Pepper Mill Suggestions

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Campbell said:
If I'm blending spices I will often use a mortar and pestle but it is a less convenient method for getting a quick burst of freshly ground pepper. Had a unicorn for 5+ years and it was fine. Bought a pepper cannon and it was amazing. Threw away the unicorn and bought a second cannon.
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I was seriously considering buying the thing but two things really turned me off:
  1. the marketing is just heinously stupid
  2. I asked the creator or at least dude making the money off it a question on social media about how it compared to my favorite, an old Peugeot I've had for years, and he didn't know anything about the burrs in it. excuse me but how do you release a 200 dollar pepper mill and not know how a PM grinder works? it's not a niche brand. it's literally the industry leader.
anyway I was willing to overlook 1 but 2 made me ??? pretty hard. I dunno it just made me wonder how good can it be? if I were designing a product probably the first thing I would do is go and intimately learn the strengths and weaknesses of the competition but what do I know Im probably just not manly enough for it.
 
I have several ;Unicorns in different sizes, and configurations..
I not only use normal black pepper, but also Madagascar pepper, chiltepin , then various black peppers from different locations I have traveled to, and bought local.
A few years ago I called Unicorn, and talked to a nice lady who told me that they would be glad to mix the colors of the pieces, they also have an all white, in order for us to recognize at a glance the contents. Has worked just great, and I have no regrets.

However, what is the source of the giant pepper?? I am intrigued.
 
I’ve had used this pepper mill for over 20 years but don’t recall and can’t find the manufacture on the mill anywhere.
66A3A43D-4D8D-400E-8B38-328C8F05E888.jpeg
Anyway, it’s still going strong. The only problem is that the thumbscrew on the bottom which adjusts the grind gradually loosens.

I was looking for an additional mill awhile back and found a recommendation on this thread for this Alessi:
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I had no interest in getting it as I thought it was overpriced and thought the design was suggestively phunny. I made the mistake of showing it my wife and of course she loved it 🤣.

So no problems in over a year now. Easily adjustable and consistent grind. I will say the orifice to load the peppercorns is a little tight but I’m ok with it.
 
Banasura is one of them but the , but I am using a couple of which some will clearly not ever fit a grinder (like Assam or Kampot pepper)...I'll happily grind those in the mortar.
 
I remain firmly in the coffee grinder camp. A lot cheaper than the pepper cannon and it doesn't make a mess due to the cup attached to the bottom. Also, easier than any other pepper mill to create a measured amount of pepper since it grinds into a cup that you can then scoop out of with a measuring spoon. It you just want to add I quick bit then leave the cup off and grind above the food just like a traditional mill. The handle makes it easier to dispense pepper as well, much easier than spinning the top of a mill.
 
i challenge the idea that uneven grind distribution is desirable. maybe in a few dishes, but certainly not generally.

podzap said:
As a compromise to suit the masses, and they certainly do have a massive research and development department, OXO intentionally designs their pepper grinders with some "slop".
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this is completely absurd. those grinders are not engineered to give a sloppy distribution. they're engineered to be cheap!

tight grind distributions (whether unimodal or bimodal) are harder and more expensive to get. no one buying a pepper mill in walmart wants to pay for that.
 
i've only ever used crappy pepper grinders, and now i want a good one.

i've narrowed it down to
  • unicorn magnum (or magnum plus)
    • anyone have a magnum plus? is the output faster, or is it mostly about greater storage capacity?
  • MÄNNKITCHEN pepper cannon
  • LWW WW Moulin
  • some kind of crank-job manual coffee grinder.
    • this could be a good way to go, but a nice manual grinder doesn't seem that much cheaper than the pepper cannon or moulin. also, nice ones can be even more expensive, lol.
questions...

speed: word on the street is the pepper cannon is faster than the magnum. how does the moulin compare to either?

