What’s your trusty favourite pepper mill ?

Cooking Discussions Cookware
1

So I’ve mostly owned pepper mills from Peugeot.

My brother owned a couple and so did my mother, when I grew up it was always Peugeot pepper mills we had in the kitchen.

I also see Peugeot pepper mills in several professional restaurant kitchens.

The thing is this and it’s quite controversial - Peugeot pepper mills (very often) SUCK.

At least the 5 out of the 7 Peugeot pepper mills I’ve used and owned.

The 2/7 have - on the other hand - been terrific pepper mills.

I currently own 2 Peugeot pepper mills, well 2 until last night. An XL one (30 cm tall) and a large one (20 cm tall) - both in stainless steel.

They both have the dial knob so you can adjust the grind thickness.

The thing is the XL one has pretty much sucked since I bought it 5 years ago, but I didn’t have the receipt for it and I lived with the damn thing not working properly.

On the other hand the smaller Peugeot one I own works absolutely perfectly. It’s the best pepper mill I can remember owning.

Yesterday the small one ran out of pepper corn and I took the XL one, knowingly that it sucks, and tried to get the best out of it.

Well it performed like it used to do - horrible.
I ended up knocking on the top of it to get it to grind some pepper resulting in the bottom of the pepper mill came off and the entire amount of whole peppercorn came out into my root vegetables in the pan.

I cursed and threw the Peugeot pepper mill out in to the trash where it really belongs as it has always been a complete crap pepper mill.

So I wonder - what’s you favourite pepper mill ?

Is it by any chance a Peugeot ?

And have I just been unlucky with my 5/7 lousy Peugeot pepper mills ?

I feel it’s hit & miss with Peugeot pepper mills.
When you get a great one, stay with it. Never get rid of it, because you never know when you’ll get a great one again.

FYI I was once gifted a Le Creuset pepper mill and it was a horrible performer too. Crap.

2 Likes
2

Always had the Peugeots until I found this one, not available anymore. The replacement got rid of the ‘key’ at the top so the action is much less effective. Now that I know I can’t replace, I will be extra careful.

IMG_1467
IMG_14672732×1518 200 KB

1 Like
3

I have a 9" Unicorn Mills grinder, and love it. Capacity is my #1 criteria; ease of grinding without jamming is #2. This one fills the bill on both counts. I have no opinion regarding size and texture of the final product - it’s all good ground pepper to me.

I saw the 6" version at a thrift store once and didn’t buy it as a backup/travel unit. I’ve regretted that ever since.

1 Like
4

My go- to mill for years was a Unicorn Magnum Plus.
IMG_8217

It’s around 23 centimeters (9 inches). It’s black plastic and years of living and being used next to the stove has rendered that plastic gunky and uncleanable. The grinder works fine. So I’ve now gotten several Peugeot mills from 9 inches on down - they all work fine, and the bonus with the wood (not painted) is that oil is good for it. The only metal grinder I have is table-sized and pewter - it’s marked Étains du Maison. I only see that marking on eBay on vintage pewter items; don’t see any pepper mills.

My Peugeots work just fine.
Unfortunately, Unicorns only come in plastic.

IMG_8218
IMG_82182732×1878 250 KB

1 Like
5

Black pepper on its own adds too much heat for me, so I use a mix of black, pink, white, and green peppercorns, the predominant one being pink. Problem is that pink peppercorns tend to jam up the mill, so that every now and again I have to disassemble the works and clean it out. I’ve now taken to keeping the pink separate, and pulverizing them (the pink) in a mortar and pestle.

So I’m on the lookout for a mill that can handle them all, together.

2 Likes
6

Similar question has come up a few times in years past (including all the way back to Chowhound days). My handy $6 Ikea spice grinder still going strong! Disclaimer: I don’t know if it’s still only $6.

2 Likes
7

Peppermate hands down. Good enough for Jacques Pepin, good enough for me, Mine is 30+ years old.

2 Likes
8

Mine is a Banton bought at W&S about 1990 for what was then the ridiculous sum of $32 (for a PEPPER MILL?! is how I recall the conversation going).

30+ years later it’s still with me and going strong.

9

I had a small set of Peugeot salt and pepper grinders and was never happy with them. Finally gave them away. This is the current grinder trio. One on the left is Penzeys and holds white pepper. Don’t like it very much but I don’t use it so often that I’m motivated to change. Middle one, a salt grinder, is Cole & Mason from Sur La Table. Very nice, easy to refill and smooth grinding action. If I was in the market for a new pepper grinder, I’d check out theirs. On the right, my no name pepper grinder which I love. Smooth action, top slides right off to refill, I even like the plain look of it. No idea where it came from (maybe Ikea a million years ago?) and no brand identifiers anywhere. I’ve tried to reverse image search but just get cocktail shakers.

grinders
grinders1512×2016 447 KB

10

I think Peugeot mills now have a reputation for uneven quality. I suspect there is a business/managerial history to support your experience.

My favorite is the simple 7" crank-operated Atlas. I also like my Vic Firth Rubirossa. But it’s so tall that it’s unweildy to use while sitting.

There’s one company, maybe Peugeot, that always attends the IHHS cookware show in Chicago. Their booth always features gigantic (as in 3-6 feet tall) mills they say are functional…

11

As a weapon.

12

Phallic cult shrine, more like.

13

True dat.

14

Peppermill
Peppermill1920×2171 229 KB

This 4" Peugeot Mill was bought 30 odd Years ago. We each had our own as part of our Kit. It has seen many Years of use in professional and home Kitchens. Works flawlessly.
It is close to perfect in my Opinion.

1 Like
15

This is the same one I have, but in navy blue. On sale for $2.99 right now.

5 Likes
16

An old 7" Atlas followed by a yellow 8" Peugeot. Both are easy to turn, essential for arthritic hands. Both hold plenty of peppercorns, a real plus. The Atlas goes on the table with the robin’s egg blue Nigella Lawson salt pig, and the Peugeot sits by the stove, next to the cobalt blue traditional salt pig.

17

I put salt cellars out on the table for guests. The pinch’em kind - no little spoons. Just like my grandmother had. The only place I’ve ever seen them used is in the South. For pepper, I have little individual pewter pepper mills. They are in theory adjustable, but I’ve never had anyone complain. I think they’re kind of amused at having their own little mills. They grin and crank.

2 Likes
18

Used to have a Peugeot as well but can’t even remember what happened with it. At some point, more than ten years ago, I started using below one and never looked back. It’s perfect as a mill and the quality of the pepper is top notch.

I have several of these: black pepper, white pepper, nutmeg, and chilli pepper. All are great. Otherwise for black pepper I may use a mortar and pestle for a really course grind (nice with pepper steak) or leave the corns whole (for stock eg).

1 Like
19

Just been looking at the amazon prices… ouch! I buy these for around 3 euro per mill and they take very long before getting empty.

As for salt, I buy packages of 1 kilogram, and transfer the salt to a smaller container which I keep on my counter. I then use just my fingers to measure and add as desired.

2 Likes
20

I’ve seen the domestic versions in the grocery - the nutmeg interested me, but I caved to excess consumerism and bought a really nice nutmeg grinder that I use a lot. Those jars are a great idea

Yes I know they aren’t adjustable. The perfect is the enemy of the good. :joy:

1 Like