Pepper and Salt Mills/Grinders

[Smithy]

I bought this Peugeot electric pepper grinder for my darling in 2010 and it's still going strong.  It's his favorite pepper grinder because it has a generous output and he can use it one-handed - very practical for handheld foods like corn on the cob. The light in the base helps see where one is peppering in low light conditions.  I can't speak to its adjustments because he prefers a coarse grind. It's pretty easy on the batteries.  I think we change them once, maybe twice a year - and this gets used at least one meal each day.

[Shelby]

I don't know how many pepper mills I went through until I cowboy'd up and spent the money on this Atlas pepper mill made in Greece.  I know I've had it for at least 10 years, probably more.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

My peppermill is a Nissen 0660 -- with, of course, a Nissen mechanism.  It's been in daily use on the order of forty years.  No complaints.

 

Pepper was on sale today so I came home with two jars of peppercorns.

 

[chromedome]

16 hours ago, FrogPrincesse said:

Peugeot here. It's a very common brand of pepper mills in France that's been around for a long time. I really like mine! It looks like this one.

 

I usually look for grinders with a Peugeot mechanism as well. I went through a ton of mills when I was younger, then got one with Peugeot workings that outlived all the others put together (it died when the casing was broken accidentally by one of my kids). In the thirty or so intervening years I've had two others die on me under similar circumstances, but the mechanism always worked well. Right now I have a matched pair of them in brushed steel and polycarbonate (pretty accident-resistant) which hold the salt and pepper for my table. 

 

I know "fresh-ground" salt is a ludicrous affectation, but I like the look of the matched set. 

[Shel_B]

37 minutes ago, chromedome said:

 

I usually look for grinders with a Peugeot mechanism as well. I went through a ton of mills when I was younger, then got one with Peugeot workings that outlived all the others put together (it died when the casing was broken accidentally by one of my kids). In the thirty or so intervening years I've had two others die on me under similar circumstances, but the mechanism always worked well. Right now I have a matched pair of them in brushed steel and polycarbonate (pretty accident-resistant) which hold the salt and pepper for my table. 

 

I know "fresh-ground" salt is a ludicrous affectation, but I like the look of the matched set. 

 

I purchased a Peugeot pepper grinder about 25 years ago, and it's been giving me satisfactory service since then.  Mine is made of olive wood - very nice.  It's not the easiest grinder to refill, but I've got the hang of it, and as long as I don't rush, it's just fine.  I should note that some of the peppercorns I use are a little larger than most, so I definitely must take care loading the grinder.  However, since the grinder is refilled rarely, it's a small price to pay for longevity, excellent construction, and the beauty and feel of the olive wood.

[Martin Fisher]

48 minutes ago, chromedome said:

Peugeot mechanism

 

Years ago, Lee Valley sold just the Peugeot mechanisms.

They now sell some other brand of mechanisms.

For some time I intended to buy some of the Peugeot mechanisms and turn my own mills, but, unfortunately, it never happened. 

[Martin Fisher]

A couple years ago I was gifted a Vic Firth pepper mill.

The mill is absolutely BEAUTIFUL, but, unfortunately, it grinds painfully s-l-o-w.

What a disappointment! 

[paulraphael]

8 hours ago, DiggingDogFarm said:

A couple years ago I was gifted a Vic Firth pepper mill.

The mill is absolutely BEAUTIFUL, but, unfortunately, it grinds painfully s-l-o-w.

What a disappointment! 

 

Yeah, I was excited about that thing and ended up recycling it.

[paulraphael]

Probably mentioned a million times upthread, but the Unicorn peppermill  is still by far the best I've used. I have the small one (6" tall). They make one that's about twice as tall ... same mechanism, more pepper.

 

It grinds pepper so quickly and effortlessly that you could probably empty the thing in under thirty seconds if wanted. And the mechanism adjusts to such a coarse grind that there's never a reason to manually crack pepper anymore (for dishes like steak au poivre, etc.). 

 

At the other extreme, the finest grind isn't quite as fine as it might be. Only other complaint is that can be slippery if your hands are wet or greasy. I put a strip of skateboard grip tape around the knob, which fixes it. The tape's lasted years.

 

It doesn't offer the convenience of one-handed use, but I haven't found anything that I like which allows that. If I become arthritic I'll consider a powered one, but not before that.

[curls]

Another user of the Magnum pepper mill. I have a large and a medium. They work well and are easy to fill. I've had them for years.

[MSRadell]

On ‎11‎/‎12‎/‎2016 at 5:11 PM, paulraphael said:

Probably mentioned a million times upthread, but the Unicorn peppermill  is still by far the best I've used. I have the small one (6" tall). They make one that's about twice as tall ... same mechanism, more pepper.

 

It grinds pepper so quickly and effortlessly that you could probably empty the thing in under thirty seconds if wanted. And the mechanism adjusts to such a coarse grind that there's never a reason to manually crack pepper anymore (for dishes like steak au poivre, etc.). 

 

At the other extreme, the finest grind isn't quite as fine as it might be. Only other complaint is that can be slippery if your hands are wet or greasy. I put a strip of skateboard grip tape around the knob, which fixes it. The tape's lasted years.

 

It doesn't offer the convenience of one-handed use, but I haven't found anything that I like which allows that. If I become arthritic I'll consider a powered one, but not before that.

We have 5 or 6 of them around the house and they all perform flawlessly. A couple of them are the salt mills they also manufacture and they work very well too. For my lifetime I've used many different varieties of grinders including Peugeot but I don't think any of them can be the Unicorn's especially when you consider the cost compared to what you get.

[Toliver]

On 11/12/2016 at 2:11 PM, paulraphael said:

Only other complaint is that can be slippery if your hands are wet or greasy. I put a strip of skateboard grip tape around the knob, which fixes it. The tape's lasted years.

