All five of the pepper mills you see pictured above are mine. That might be more pepper mills than the average household requires, but I like my kitchen gadgets and I like having a spice option for every necessity. That includes having coarse or fine grind pepper whenever I want it without futzing with adjustments on a single grinder. The two in the middle came my way when my great-aunt Flora downsized her kitchen several years back (that's also how I acquired my very functional 25-year-old Cuisinart). The tarnished silver one is an ancient Peugeot, that after some thorough cleaning (although I don't think I've polished it in years), has the most amazingly smooth action.
Because of my experience with that particular pepper grinder, I was really surprised yesterday when a friend asked me to recommend a new pepper mill for him. He said that he had a 30-year-old Peugeot that wasn't working well anymore and he wanted to try treat himself to a new grinder. I told him that if he really wanted a new grinder that he should head over to Fante's, which has all of their mills loaded with pepper and available to be handled before purchase (your local kitchen supply store may do the same thing). However, I also suggested he give that old Peugeot a cleaning before giving up on it. While he may still indulge in a new grinder, he sent me an email tonight saying that his old one is working so much better. Success!
photo by Marisa McClellan
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
8-19-2007 @ 2:14AM
MJ said...
Another good one, love my frsh black pepper. only have two and they are both adjustable. love fresh spices and this is one I put on everything
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8-19-2007 @ 1:40PM
David said...
It may not look as classy, but I love my Unicorn Magnum Plus. The adjustment thumb screw is on the bottom so you don't lose your setting when you refill. And the output is fast and consistent.
I have a wooden mill that I put on the table, but the Unicorn is the workhorse that gets the most use.
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8-19-2007 @ 11:52PM
alosha7777 said...
you know, every time I start a post of yours now without reading who wrote it (which I almost never do), I always know it's you marissa. you do most definitely have a unique writing style, one which I love!
I just bought a little shaker of pepper tonight at the convenience store because I realized that with all my shopping yesterday I forgot to buy peppercorns dammit! and we've been putting ours in a grinder lately and I keep forgetting hehehe. oh well. tonight's generic substitute will do in an emergency.
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8-20-2007 @ 11:00PM
John Annis said...
For a great mill , try PEPPERMILLS.COM.
They make the best dual grinder...
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8-21-2007 @ 9:36AM
Jen Montgomery said...
I saw a 4 foot tall one at Sur La Table. Even though it was $200 and cumbersome, it was pretty bad ass. My family has bought me a new pepper grinder for Christmas every year, forgetting that they already bought one for me. I use one for fine ground white pepper, one for coarse black pepper, one for sea salt, one for nutmeg, and the others for various other spices.
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