Spice Grinders

Plenty of people just love to cook. They have fun mixing different food ingredients and creating novel dishes with extraordinary flavors and presentations. Part of the fun comes from knowing that they have the right tools and appliances to concoct their specialties. When looking for the right tool for adding flavor to their dishes with salt, pepper, or other spices, the Carl Mertens Maestro Salt and Pepper Mills are definitely a good candidate.

The Carl Mertens Salt and Pepper Mills are a pair of very elegant hand-powered grinders that are not only great for the kitchen but for the dining table as well. These are made of tubular high-quality stainless steel with a satin finish. As the gleaming steel can sometimes be slippery to the touch, especially after handling oily food, the mills’ upper section is wrapped in leather providing a comfortable and secure hold. The leather wraps come in two colors –black and brown– so you can tell the salt from the pepper mill.

To help these tubes keep their balance, holders made of blocks of wood with holes drilled in their centers for the mills to stand on are provided. These are colored black and brown to match the leather covers.

The mills utilize ceramic grinders. These rust- and corrosion-free grinders do not generate heat that could adversely affect the taste of your spices. In addition to salt and pepper, the Carl Mertens mills can also grind other dried spices such as basil, garlic, dill, or chili.

Judging from the number of television programs and shows on cooking featuring hot and spicy food from all over the globe, chillis must be becoming popular. These fiery spices do leave a delicious tingling in the mouth, if you can handle the heat. And if you are a convert to the sizzling stuff, you will certainly appreciate Peugeot Vendome Chilli Mill Model 1845P.

The Vendome Chilli Mill is made of a clear acrylic tube topped with wood in either natural or chocolate color. With the transparent acrylic you can see if you are running out of the spice. The wood top houses the grinding mechanism that is constructed out of stainless steel. A ball nut perched on the grinder’s housing allows the adjustment of the consistency of the chilli. Before grinding, however, the mill first chops the spice to guarantee an even ground.

For an easy refill, the entire top can be removed. To keep the chilli fresh and to prevent the corrosion of the grinding mechanism, a special coating is applied inside the mill. Cleaning is easy as all you need is a damp cloth. In fact, it is not advisable to immerse it in water.

The Peugeot Vendome Chilli Mill Model 18450P stands 5½ inches with a diameter of 2 inches. At this size, it can hold a good amount of those blazing spices with sky high Scoville Heat Units or S.H.U.s.

Cooking tools that can perform dual functions are always a welcome addition to any kitchen, especially smaller kitchens. These minimize the number of tools lying around the counter or table. One fine specimen of these multi-function tools is the Tyler Florence Stainless Steel Dual Manual Spice Mill.

The Tyler Florence mill is a 7½-inch long cylinder with a diameter of 1¾ inches. Both ends of the cylinder are wrapped in brushed stainless steel casings. Within each of these two casings is a grinding mechanism making the mill a dual-ended grinder. Adjacent to each of the grinders are two clear plastic tubes containing the spices for grinding. The middle of the cylinder is another stainless steel band that joins the bottoms of the two grinders into a single piece of equipment. Caps are provided for both ends to cover the grinder. These keep the spices fresh, and prevent spillage as well as the entry of moisture.

The grinding mechanism consists of two ceramic grinders that can easily process a variety of spices such as peppercorns, sea salt, cumin, cinnamon, oregano, and different kinds of herbs. All you need to do is twist the mill and you can enjoy freshly ground spices. The grinders can also be adjusted to produce fine or coarse grounds simply by rotating a knob at the spout of the mill. Because the grinders are made of ceramic stones, they will neither rust nor corrode and will not generate heat, unlike steel grinders. Heat could damage some of the nutrients in the food.

Cole and Mason are known for their quality salt and pepper mills. The Oslo model is one more addition to their fine line of spice grinders that adorn so many kitchen and dining tables.

The Oslo Salt and Pepper Mills are made of brushed stainless steel and acrylic with a modern design. The stainless steel portion at the top of the mill houses the grinding mechanism.

For the salt mill, the mechanism consists of anti-static, corrosion-resistant, and clog-free nylon grinding teeth. As nylon is hard-wearing, the teeth remain sharp even after prolonged and continuous use. And as it is not porous, it neither absorbs nor retains odors.

The pepper mill, on the other hand, is made of stainless steel. It is also non-corrosive and can maintain its sharpness. The mill breaks the pepper corn to retain its pepperin oils instead of squeezing them out. This preserves the flavor and aroma of the ground pepper as the oils are not oxidized and dispersed into the air.

Both grinding mechanisms can be adjusted to produce fine or coarse grounds.

The Cole and Mason Oslo Salt and Pepper Mills stand at a height of 185 mm.

The Peugeot Fidji spice mill is an elegant combination of wood and metal that makes an attractive addition to any kitchen or dining table. This cylindrical mill tapers at the middle providing a good grip and an eye-catching form. You have four colors to choose from –black wood, natural wood, cherry wood, or red lacquer. In addition, you can also opt for a 15- or 20-cm tall mill.

A stainless steel dome tops the hardwood base of the mill. Within it is the grinding mechanism which consists of two differently-sized grooves. The larger grooves, called the Channeling grooves, line up the peppercorns for cracking. The smaller Grinding grooves pulverize the cracked pepper. This method guarantees that flavor is preserved.

Peugeot uses hardened steel for its pepper mills. This is because its sharp burrs last longer than those made of stainless steel. Although it can rust, pepper mills do not ordinarily come into contact with water which causes such corrosion. Salt, on the other hand, is corrosive. Thus, salt mills are made of stainless steel.