I use rubber bands. One on the top part and one on the body of the mill. No slippage at all. 

[Martin Fisher]

I got talking pepper mills with a friend and said friend said "I've got a little pepper mill that you can have." 

It's a brand spankin' new little Cole & Mason Capstan 5 incher.

It's grinds quite well  — reasonably even (compared to many) and with good volume.

Ain't it cute? 

 

 

I'll use it for a while and if I decide I really like it I'll buy more for some pepper blends — they're only ~$15  (with 'free' Prime shipping) via Amazon.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Though for white pepper I either want the corns just barely cracked, say for béarnaise, or else ground almost to dust.  Easily achieved in my mortar, but difficult for a pepper mill.

 

 

Edit:  never mind.  Sorry @DiggingDogFarm I read "while" as "white".

 

 

 

Edited November 16, 2016 by JoNorvelleWalker (log)

[Martin Fisher]

4 hours ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

Though for white pepper I either want the corns just barely cracked, say for béarnaise, or else ground almost to dust.  Easily achieved in my mortar, but difficult for a pepper mill.

 

 

Edit:  never mind.  Sorry @DiggingDogFarm I read "while" as "white".

 

I do use the mortars and pestles frequently (sausage making, rubs, etc.) but not nearly as often as a few twists of a mill.

[paulraphael]

10 hours ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

Though for white pepper I either want the corns just barely cracked, say for béarnaise, or else ground almost to dust.  Easily achieved in my mortar, but difficult for a pepper mill.

 

[I realize this tangent is only mistakenly about white pepper, but why not ...]

 

If you use a ton of white pepper, a Unicorn mill would do the job nicely. At its coarsest setting it just cracks the corns. 

I don't use it often enough to justify this, so the white peppercorns live in the freezer, and use a mortar like you do.  Or a saucepan on a cutting board.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

As mentioned upthread I use a Nissen 0660.  I can't believe in all these years no one else has shown any love for Nissen with its bottom loading mechanism.  As I recall I got mine from the university store when I started grad school.  I've used it essentially every day since then with no complaints.  Probably worth far more to an antique pepper mill collector than what I paid for it.

 

However this afternoon I received a CrushGrind Stockholm that I wanted for grinding red peppercorns.  Slight complication -- the CrushGrind came prefilled with black peppercorns so I guess I'll try using those up first.

 

My Nissen was made in Denmark.  The CrushGrind is designed in Denmark and made in China.  Has anyone else tried a CrushGrind?

 

 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

So far, in my hands, the CrushGrind gives a generous but not terribly even grind.  If one turns the adjustment knob too far, the mechanism falls out.  Not a deal breaker, just a learning experience.  I'm used to the Nissen with the patented autogrind.

 

[Margaret Pilgrim]

I have relied on a Peppermate for some 40 yesrs.   One in town, one in the country and one gifted to son to keep him from liberating one of these.   Am totally frustrated when I have to use another.

Edited February 25, 2020 by Margaret Pilgrim (log)

[AlaMoi]

I have this one

https://www.oxo.com/categories/cooking-and-baking/tools-and-gadgets/salt-pepper-sugar/pepper-mill-437.html

 

had a Wm Bounds of similar design - the handle corroded and peeled and flaked   . . .

and they never did answer my web inquiry.

 

what I like about the incredibly inexpensive OXO - the "dial" on the bottom has click detentes.

one can "click" up or down for coarser/finer 'on demand/need"'and go back to the original setting.

and.... it holds that setting.

what I don't like about the incredibly inexpensive OXO, the plastic bottom "cup" eventually stretches and fails to click in place reliably.

 

for example, the Wm Bounds one could adjust, but it did not "hold" he adjustment nor was the "how far did I twist it?" repeatable.

[paulraphael]

In the Can't Leave Well-Enough Alone Dept., Dave Arnold has modified a hand-cranked coffee grinder for pepper. He offers the 3D printer files:

 

https://publish.twitter.com/?query=https%3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2FCookingIssues%2Fstatus%2F1193579570366169089&widget=Tweet

 

It's unclear what problem he's solving, but I'll bet it grinds the hell out of some pepper.

[KennethT]

35 minutes ago, paulraphael said:

In the Can't Leave Well-Enough Alone Dept., Dave Arnold has modified a hand-cranked coffee grinder for pepper. He offers the 3D printer files:

 

https://publish.twitter.com/?query=https%3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2FCookingIssues%2Fstatus%2F1193579570366169089&widget=Tweet

 

It's unclear what problem he's solving, but I'll bet it grinds the hell out of some pepper.

I'm sure it's great if you have to grind 3 pounds of peppercorns...

[Madison Smith]

On 2/28/2020 at 6:28 AM, paulraphael said:

In the Can't Leave Well-Enough Alone Dept., Dave Arnold has modified a hand-cranked coffee grinder for pepper. He offers the 3D printer files:

 

https://publish.twitter.com/?query=https%3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2FCookingIssues%2Fstatus%2F1193579570366169089&widget=Tweet

 

It's unclear what problem he's solving, but I'll bet it grinds the hell out of some pepper.

Good God, that's certainly an industrial-level pepper grinder right there...

[AlaMoi]

I like the crank style much more than the twist cap - easier on the wrist....

had this OXO for several years - the grind adjustment has detents/clicks so it holds it's setting and it is easy to 'reset' if you change for a batch of extra coarse or extra fine, for example.

the one down side:  it can be a bit slippery to hold with wet/gooped hands....

at $12, it's a deal.

 

[Madison Smith]

I got a set of this as a housewarming gift from my friends- the salt and pepper grinder's top is made from copper, and it gives a reassuring heft when you hold it!