The top 3 2022 pepper mills for freshly ground spice

Best pepper mill overall

Lily Alig/Informant

The Peugeot Pepper Mill comes in a range of sizes, is aesthetically pleasing on any table, and accurately grinds pepper to six different settings.

Adjustable grind: Yes, six settings
Can salt be utilized: No
Case-hardened steel is used for the grinding mechanism.
Not dishwasher safe

Easy to adjust, uniformly fine grind, and appealing finish

The coarse grind is relatively fine.

The Peugeot Paris u’Select Pepper Mill is a classic: user-friendly and aesthetically pleasing. The setting is adjusted by spinning a designated wooden band at the mill’s base. It was the easiest to spin among pepper mills with precise grind settings, and because the band is positioned at the base, you don’t have to worry about the mill coming apart as you change it.

The mill’s hourglass form makes it simple to hold, and the grain of the wood is less polished than that of others, which I preferred. Regardless of the setting, pepper comes out in a tidy circle and does not spray widely.

My Peugeot pepper mill is located next to the stove, where it must fight with splattering oil and general cooking detritus. This mill has been in use for six months, and it still looks as nice as the day I purchased it. The black matte coating conceals dirt, and I can easily wipe it clean with a moist towel.

The coarsest grind was finer than the others we evaluated, and the Peugeot’s speed was ordinary. We tested the 7-inch pepper mill, but there are several sizes available if you require a larger capacity.

Best electric pepper mill

Lily Alig/Informant

The Eparé is an electric pepper mill with a stainless steel body and a lid that prevents pepper dust from settling.

Adjustable grind: Yes
Can be utilized with salt:
Ceramic is the grinding mechanism’s material
Not dishwasher safe

Motor is quiet and may be operated with one hand.

Cons: Does not include batteries and is cumbersome

This battery-powered electric pepper mill stood out for its contemporary style and ease of use. It was the only one-handed pepper mill I tested, a lifesaver if you’re stirring with one hand and peppering with the other. Four AA batteries are kept in the upper half of the mill, making it top-heavy, but the stainless steel structure prevents it from toppling over.

When pepper is ground, a little LED light emanates from the mill’s mouth. It illuminates a little portion of the plate so that you can see where your pepper is landing. The coarseness adjuster is located beneath the mill and offers a precise range from fine to coarse.

I found the Eparé to be among the slowest mills I evaluated, particularly for finer grindings. However, if you’re searching for a mill that requires minimal hand power to run, this was the finest option.

Best ratcheting pepper grinder

Lily Alig/Informant

The Kuhn Rikon Ratchet Grinder was user-friendly, simple to load, and less expensive than the majority of mills we evaluated.

Adjustable grind: Yes
Can be utilized with salt:
Ceramic is the grinding mechanism’s material
Not dishwasher safe

The side entrance facilitates filling, and the ratchet is simple to operate and pull.

Cons: construction does not feel very solid and pepper dust is left on the table after use.

The Kuhn Rikon, the only ratchet pepper grinder we examined, has a limited but precise range of grinds. The adjustment dial is located beneath the mill’s aperture, with fine and coarse plainly defined. You pour peppercorns through a hole on the side of the mill, eliminating the need to unscrew anything or lose little pieces.

The exterior of the mill does not feel particularly sturdy, but the inside mechanism for grinding is made of ceramic. Wilkens claims that ceramic grinders are likely to retain their sharpness and resist wear. If you leave the ratchet handle in any position other than straight up, you will accidentally grind pepper while attempting to adjust the mill.

Other pepper grinders we evaluated

Lily Alig/Informant

We propose more pepper mills and explain why

This two-piece grinder is a FinaMill; the spice pod contains the ceramic grinding mechanism, and the body includes the motor. The basic kit includes two pods suitable for salt and pepper. On its finest setting, the FinaMill ground half a teaspoon of pepper in 10 seconds, whereas our pick for the best electric grinder ground only a quarter teaspoon in the same amount of time. However, the FinaMill is noisier than the other electric grinder we evaluated, and there are only two coarseness settings.

OXO Good Grips Pepper Grinder: The OXO Mill worked comparably to the other manual grinders that we evaluated. However, two design aspects distinguish this grinder. First, the grinder is positioned such that the mouth faces upwards rather than the surface, preventing pepper dust from escaping. Second, the coarseness adjuster tab is more user-friendly and intuitive than those we’ve previously evaluated.

Le Creuset Pepper Mill: The Le Creuset Pepper Mill is simple to clean and use in a busy kitchen, and it is available in a number of eye-catching hues. The acrylic-coated plastic is impervious to moisture and may be cleaned with a damp cloth. We will update this guide if we identify any difficulties with long-term durability as a result of continued use.