As an extra protection against corrosion, the grinding mechanism is treated with Physical Vapor Deposition or PVD. This is a form of atomic level surface treatment that is similar to electroplating. Unlike electroplating, however, it does not react chemically to food and is thus safe to use for spice grinders.

A knob at the top adjusts the consistency of your grounds. Rotating it counterclockwise loosens the nut giving you coarse grounds. Going the opposite direction gives finer grounds.

Refilling only requires the removal of the dome top, while cleaning should be done by hand. Be sure to thoroughly dry the mills especially the pepper mill.

If you are one of those who like to use gadgets, kitchen tools included, that can perform not just a single task, you might appreciate the Chef’n Dual Grinder Lab 921. This device stores both pepper and salt in a single container and grinds either of them with a few twists and squeezes.

The Dual Grinder is made of clear impact-resistant polycarbonate plastic wrapped in brushed stainless steel. It is about 23 cm tall including the grinding levers. The spice container is an oval bottle measuring 8.3 cm on its longer side and 6.8 cm on the shorter. This is divided into two sections, one for pepper and the other for salt. Since pepper and salt do not have the same texture and hardness, the grinder utilizes a zinc rasp for the pepper and ceramic rasp for the salt.

To choose which of these spices to grind, you need to twist the ergonomically-designed SavvyGrip®, that is, the V-shaped grinding levers at the top. There is an aperture on the lower end of the levers. If you can see letter “P” through it, you are ready to grind pepper. If you want salt, twist it again until the letter “S” appears.

Squeeze the SavvyGrip® levers to start grinding. This can be done with one hand. There are GrindTune™ dials at the bottom of the grinder which you can turn to adjust the consistency of your grounds.

Refilling is done through clear windows below the grinding levers. You need only to open them to replenish your spices.

Salt and pepper are the most common spices in use to season our food even at the dining table. For this reason we often see two bottles or grinders sitting on the table, one for pepper, perhaps with a black top, and another for salt with, you guessed it, a white top. Bodum approaches the issue differently. It came up with the Bodum Twin Salt and Pepper Grinder 11002 which combines the two spices into one single bottle.

A divider is set in the middle of the tubular container, one side for salt and the other for pepper. A grinding mechanism is housed at the lid of the grinder. The lid is surrounded by a silicone band making it a non-slip handle. Rotating this band switches between the two spices.

The grinding mechanism is made of rust-free and durable ceramic gears. They are easy to operate and can be adjusted to grind coarse or fine salt or pepper. Clear windows show the level of spices left in the grinder so you will know if you need to refill them. Refilling is done at the top.

The Bodum Twin is round at the top but it is elliptical at the base. The round top conforms with the ergonomics of the human hand while the elliptical base is meant to minimize footprint.

The band at the lid comes in eight different colors –green, red, purple, brown, gray, pink, black, and off white. Whatever is the color motif of your kitchen or dining room, there is a Bodum Twin that is a perfect match to it.

The Danesco Spice and Seed Grinder is a small kitchen tool made of a round glass jar that tapers from a wide base to a narrower opening, and joins up with a plastic top, also rounded, with a pinched midriff.

This top houses a ceramic grinder that is tough enough not only for crushing and grinding salt, peppercorns, cinnamon, cumin, oregano, as well as other herbs and other spices, but also small hard seeds such as cardamom and flax seeds. Indeed, Danesco is so confident of the toughness and durability of the grinding mechanism that they are actually offering a 25-year guarantee on the ceramic parts.

The ceramic Crush-Grind mechanism of the Danesco Spice and Seed Grinder first crushes the seeds to extract the oil then grinds them to a fine consistency, thus ensuring that the nutrients are preserved.

The freshly ground spices and seeds are guaranteed not only to enhance the flavor of your food, but to provide you with healthy nutrients as well. This is especially true with flax seeds that contain healthy fat and fibers, which both play key roles in any weight-loss or maintenance program.

This easy to clean spice and seed grinder measures five inches tall with a diameter of 2.13 inches.

The Vic Firth Gourmet Pump and Grind Pepper Mill is a stainless steel cylindrical mill with a telescopic pump that is pressed from the top. Depressing this with your thumb delivers ground pepper, freshly processed from the mill.

The mill utilizes a two-step grinding process. The peppercorns are first crushed to release their natural oils, after which they are ground to a consistency of your own choosing. If you want to season fish, you can choose fine; for gravies, go for medium; while for meat, coarse grounds are best. You can choose any of these textures with Vic Firth’s patented Lock and Grind milling system.

A little below the mid-point of the mill is a transparent portion allowing you to see into it to check if it needs refilling. With the mill’s innovative pop-out mechanism cleaning it is simple and easy.

It has a height of 5.6 inches and a diameter of 1.1 inches. With this size and its pumping mechanism, it can be operated with one hand.

Peugeot has always made its grinders and mills spice-specific because they believe that not all spices share the same characteristics. A grinding mechanism may work well with peppercorn, for instance, but will only mess up nutmeg.

Thus, the Peugeot Tidore Nutmeg Grinder should only be used with nutmeg. This mill is spherical with a base to stand on. On top of the sphere is a crank lever with a handle perpendicular to it. The sphere itself is made of clear acrylic allowing you to see its insides, right through the nutmegs and the grinders.

The nutmegs are ground by a durable double stainless steel blade or grater. With the support of a strong claw, the spices can be ground to extremely fine consistencies. This is done simply by rotating the crank with the handle which activates the grinding mechanism. This mechanism, made of treated and case-hardened steel to prevent corrosion and wear, in turn, rotates the blades.

This French-made 11-cm-high grinder is both a useful and decorative tool. You can keep it tidy and spotless by wiping it with a clean damp cloth.