distribution: is the particle size distribution on the moulin pretty tight? at least compared to normal grinders? i assume this to be the case, but i NEED to ask this before i pay $320. lol.
  • how does the magnum or pepper cannon fare in comparison?
coarse grind: follow up to the distribution question. what i really want out of a new grinder is a way to quickly get coarse cracked pepper with not a lot of fines. i already have ways to generate a shitload of coarse ground pepper very quickly (vitamix, blade-style electric coffee grinder (which is my spice grinder), etc), but i need to sift it. how do the moulin, pepper cannon, and magnum do at the coarse / extra-coarse settings in terms of size distribution? i don't need perfection, but i need something i don't have to sift.

mess: how are any of these options in terms of dumping pepper all over your counter? i mean when not using them.

i'm leaning towards the moulin right now...

thanks a lot, guys. and merry xmas.
 
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I love old school metal pepper grinders, but was thinking of something for my parents' house. Any recommendations for an older cook or someone who is more of a klutz in the kitchen and needs the simplest, easiest tools?
 
tbh Im actually pretty intrigued by the Moulin, though I might get the salt grinder. probably the biggest cooking related challenge I face right now is that I have and like to buy sel gris and it often comes in coarse form, but grinding it is PAINFULLY slow due to the moisture content. that said I have a Cole & Mason I use now, though with Maldon instead.

I trust Weber WAY more than Mannkitchen. Weber has a serious history in the coffee grinding game and is run by a former apple mechanical engineer (Weber) and at least at one point a guy from ILM was heavily involved too.
 
i don't get the point of salt grinders, but i've never tried sel gris, so maybe i don't know what i'm missing. will post a salt rant one of these nights when i'm good and drunk.
 
josemartinlopez said:
I love old school metal pepper grinders, but was thinking of something for my parents' house. Any recommendations for an older cook or someone who is more of a klutz in the kitchen and needs the simplest, easiest tools?
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just get the small unicorn.

again theyre built like tanks. ugly & not super beautifully machined either but they get the job done, hold a ton of pepper and crank out enough pepper for the vast, vast majority of people.
 
for my case the external crank job type grinders are ruled out, so I guess I have decided to go with two unicorns (as swapping pepper mid grind is a nuisance) and see what gives. Should I not like those I'll go for the pepper cannon.

Thanks for all your insights!

Edit, not in stock and no idea when they may be back in stock...
 
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I have both the magnum unicorn plus as well as a Weber moulin, and the salt mill.
Of the three both magnum and moulin get used a lot. The salt is a bit of a white elephant for now.
Magnum has a greater random size dispersion, but both are pretty damn good.
If you want a more specific pepper particle size (I’ve always been ok with some variation) then I suggest Weber Workshops.

Else just get the one your budget and aesthetic prefers. They are both more than capable. It’s like the $500 vs $900 gyuto discussion. Function is already sorted.

The Weber feels indestructible. While the plastic magnum actually seems to BE indestructible.
I just load mine with different peppers and call it a day
 
sansho said:
i challenge the idea that uneven grind distribution is desirable. maybe in a few dishes, but certainly not generally.



this is completely absurd. those grinders are not engineered to give a sloppy distribution. they're engineered to be cheap!

tight grind distributions (whether unimodal or bimodal) are harder and more expensive to get. no one buying a pepper mill in walmart wants to pay for that.
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You wouldn't know absurd if it jumped up and smacked you in the face with your mothers loose flab.
 
Knivperson said:
If you want something from the old world, Peugeot here in Europe is very nice.
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I own a few, have gone through more and began to hate them...adjustment is wonky, it takes forever to grind more than a few corns and the setting wanders while grinding.
 
MarcelNL said:
I own a few, have gone through more and began to hate them...adjustment is wonky, it takes forever to grind more than a few corns and the setting wanders while grinding.
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I agree, but it looks nice. Very european - or french maybe?
 
MarcelNL said:
I own a few, have gone through more and began to hate them...adjustment is wonky, it takes forever to grind more than a few corns and the setting wanders while grinding.
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Ill agree on the first two points (though I mostly cook just for myself so the low output is kinda whatever) but I dont think my PM grind setting has ever moved on me. to be fair my dad has the kind where there isnt the ring on the bottom and that one does wander.
 
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