Spice Grinders

Kyocera Corporation is now a fully diversified Japanese multi-national corporation but it started as a ceramics technology company. It has maintained this founding technology and today, it continues to produce quality ceramic kitchen knives, peelers, slicers, as well as grinders and mills.

Among these products is the Kyocera Everything Mill Adjustable Grinder. The name implies that it can grind or mill everything. Indeed, it can easily grind sea salt, wet salt, rock salt, dried oregano, peppercorns, red pepper flakes, and different kinds of seeds such as flax, sesame, mustard, cumin, and celery seeds. An adjustable dial sets the texture of the grounds, from coarse to fine, according to your preferences. During humid conditions, its tightly sealed cap keeps your spices dry.

As Kyocera specializes in ceramic technology, you can expect the mill’s ceramic grinding mechanism to be a-one. It is adamantine in hardness providing you with precise and even grounds. Couple this with the fact that ceramics do not rust, you can be sure of a long lasting mill grinder.

The upright design of this Kyocera mill eliminates residual grounds from your tables or counters. The spices are contained in a glass bottle. It is dishwasher safe so that you can clean it if you want to pour in another kind of spice without retaining the previous one’s flavor and aroma.

Cook’s Illustrated Magazine includes the Unicorn Magnum Plus Pepper Mill in its “Best” category. This is because the pepper mill stands out among its competitors in terms of its grinding functions, ease of handling and operation, and aesthetics.

The grinding mechanism consists of nickel-plated heads. These are impervious to rust and can be expected to maintain their cutting edges for extended periods even with frequent use. Indeed, the mill comes with a lifetime guarantee.

The texture of the grounds can be adjusted using a nut at the base of the mill. This can vary from extra fine to coarse. The adjusting nut is independent of the mill’s loading ring. This feature, unlike in other mills, eliminates the need to reset the nut to your preferred ground consistency every time you need to refill it.

Refilling is accomplished by turning sideways the circular depression on one side of the mill. This reveals a loading hole into which you can pour over a cup of peppercorns. The cylindrical built of the Magnum Plus is comfortable to the grip, while its length, a full nine inches, makes grinding light and easy.

The body of Magnum Plus is made of ABS plastic. This makes them tough and resistant to impact and heat. In addition to this, the sheen of the black plastic body lends elegance and class to the mill. It is perfect not only for your kitchen work areas, but for your dining table as well.

You can clean the exterior with paper towels. As for the interior, there is no need to clean it. Just be certain that the pepper you put into it are clean.

Nutmeg has a lot of uses. You can enhance the flavor of baked goods, apple pies, white sauces, custards, potatoes, spinach, squash, as well as drinks such as cappuccino, cider, and of course, your Christmas eggnog.

The nutmeg that is used as a spice is actually the seed of the nutmeg tree. While its outer surface bruises easily, its inner part is actually hard and can be difficult to grate. Thanks, however, to the William Bounds Nut Twister Nutmeg Mill, grinding the seed has become an easy and even pleasant task.

The nutmeg mill features a durable stainless steel grinding mechanism that resists corrosion. This sits atop a chrome base which serves to catch nutmeg bits when milled. The seeds, six of them if average in size, are placed atop the grinder and are covered with a clear acrylic top that is accented with chrome. Atop this cover is the crank lever, also in chrome, used to activate the grinding mechanism.

When actually grinding, one of the nutmeg seeds is impaled on prongs. A spring pushes it against the grinding mechanism which transforms the egg-shaped seeds into nutmeg bits. These bits are gathered in the chrome base. Since this is enclosed, no dust or powder is left on your table. With a simple twist, you can disengage the base and pour your nutmeg into your dish or drinks.

Cleaning can be accomplished by wiping with a damp cloth.

Cole and Mason Inverta Flip Spice Mills were designed to sit on your dining tables, not inside your cupboards to be taken out only when cooking. These English designed spice mills are pleasant-looking and are a perfect complement to kitchens of any décor. So if you like adding a bit more salt, pepper, or chili to your soup or solid foods while already dining, these innovative mills are for you.

The mills are made of crystal clear acrylic of the finest quality. The bottle tapers to a soft touch band above the midpoint then widens again to an open slanted top.

The grinding mechanism is housed within the band. This is a spring loaded ceramic mechanism that is easily adjustable and is excellent at milling salt, pepper, chili, and herbs. Since all the grinding is done at the top of the mill when it is inverted or flipped above your plate, there are no residues left to spill onto your table.

The Inverta Flip Spice Mills’ bands are of different colors. There is chrome, black, and red. You can probably use the chrome for your salt, black for pepper, and red for chili; or in any way you choose to. After all, you can see right through the clear acrylic bottle.

The rounded glass bottles in combination with the either the black or white plastic top of the Cuisinox MIL8000 make this mill set an eye-catching addition to your kitchen or dining table. The clear and transparent glass allows you to see what is inside the bottle, or how much of it is left. This way you will never mistake one for the other, and you will know when to refill it. Of course the black and white caps help but there is really nothing like looking at the real thing.

The plastic caps contain the ceramic grinding mechanisms that crush the spices. They are fully adjustable so you can have the texture that you want. Apart from housing the grinders, the caps also help seal in the spice’s freshness. And while these are called the salt and pepper mill set, you can also mill flax seed and other spices.