Cole and Mason Derwent Pepper Mill: This mill produced over half a teaspoon of pepper in 10 seconds, making it the most efficient of the models we evaluated. This mill has the best range from fine to coarse, allowing it to produce powder and coarser grinds with ease. However, its transparent casing exposes the peppercorns to light and heat, which experts say might diminish their flavor. In addition, the adjustment mechanism was quite difficult to turn.

Fletcher’s Mill 8-inch Border Grill Mill: This is a popular mill, and its performance had few problems. Rather, it did not distinguish itself from the other mills, which is why it did not place first.

The Zwilling Matte Black Pepper Grinder was one of the most efficient and fastest mills evaluated. It did an excellent job of producing a consistent coarse grind, but the fine grind could not be distinguished from the coarse. Furthermore, the silicone shell revealed my hand prints after use.

The salt and pepper mill we do not recommend, and the reason why

The Kamenstein Dual Salt and Pepper Mill was the only dual-sided grinder we tested, with one end designed for salt and the other for pepper. It was also the most difficult to fill and generated incorrect grinds on all three settings.

Our pepper mill evaluation procedure

Lily Alig/Informant

We visited three specialists to learn about standard procedures in the spice industry and common misconceptions regarding the preparation and use of pepper. We chatted with Ethan Frisch, co-founder of Burlap and Barrel, Robyn McArthur, executive chef at the Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts in Austin, Texas, and Alex Wilkens, an expert in spices at The Spice House.

For testing, we utilized Ea Sar Black Pepper from Burlap and Barrel.

We compared all mills by grinding pepper with the finest and coarsest settings possible. The finest setting should yield a powder-like consistency, while the coarsest setting should produce a significantly bigger, but uniformly sized grind. For mills with precise adjustments, we ground pepper on each setting and compared the resulting grinds.

We assessed the mill’s speed by grinding pepper for 10 seconds on the finest setting and then measuring the amount of ground pepper generated.

Capacity: We determined the capacity of each mill by pouring peppercorns from the reservoir into measuring cups.

We examined how simple and intuitive it was to adjust the grinders and if they could be used with one hand. We also tested how easily they could turn. After using the grinders, we placed them on a white tablecloth to determine if pepper dust accumulated.

According to experts, ceramic mechanisms are the most durable, so we ranked mills with ceramic grinders higher. We will continue to examine the longevity of our top picks, checking for changes in the precision of the grinding and loosening of the mobile parts.

Pepper mill FAQs

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What distinguishes pepper mills from spice grinders?

Depending on the pepper mill’s material and grinding mechanism, small and evenly shaped spices can be ground in a pepper mill; nevertheless, the non-pepper flavor may remain. Cardamom seeds work well in a pepper grinder, whereas cinnamon sticks require a spice grinder. Most pepper mills cannot be cleaned with water; instead, they must be wiped clean with a dry cloth, so if you grind another spice in your pepper mill, the flavor may transfer.

How do peppermills function?

Pepper mills use burr grinders. According to McArthur, when you rotate the mill, peppercorns are compressed between two grooved discs. Essentially, the mill is a smaller and less potent coffee burr grinder.

How does one choose a pepper mill?

Consider capability and usability. Consider a pepper mill with a greater capacity if you ground pepper frequently so you don’t have to refill it as often. Those with low hand strength may find it easier to handle an electric grinder with a push-down button.

Can salt be added to a pepper mill?

Because salt corrodes metal over time, only a ceramic grinding mechanism may be used to grind salt. If your pepper mill’s mechanism is made of ceramic, you can put salt in it. We didn’t include salt grinders in this guide. Alex Wilkens, a spice specialist at The Spice House, stated that grinding your own salt at home gives you control over the texture, but the flavor is identical to that of pre-ground salt.

Are there different applications for coarse and finely ground pepper?

The finer the ground, the greater the pepper’s dissolution into the dish. With a coarser grind, you are more likely to encounter peppercorn particles when eating. When cooking with high heat, McArthur suggests choosing a coarser grind because a finer ground would lose taste more quickly.

Why should I buy peppercorns from a single origin?

Single-source peppercorns are harvested and transported in a shorter time period than commodity spices, so you have a greater window between the time you purchase them and when they begin to lose their flavor.

Commercial or commodity peppercorns are harvested unripe so they can withstand lengthy shipping and packaging processes. According to Frisch, peppercorns continue to ripen two years after harvest, and while they do not go bad or rot, they lose their flavor. According to Frisch, the commodity spice supply chain requires three to four years to transport spices from the field to the grocery shelves.