If you’re looking for an easy way to elevate your meals at home, you can make one simple-but-impactful kitchen swap and trade out your traditional pepper shaker for a pepper mill. This cooking accessory makes pre-ground pepper and salt a thing of the past and instead gives you freshly ground seasonings and spices in seconds with just a twist of the wrist.
While the price points on these professional-style gadgets is a bit higher than your standard shaker, the results are worth it. Grinding whole peppercorns in a mill releases the fruits’ (yes, peppercorns are classified as fruits) fragrant oils that will give meat, fish, pasta and vegetables more robust flavors and aromas.
“Using a pepper mill ensures that you’re not losing any of the aromatics of the peppercorns themselves,” New York City-based private chef Brittney ‘Stikxz’ Williams told HuffPost. “You are able to crack them as needed which allows for those oils to open up and perfume any dish as opposed to stale, less pungent pre-ground pepper. It’s all about flavor!”
To find out which pepper mills are worth the splurge, we reached out to real chefs to see which ones they use in their own kitchens, and included two additional highly-rated options that you can buy on Amazon.
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This stylish wooden mill has a graphite-like finish and makes a decorative addition to any kitchen. It features an adjustable knob so you can get the perfect fineness or coarseness. You can grind black, white, green and red pepper, pink peppercorns and coriander seeds. It's roughly 4 inches tall.
If you love incorporating cool technology in your kitchen, this rechargeable mill is the cooking essential you need, and it even comes with a USB cable. It's easy to use (works with just a push of a button), quiet and compact and has a spin dial that allows you to choose the coarseness.
Made of natural oak wood, this adjustable mill is suitable for both pepper and salt. You can choose your level of coarseness by adjusting the metal knob at the top.
These sleek, battery-operated mills can be purchased as a set or separately. They're also super easy to use; simply hold it over the food you want to season and the blades will automatically sprinkle pepper or salt. The mills come pre-filled with whole peppercorns and salt crystals so you don't have to worry about supplying your own (unless you want to, of course). Each mill measures 7 inches tall.
You won't have to worry about keeping this 8-inch wood mill clean — it comes with a cleaning brush, which makes it easy to prevent buildup and clogging. With over 2,000 five-star ratings (and a stamp of approval from my boyfriend, a former chef), this mill makes an excellent choice for both pros and beginners in the kitchen.
Promising review: "I have been looking for a wooden pepper mill for a while now. The one I had previously was very tall and couldn't fit in my spice cabinet. This one is just the right size. It's very easy to use and since it comes with a brush it should be easy to clean." — Nora Lorraine
Boasting over 5,000 five-star ratings, this pepper mill comes in copper, wood, stainless steel and gray metal. Choose from six grinding levels to get the perfect coarseness for your meals.
Promising review: "We had the salt grinder and liked it so much we had to seek out the pepper grinder to purchase. The grinder mechanism is very smooth to operate and (sounds silly but..) quiet!! Changing the size of the grind is easy and filling is straightforward. Materials are nice and clean easily. I used to have two sets of grinders but these are so easy to use I keep them by the stove for cooking and move them to the table after a quick wipe." — Kevin Huse