As the mills are dishwasher safe, cleaning is a breeze. Before pouring in salt, peppercorns, or flax seeds, into them, though, be sure they are thoroughly dried.

There are some people who say that good things come in pairs, and this is definitely true with the Perfex Salt and Pepper Mills. These grinders have been continually produced for over fifty years by a family-owned business in France.

Made of sturdy nickel-plated cast aluminum, Perfex grinders are expected to last a lifetime. Loading coarse sea salts and peppercorns into the mill is easy as this is done through a chute that slides open at the front. This chute is marked either with the letter “S” or “P” so you won’t be using the salt mill to grind pepper.

A crank handle at the top of the mill activates corrosion-resistant metal burr grinding heads which easily and quickly crushes salt and pepper. Rotating a nut at the bottom of the mill allows adjustment of the consistency of the grounds, whether coarse or fine.

The shiny finish of the Perfex Mills makes them attractive additions to your kitchen. The fact that their design is over 50 years old qualifies them to be a classic. Functionality, however, is not sacrificed for the sake of maintaining a traditional design as these mills are truly efficient.

The Pronto Folding Crank Mill utilizes ceramic grinders that are harder than carbon steel. Precisely because they are ceramics, they will neither corrode nor rust, thus they can be expected to last a lifetime. They will continue to grind salt, peppercorns, herbs, and other spices even after repeated use.

The grinders are activated by a dual mode handle which can either be collapsed or raised as a crank handle. Using the handle as a raised crank makes grinding faster and less strenuous. If you are grinding only a small amount of spice, however, you need not raise the handle.

An adjustable knob at the top of the mill that has three settings allows the choice of fine, medium, and coarse grinds. A big ceramic gear, which measures 30 mm, guarantees fast grinding. It can produce as much as 20 grams of pepper per minute.

Unlike other hand crank spice grinders, the Pronto is oval in shape. This feature provides a more comfortable and steadier grip, even with wet or oily hands. The top is made of plastic which could either be gray, white, red, or green. It has an integrated refill funnel with a stainless steel sliding door. The funnel makes refilling convenient. The handle is also made of stainless steel. The body is of clear acrylic which can accommodate one cup of ground spices.

For some people classic kitchen designs feel homier than those fitted with lots of plastic, glass, and stainless steel. Since a traditional kitchen often uses tables, chairs, buffets, cabinets, and hutches made of sustainable hardwoods, they can be thought of environmentally friendly.

Looking for appliances and tools that match these kitchens can be difficult at times as most now come in plastic or stainless steel. There is, however, an excellent pepper and spice grinder that perfectly suits a classic kitchen –the Traditional Greek Pepper and Spice Mill.

This classic beauty comes in a copper, brass, stainless steel, or wood cylinder. It is about 2.8 inches in diameter with heights varying from 7 to 11 inches. A handle is attached to the domed top. This activates a grinding mechanism that actually grinds, rather than smash, the spices. This grinding is better at retaining the flavor and aroma of the spices. At the base is a cup that catches the grounds.

The design literally comes from several hundred years ago. This grinder is a copy of the original brass coffee mill used by the Greek army while in the fields fighting off the Ottomans and the Axis Powers. As it was designed to work in battlefield conditions, you can expect durability and strength from it.

This hand-made quaint pepper and spice mill is a perfect complement to your traditional kitchen. It does not only blend well with the furniture. It also grinds flavorful and aromatic spices.

The OXO Good Grips Salt Grinder is an attractive piece of small kitchen equipment that is as suited to your kitchen as it is for your dining table. Its clear acrylic body allows you to see what is inside and how much you have left of it, and its stainless steel accents contrast with a black rotating tab and a refill cap. It is particularly suited to a contemporary kitchen, but there is really no reason why it cannot be used for kitchens of other décor.

The rotating tab at the upper portion of the grinder adjusts rust-free ceramic grinders allowing you to choose your ground size from coarse to fine. As the grinders do not absorb flavors or odors, you can fill the jar with another spice, such as peppercorn, and not worry about having salty pepper or pungent salt. Of course, if you don’t want emptying your grinder with one spice and refilling it with another, you can always opt to buy one for each.

Refilling is easy as the grinder lies flat when upside down. You only need to unscrew the cap and fill it up to its capacity of 4¾ ounces. Its non-slip grips make the grinder easy and comfortable to hold and twist as you pour the grounds over your food.

This compact spice grinder fits snugly into your palms making it comfortable to twist and easy to get freshly ground spices and other fresh herbs out of it. This 5-inch tall grinder is made of glass, plastic, and ceramics. The jar containing the herbs and spices is of clear glass which does not have any spindle thus making it possible to fit larger cuts of spices. The housing of the grinders is plastic which can either be red or blue. The grinders themselves are of ceramics which are stronger and more durable than stainless steel.

The normal placement of the grinding mechanism of this grinder is different from other brands. It is at the bottom. To fill it with fresh spices, turn it over and unscrew the glass jar from the plastic casing.

Although the glass jar is dishwasher safe, the grinding mechanism is not. To clean it, simply wipe it with a clean damp towel.