OT Peppermills For God Sakes

M

munk

Joined
Mar 22, 2002
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Alright, I want a good peppermill. I was reminded of this while searching for the Cleaver online. There's a cycle here- cast iron, forged steel knives, a cleaver, now a Pepper mill.

I see Peppermills sell for at least 50 bucks, which is why I can't get a decent one at Walmart- housewives won't spend 50 bucks when they can spend ten. They don't use pepper anyway- Hubby probably does, and he's too drunk to know the difference between a 10 buck mill, a 50 buck mill, and which of his kids just took ill.

I saw brass, copper, and 'chrome' mills. Dad had a wooden one that was cool. A box shape with a little drawer you could pull out- full of fresh ground pepper. I put a June Bug in the drawer one year just to freak out the Sanctity of the Dinner Table as observed by that old Kansas Redneck. And Guess what? He was no amused.

Brass seems like it would impart a negative flavor. What's wrong with just wood, and what is a good mill? I'll even take designer copper if that's what you guru's tell me I should own.

I'll be gone for a couple days so have at my thread. Talk about naked women or bigoted Americans, I don't care. One thing I expect to see upon my return is all the special deals sold by Monday night. That's life. One thing I do not expect to see, and will likely have a heart attack if I do see, are any plans for a Goshdurned HI Cleaver. The resistance to such a plan- imagine making a useful blade for once, led me to buying a Chinese. I love Chinese. I should of married a Chinese. I want all my furniture made not in Brazil any longer- as we're paying lip service to protecting the Rain Forest, but China. I want to see "Norinco" stamped on all my cutlery.
I'll send my kids to school in China when they grow up as likely or not an education will be impossible in the US by then.

I spent 46 bucks for the Chinese that could have gone to Reno and Nepal. So screw it- next special project- put a Dragon's head on it, a Bird's Eye grip, 16 fullers and have it blessed by the juices of Virgins; but don't make a HI cleaver.

I got one now so make one of those honkin carving end-of-the-world knives you were all admiring. I could be talked into one of those. Or a Santuko. And if any of you ever want one of those silly tiny New Model blades, for God's sake next time make one available that is at least 16" and can do some work!

And find me a pepper mill.

If I say, "Please?"


Please.

munk
 
I have not yet made the investment myself, but I do know the value of a good pepper mill. I don't like the metal ones as a matter of taste. (Personal, not flavor). Since the whole pepper corns are what would be coming into contact with the metal, though, I doubt there would be much contamination of the flavor. I haven't looked, but it would also not surprise me to learn that metallic mills are lined with a plastic or enamel.

I prefer the look of the wooden ones to the metallic, but I would truly covet a marble mill. The real enemy of the flavor of your pepper is moisture. That is why fresh-ground pepper tastes so much better than the stuff you shake out of a tin. Unless a wooden mill were sealed inside and out, open grain might hold moisture. Ceramic and stone mills would be much less likely to do so.

I don't know where you've looked so far, but there is a host of high-end, snooty, "gourmet" kitchen stores in every mall I've ever been in. You might check Williams-Sonoma, Brookstone, Restoration Hardware, even Pier1 Imports has some decent kitchen wares. Just find one you like that is solid, with heavy-duty moving parts and not apt to attract or hold moisture and hang the expense! It will last forever and be an heirloom piece. :D Be sure to post a pic when you decide on one. :)

BTW- Are you a fan of white pepper? I love it, but it is pretty costly compared to black. I used to mix them in about a three to one, balck to white ratio back when I used to do a lot of cooking. Good stuff.
 
I've never tried White Pepper, Machette. Prepackaged pepper is not only exposed to moisture but air- it is just older and with less flavor in every way.

you've made a argument for a metal mill if ceramic is too costly.


edit- my fear of expensive mall holes is not paying the money, but getting having a good looking but mechanically substandard product. I've noticed people pay for looks.


munk
 
munk said:
I've never tried White Pepper, Machette. Prepackaged pepper is not only exposed to moisture but air- it is just older and with less flavor in every way.

you've made a argument for a metal mill if ceramic is too costly.


edit- my fear of expensive mall holes is not paying the money, but getting having a good looking but mechanically substandard product. I've noticed people pay for looks.


munk
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A few observations:

If you like fresh ground pepper as much as I do, it's gone too quickly to absorb moisture.

