OT- I want to make my own peppermill, got any tips?

[Cole2534]

I LOVE fresh cracked pepper and the electric grinders I have tried suck. Weak little (2) AAA battery pieces of Chinese crap.

I want to make one that I can chuck in a drill to start, and then maybe a kitchen-aid mixer plug-in.

The design is simple, couple plates that pulverize the peppercorns to a powder, but I don't actually know anything about it. Before I dismantle the one I have, does anyone have any guidance?


Yes, I am aware this is ridiculous, but I like to use outlandish gadgets as marketing tools.

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[Frank Ford]

Years ago I complained to a friend about my inability to find a decent pepper grinder.

His response: "There aren't any. Get yourself a travel coffee grinder."

I found a nice brass one, replaced the crank handle with a big brass knurled top and gave it a brass base. It's been a faithful kitchen companion for decades.

 

[Frederick Harvie]

Leevalley Tools offers pepper mill mechanisms in their catalog. I bought a couple sets 30 years ago and made wooden pepperriners with matching salt shakers for my parents. at that time the mechanisms they sold were made by Peugeot in France . I see they are now selling a made in U.S. traditional mechanism as well as a ceramic cartridge mechanism

 

[thermite]

I LOVE fresh cracked pepper and the electric grinders
...

but I don't actually know anything about it.
...

Clearly. You already said that with the "electric" bit.

anyone have any guidance?

Yes.

Presence of an electric field f**ks-up piper nigrum. Witchcraft thing.

That's why there are no decent electric grinders.

This is of no interest whatsoever to folks who know how to eat food.
Or even cook it.

We use MANUAL peppermills. That way the chef, and each person dining, may select their own coarseness, per each dish, as the courses are served.

Nobody wants "pre-ground" pepper out of an electric mill.



Some nice ones come from Oxo & Peugeot.

But it doesn't have to be complicated:

McCormick Black Peppercorn Grinder, 2.5 Oz: Amazon.com: Grocery & Gourmet Food

 

[Cole2534]

Clearly. You already said that with the "electric" bit.

Yes.

Presence of an electric field f**ks-up piper nigrum. Witchcraft thing.

That's why there are no decent electric grinders.

This is of no interest whatsoever to folks who know how to eat food.
Or even cook it.

We use MANUAL peppermills. That way the chef, and each person dining, may select their own coarseness, per each dish, as the courses are served.

Nobody wants "pre-ground" pepper out of an electric mill.



Some nice ones come from Oxo & Peugeot.

But it doesn't have to be complicated:

McCormick Black Peppercorn Grinder, 2.5 Oz: Amazon.com: Grocery & Gourmet Food

I understand your sentiment, but seasoning a 12qt pot of etoufee by hand takes a while.

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[DanielG]

Buy and gut a Cole & Mason Derwent. It's a very nice grinder: Cook's Illustrated's pick, adjustable grind, well built, etc. It's about 60 'twists' per tsp on the fine setting. I'd guess a 'twist' is about 1/3 of a revolution, but I've never really measured it.

 

[WizardOfBoz]

Leevalley Tools offers pepper mill mechanisms in their catalog. I bought a couple sets 30 years ago and made wooden pepperriners with matching salt shakers for my parents. at that time the mechanisms they sold were made by Peugeot in France . I see they are now selling a made in U.S. traditional mechanism as well as a ceramic cartridge mechanism

Similar for me. I bought the mechanism and the Claro Walnut blank and turned it on my Delta 11 inch wood lathe (it's from the 50s or 40s, weighs 500 lbs, and has a tool holder for light metal work: a solid lathe). Made a pepper grinder for Mom. Got it back about two years ago when she passed away. She was pretty sharp in most ways til the end, but ... it was filled with lentils! Cleaned it up, emptied out all the lentils, and it works pretty good for pepper. Sometimes getting enough pepper takes some time though. I think that the quality of the Peugot grinder is good. Still works after about 20 years of Mom's use, and she cooked a lot. Usually with pepper.

Using the travel coffee grinders is intriguing. I'd particularly favor a brass Turkish-style one with a crank handle.

 

[rcoope]

Peugeot grinder mechanisms are fine, and I say that a cook and someone who has turned a pepper grinder, out of aluminum no less. You do have to adjust the tension correctly.

 

[EPAIII]

Tips on making a pepper mill?

Go to Red Lobster. Borrow one of the ones they use. That should be easy as they probably have dozens of them that have been taken out of service. Examine it and avoid all features that it has. They have incorporated every possible fault and defect in the pepper mills they use so you can't possibly go wrong if you do that.

 

[GregSY]

You know, they used to call those pepper grinders Rubirosas. If you wonder why, look it up.

 

[Cole2534]

You know, they used to call those pepper grinders Rubirosas. If you wonder why, look it up.

That was awesome.

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[Cole2534]

Leevalley Tools offers pepper mill mechanisms in their catalog. I bought a couple sets 30 years ago and made wooden pepperriners with matching salt shakers for my parents. at that time the mechanisms they sold were made by Peugeot in France . I see they are now selling a made in U.S. traditional mechanism as well as a ceramic cartridge mechanism

Lookes these up, $21 and I'm done with that part.

Thanks!

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[thermite]

I understand your sentiment, but seasoning a 12qt pot of etoufee by hand takes a while.

Yer working with piper negrum for its piperine where our clan would be using Capsaicin Chinense.

No grinding required. Just slice-up fresh ones.

Gloves recommended! Highly!

 

[Bill D]

Perfex pepper grinder is the one I like best simply because once you set the grind size it stays put even when refilling. The small one is too small for my hands I have yet to find a tall one at a price I am willing to pay.
Simple turned aluminum cylinder with fill hopper on the side.
Some companies make a big deal between pepper grinder and pepper mill?
Bill D

https://www.amazon.com/Perfex-Adjustable-High-Carbon-Mechanism-4-5-Inches/dp/B002OOVBEO

 

[kustomizer]

Who do you know with one like this?


Pepper Grinder Gun : 9 Steps (with Pictures) - Instructables

 

[thermite]

Who do you know with one like this?


Pepper Grinder Gun : 9 Steps (with Pictures) - Instructables

Might change ammo and up-grade the design to a "crew served weapon".

Carolina Reaper - Wikipedia

One of them an ambulance driver?

Extract:

Potential for severe headache
In April 2018, a case report of "thunderclap headaches" in a 34-year-old man – who was hospitalized a few days after consuming one Carolina Reaper pepper of unspecified size in a contest – included a presumptive diagnosis of reversible cerebral vasoconstriction syndrome (RCVS).[12][13] With no reason to believe pepper compounds had a role in the mechanism of RCVS, other clinical interpretations, such as a stress response from eating such a hot pepper, may explain the headaches.

 

[TGTool]

Cole,

You might consider adapting a hand immersion blender for the pepper grinding. It's designed for a detachable working end and shouldn't take that long for your 12 Qt. batch. If that seems too wimpy, I did have occasion to use a commercial restaurant one that was perhaps 30 inches long. That would at least support the Rubirosa appellation.

 

[crossthread]

My wife likes to cook with pepper that is quite course. She puts some corns in her garlic press and crushes them. Works great.

 

[Newman109]

YouTube

 

[TeachMePlease]

I'll second the Cole and Mason grinders as a good hand cranked alternative. I have a matched set for Sea Salt and Peppercorns, they get daily use over the last... I dunno, 6ish years? Finish is still awesome, and they work exactly as they should.

Of course, now I can't eat anything BUT fresh cracked black pepper, so I had to buy one of the disposable ones for my desk at work...