The Best Salt and Pepper Mills
The best salt and pepper mills: I find that using items that you love on a daily basis can really have a positive impact on your daily sense of pleasure and enjoyment, and this affects so many other facets of your life. Why save your porcelain coffee cup for the once or twice a year occasion when you could be using it daily; admiring it’s lines and the way the fineness of it feels in your hand and when you bring it to your lips.
This observation has led me to set about to perfecting the items that I interact with daily. Having the most comfortable duvet, silk pajamas that feel so nice on my skin, the best smelling candle or soap, the perfect water glass to sit on my desk, my dishes… It feels like these upgrades really can make life more pleasurable each day, removing some of the mundane when you make a routine activity more luxurious, more celebrated.
Currently, I am looking to upgrade my salt and pepper mills. I leave them on the counter for cooking, and also bring them to the table for dining. I have a wood set by OYOY and I do like them, but they are on the small side and need refilling often. I also have a marble set of small bowls from H&M Home, that I keep by the stove for easily salting pasta water or steaks, and for convenient access to different types of salt, for instance black salt from Iceland.
I am looking to replace the OYOY set with a matching salt and pepper mill set that are attractive, since I tend to leave them out, and also grind well, and can hold an ample amount of peppercorns and salt, and don’t leave behind messes! Many sets seem to have a grinding pepper mill, but a salt shaker. I really prefer to have coarse ground salt and grind it freshly when I need it.
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Peugeot is most often ranked highest among grinders, and they have many different materials and sizes to choose from. Other manufacturers include Alessi, Normann Copenhagen, and brands that make other kitchen utensils, like Georg Jensen, Le Creuset, as well as other big box stores. You can also find a lot of variety on Etsy. But I think the mechanism requires high quality materials and a name to stand behind the brand.
A good place to experience different salt and pepper mills are in restaurants! I do love the weight of the steel Peugeot mills. In many cases, weight signifies quality to me. And the French brand has a great reputation in the category of mills. As it turns out, the Peugeot family owned flour mills in the 1800s, and this led to their entry into making steel utensils for the kitchen. They invented their own sawing method that keeps the blades sharper longer, which explains why their pepper mills are so highly rated.
Of course there are advantages and disadvantages to consider when selecting the best salt and pepper mills, for instance do the metal grinders require cleaning more often as they show fingerprints? What material would most enhance your space? Are they easy to refill? Do they leak material after grinding, always leaving behind a mess?! What are most durable?
Do you have a favorite?