Most of the finest chefs in the world use wooden pepper mills.....I can't see that as a major problem.

Re: metal imparting flavor.....no matter what material your pepper mill is made from, the cutting blades are always going to made out of metal and that's the part of the pepper mill that will always be in contact with your pepper as the peppercorn is broken.
 
I'm glad to hear about wood- I like it best. I was worred about brass and copper because each has a bad flavor- go ahead and lick some. If you only grind what you use you should always have fresh pepper.



munk
 
ANy decent mill would have stainless blades, though wouldn't it? They would be far less likely to impart a taste to the corns than days of contact with something that patinates, I would think. :confused:
 
MacHete said:
ANy decent mill would have stainless blades, though wouldn't it? They would be far less likely to impart a taste to the corns than days of contact with something that patinates, I would think. :confused:
Click to expand...

Yeah....you're prolly right. I wasn't thinking about the characteristics of those types of metals. I wouldn't want a metal one of any kind simply because many times, when I need to use my peppermills, I'm busy cooking, and metal ones would show grease and fingerprints badly. And......I guess I just like wood. Peppermills are great items to collect because, like knives, no matter how many you have....there's always one that's different.
 
My favorite is the Magnum:

www.pcd.com , search on 'peppermill'. Item number is WIT101.

Only drawback is that it's plastic. Very strong, but still. With it, you get a LOT of pepper ground, and very quickly. Good extremes in grind fineness, too.

White pepper is OK. You just have to be careful with it, because it's a bunch stronger than black.
 
This site likes it a lot. If it works that well.....I don't care if it's plastic. :p At $40-45 if it's made out of plastic, maybe all the quality goes into the cutting mechanism???.....hence, it works really well?

http://www.epinions.com/content_101223337604

If ya' got the dough:
http://www.pepper-passion.com/items.php?CA=8&UID=20040523133653216.255.214.32

Here's a good selection, reasonably priced. For small mills, I like the ones with a crank on top.
http://www.peppermillsandmore.com/shopdisplayproducts.asp?id=1

For those who's design taste is a little warped:
http://www.peppermillsandmore.com/shopdisplayproducts.asp?id=39&cat=Pep+Art+Pepper+Grinders

This guy seems more like a mom and pop operation with some fantastic looking mills! (expensive tho')
http://www.pepper-mills-plus.com/
 
This site likes it a lot. If it works that well.....I don't care if it's plastic. At $40-45 if it's made out of plastic, maybe all the quality goes into the cutting mechanism???.....hence, it works really well?

http://www.epinions.com/content_101223337604

If ya' got the dough:
http://www.pepper-passion.com/items...3216.255.214.32

Here's a good selection, reasonably priced. For small mills, I like the ones with a crank on top.
http://www.peppermillsandmore.com/s...oducts.asp?id=1

For those who's design taste is a little warped:
http://www.peppermillsandmore.com/s...pper+Grinders

This guy seems more like a mom and pop operation with some fantastic looking mills! Custom made and lifetime warranty(expensive tho')
http://www.pepper-mills-plus.com/
 
I have been using a novel pepper grinder for several years and I like it it is plastic with what appears to be pot metal grinders and it leaves no noticible taste to the pepper it is a ball shaped tool with a grip on top like a garden hose trigger and you just squeeze it to grind and it has a courseness adjuster on it also I did get it at a Wallyworld though.
 
Small morter & pestle at table or stove

a little texture on inner surface good,
too smooth doesn't work so well
 
smokinbasser said:
I have been using a novel pepper grinder for several years and I like it it is plastic with what appears to be pot metal grinders and it leaves no noticible taste to the pepper it is a ball shaped tool with a grip on top like a garden hose trigger and you just squeeze it to grind and it has a courseness adjuster on it also I did get it at a Wallyworld though.
Click to expand...

My Mom has one like that she bought at Sears when she worked there. I don't know how well hers works- I sorta got the idea she bought it because she thought it was "cute". :p
 
"Small morter & pestle at table or stove. A little texture on inner surface good, too smooth doesn't work so well"

...I'm with ddean on this one. Plus you can do all your other spices in it too.
 
If you're looking for "heavy duty" pepper mills, try a resturant outlet. That's where I got mine, after breaking three or four of the cheaper ones. They're VERY strong, and come in all sizes. They are expensive, starting around 50.00 US.
 
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