Best Pepper Mills

Newer pepper mills outperform traditional grinders

Although pepper mills are simple devices, there are a few features that experts consider essential: the ability to deliver a range of grinds (from truly fine to coarse), wide refill openings, roomy interior chambers and sturdy build quality. After all, many pepper grinders are stored on the counter and most will make contact with the floor at least once in their lifetimes.

In comparative tests, Unicorn pepper mills from the Tom David company earn the highest overall ratings. The New York Times' Suzanne Hamlin has called these mills "severely simple columns of tough ABS plastic that look like something from Darth Vader's pantry." Numerous sources, including Chow.com, Cook's Illustrated and Fine Cooking magazines, praise Unicorn pepper grinders for their generous capacity, large refill openings, excellent grind adjustability and easy-to-clean exteriors that don't show fingerprints.

Unicorn makes pepper mills in a variety of sizes and styles, but reviews say that they perform similarly, and the main differences lie in size and design. Experts say the 9-inch-tall Unicorn Magnum Plus (*Est. $45) has it all. It can deliver a range of grind sizes (from powdery to coarse), it's built to last and it's easy to clean. It is, however, also expensive, so we've included the step-down model, the 6-inch Unicorn Magnum (*Est. $30) in the ConsumerSearch Best Reviewed section. Both grinders have smooth heads that sit on the cylindrical base like caps on mushrooms; to grind, you grasp the head and twist. To adjust the grind, you turn a screw on the bottom. If you don't mind filling your grinder a little more often, reviews call the Unicorn Magnum Plus an excellent choice. Its capacity (7 tablespoons) is less than the Unicorn Magnum Plus' 15 tablespoons, but owners posting to cookware-review sites say that's more than enough. In addition, only the Unicorn Magnum Plus pepper mill comes with a round tray to catch stray pepper grounds. The Unicorn Magnum Plus does not have a matching salt mill.

The latest Unicorn pepper mill, the Unicorn Keytop (*Est. $20), has the same grinding mechanism as the Unicorn Magnum and Unicorn Magnum Plus, but the design is different. Instead of a smooth, rounded head, it has a flat knob at the top. This pepper mill has the same capacity as the Unicorn Magnum, and it's the same size, but owners say it's slightly easier to use with wet or greasy hands. The Unicorn Keytop has a sister mill for salt, the white Keytop Salt Mill, but, unlike the top-rated Unicorn Magnum, the Unicorn Keytop lacks a pepper-dust tray.

If you're looking for a manual pepper mill that can be operated with one hand, reviews say that the Unicorn Peppergun (*Est. $25) is an excellent choice. To operate it, you simply squeeze the offset handles together. Although its design is not as sleek as that of the Unicorn Magnum or Unicorn Magnum Plus, reviews say the Unicorn Peppergun works nearly as well, has the same capacity and boasts the same grinding range.

Consumer reviews of pepper grinders posted to Amazon.com and Epinions.com are full of praise for the Unicorn pepper mills, but a few owners say that the heads of the Unicorn Magnum and Unicorn Magnum Plus, which twist to grind, can be slippery when gripped with greasy hands. Several others say that both Unicorn Magnum grinders have a similar design flaw: The refill hatches can be opened by mistake, because the head and the refill door (which slides open) turn in the same direction, and one sits directly atop the other. If the refill hatch is opened by mistake, hundreds of peppercorns can come bouncing out. Some owners say they simply secure the hatch with clear tape, but other owners say that if you're careful, it's easy to avoid this problem. It's worth noting that Unicorn pepper mills are made of plastic and presumably could melt if left beside a heat source. The Tom David company does, however, guarantee its mills for life.

Unlike the Unicorn pepper mills, the PepperMate Pepper Mill (*Est. $35), which resembles a plastic pencil sharpener, catches pepper in a detachable chamber, so it's "good for high-volume grinding," according to Teri Tsang of Every Day with Rachael Ray magazine, and it doesn't need a separate dust tray. The PepperMate Pepper Mill is efficient, comfortable to grip and sturdily built, reviews say. Tsang finds the key-style crank affixed to the side of this plastic mill "awkward," but most owners posting to Cooking.com like the design.

Traditional pepper mills

The trouble with traditional, turned-wood pepper mills is that they are difficult to refill, say experts. To refill this type of mill, you loosen the metal finial and remove the cap. As you pour pepper into the chamber, peppercorn can easily ricochet off the grinding mechanism and land on the countertop or floor. Editors at a major cookware-review magazine say that the finials, which are used to adjust the fineness of the grind, can easily fall off when loosened and may become lost.

Despite the design flaws common to traditional pepper mills, reviews call the French-made Peugeot Chateauneuf (*Est. $80) a solidly built pepper mill that grinds uniformly. With its dark finish, curvy housing and stainless-steel accents, this wooden mill is attractive, but Teri Tsang of Every Day with Rachael Ray downgrades it for being "difficult to refill," and Chow.com's Aida Mollenkamp concludes that this "nice mill" could use a style makeover. On the whole, this expensive mill doesn't appear to be anything special, and other, equally handsome mills cost far less.

If you're looking for a silver pepper mill with a traditional look, reviews point to another French-made mill, the Perfex Cast Aluminum Pepper Mill (*Est. $60). TheKitchn.com's Sara Kate Gillingham-Ryan says that although this pepper mill is "no bargain," it's built to last a lifetime and will "never let you down." The aluminum may develop a patina over time, she notes, but she loves this mill's trapdoor-style refill hatch and says she actually looks forward to using it. This mill earns a high overall rating at Amazon.com (although not as high as the Unicorn Magnum). Two owners say that they've owned Perfex pepper mills for 20 years, and each has held up to daily use.

Electric pepper mills

When it comes to choosing an electric pepper mill, experts say you should exercise caution. Often, automatic mills are not as sturdy as manual mills and are incapable of producing a truly fine grind. Many run through batteries quickly, and nearly all are top-heavy, because the batteries sit in the upper chamber, above the grinding mechanism. In tests at Chow.com, Louisa Chu says that the "effortless" Elite Graviti (*Est. $30) produces a truly fine grind, but that it starts grinding whenever you turn it upside down -- an inconvenience when "you're trying to remove the base to add peppercorns or put new batteries in." Reviews of the Elite Graviti pepper mill at Amazon.com are mixed, with many owners complaining that their Elite Graviti battery-powered pepper mills stopped working within a few months.

Although most electric pepper mills receive decidedly mixed reviews, the MIU Electric Pepper Mill (*Est. $50) gets higher-than-average ratings in more than a dozen reviews at Cooking.com. At Amazon.com, the MIU Electric Pepper Mill wins raves for its streamlined design and clear storage chamber. Several owners call it a conversation starter because of its striking looks, and many like the fact that it has a light, although a few call the light an unnecessary gimmick. We read a few complaints about build quality and poor balance (the six AA batteries sit in the upper chamber), and even reviewers who like this pepper grinder concede that it drains batteries fairly quickly. Manual pepper grinders get better reviews on the whole, but if you're looking for an electric grinder, reviews call the MIU Electric Pepper Mill a decent choice.