I received a battery operated pepper mill as a gift once. After about 6 months it started grinding by itself (i.e., when no one was pushing the button or, for that fact, anywhere near it). That was a very scary kitchen poltergeist moment. On the other hand, at least the ghost enjoyed well-seasoned food.

I stick to the manual models now.

pjs · July 31, 2003

I had a really hard time justifying spending 50 bucks for a freakin' pepper grinder. Until I got my Magnum Plus. The BIG one (Chad: :raz: ).

The Magnum is unique as you adjust the grind from the bottom of the mill. This design lets you adjust the grinding surfaces much farther away from each other than ones that do it from the top. In other words, it does crushed pepper. I've stopped smashing peppercorns with a skillet on the counter-top for Steak au Poivre and Pollo alla Diavola. Worth every dollar spent.

PJ

jawbone · August 1, 2003

The Magnum Plus was worth every dollar (even the shipping cost to Canada). Super adjustable, huge capacity, very fast. Even cooler is the Mini-Magnum, which stands 3" tall and comes in a little pouch to take with you on the road. It's very cute.

Toliver · August 4, 2003

Just saw a repeat episode of "America's Test Kitchen" on PBS this weekend that had a segment on pepper grinders. They put different mills through their tests and the Magnum Plus came out the clear winner...speak of the devil! They also liked the battery-operated mill I have but recommended the Magnum due to the vast quantities it output with each twist. I just may have to step up to the Magnum.

The host of the show did comment that it looked like the "Darth Vader" of pepper mills and wasn't very attractive but that's a vanity issue.

As an aside, they also did a blind taste test on pepper and the surprising winner was McCormick's whole peppercorn in a glass jar (the ones in a plastic jar didn't keep their flavor as well). They said to steer clear of any pre-ground pepper as it comparitively had no flavor at all. Vietnamese peppercorns also scored high on the test but they said McCormick was the more economical choice.

tjaehnigen · August 7, 2003

I have a battery powered one that is just perfect for everyday use. Need to get a big one for wow factor though for use tableside. Kind of like buying magums and other large format bottles of wine -- they're just fun.

=Mark · August 7, 2003

I use an Old Thompson acrylic mill with a ceramic grinder that's supposed to last forever...

schaem · August 7, 2003

peugot.

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