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Salt and pepper mills

April 8, 2007 
Filed under Cooking tools & gadgets

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A reader who calls himself/herself “Lomi” e-mailed me asking what I mean by “freshly ground pepper”. To tell you the truth, the question made me feel a little guilty. Am I presuming too much with some of the terms I use in my recipes? That wouldn’t do, right? After all, the object of the blog is not only to share recipes but, more importantly, to encourage everyone to cook and discover the joys of home cooking which today’s lifestyle has relegated to the background what with the penchant for deliveries and take-out food.

So let me be a little more helpful by posting more practical kitchen tips, including some of the cooking tools and gadgets that I truly find useful. However, being more helpful does not mean I will give in to requests to “please e-mail me the recipe” of such and such dish. No e-mail-a-recipe service.

salt and pepper grinders salt and pepper grinders

So, when I say freshly ground pepper, I mean peppercorns that have been ground. In my case, I use a pepper mill. Others prefer to grind their pepper using a mortar and pestle. What difference does it make really? Why not just buy powdered pepper and dispense it with a pepper shaker?

You know what? I used to think that the obsession over freshly ground pepper was just one of the caprices of those high-brow cooks. But when I started using a pepper mill to grind whole peppercorns, I never went back to using powdered pepper. The aroma, the flavor and the potency just aren’t the same.

Pepper mills come in a variety of forms and shapes. The materials vary too. You’ll find glass and ceramic pepper mills. Some are made to yield a coarse grind; others, a fine grind. Personally, I prefer a wooden pepper mill. In a country with such humid weather for most of the year, wood is best for absorbing moisture which may give way to the growth of molds. Oh, I know, we’re talking dried peppercorns here and how can anything dried every develop molds? Shucks, you don’t know how bad the humidity gets especially during the rainy season. Wooden pepper mills work best for me.

Pepper mills are usually sold together with a salt mill. I don’t normally grind my salt. Salt mills are useful for people who cook salt-free food and just place a salt mill on the table for those who want to add salt to theirs. Others use a salt mill to grind sea salt. I use both my salt and pepper mills for grinding pepper.


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Comments

13 Comments on "Salt and pepper mills"

  1. purplegirl on Sun, 8th Apr 2007 9:54 pm 

    using freshly ground pepper really elevates your dishes to a new level. especially if you use Tellicherry pepper which is the only pepper of choice in my kitchen — touted the most complex-flavored pepper in the world.

  2. kulasa on Mon, 9th Apr 2007 11:26 am 

    A friend sent me this awesome peppermil. It makes you choose the grind. I’ve had it for a year or so and freshly ground pepper does make a lot of difference. She also sent me seveal peppercorn tubes that contain several peppercorn mixes. I placed them in my old peppermills. There’s this one mixed wtih jalapeno and other dried peppers - ang anghang! Pero hit siya sa mga bisitang mahilig sa spicy food. If you have extra peppermills, you can use them for this.

    Salt corroded by wooden salt shaker and the metal cover of the plastic oe. Probably it’s the salt I used. Minsan kasi parang basa yung asin. Now I place it in a glass container nalang. Pero I never had problems with wooden ones with pepper.

  3. Penelope on Mon, 9th Apr 2007 10:42 pm 

    My husband used to make fun of me when I say that the freshly ground pepper is better, until he tried it himself. He admits he was wrong, so it was my turn to make fun. I also use a grinder for my salt. I dont know if it makes a difference because I use kosher. I just thought what the hell. :)

  4. Connie on Tue, 10th Apr 2007 1:02 am 

    true, true, true, purplegirl. the aroma alone makes the cost of the pepper mill worth it. hehehe

    kulasa, how great if you can choose the grind. then you’ll only need one pepper mill for every dish.

    Penelope, LOL, my hubby is the opposite. if he sees some cool looking gadget on those cooking shows in TLC, he’ll make me notice them and off hunting we go.

  5. Janete on Tue, 10th Apr 2007 2:41 am 

    I never noticed the difference until my husband bought me a pepper mill. The aroma from fresh ground pepper is way better than the ground pepper. I use it allot when I make lumpia kahit sumakit ang kamay and kili kili ko :grin: Im off to buy a big container of whole peppercorn this afternoon. Gagawa ako ng fish lumpia!

    More power to you Connie. I always visit your website and I love your recipes! I will try your yema balls this week. :razz:

  6. tea on Tue, 10th Apr 2007 9:52 am 

    hi, ms connie! i truly adore your blog! i’ts entertaining, informative and inspirational especially to moms like me. i admire you for your love and service to your family.:smile:

    anyway, I just want to ask you about this pepper mill. i’ve been dying to have one, but i can’t seem to find this item at department stores or supermarkets. where can i get them? and how much will this cost?

    thanks! hope you won’t tire of blogging. God bless!

  7. malou on Tue, 10th Apr 2007 6:00 pm 

    I started using salt and pepper mills when they were quite inexpensive gadgets yet.

    Ngayon mahal na yata especially the wooden types.

    Sabi ng partner ko noon, arte land daw. Pero ngayon sold na sold na sya sa idea.

  8. amatuer on Tue, 10th Apr 2007 8:42 pm 

    am gonna by myself a pepper mill soon! thanks for your info.

  9. amatuer on Tue, 10th Apr 2007 8:42 pm 

    i mean “buy” :oops:

  10. Tetet on Tue, 10th Apr 2007 11:26 pm 

    Where do we buy good peppermills, particularly wooden ones? Can you give me an idea how much is your peppermill? I heard also that the owner of Cibo and Pepato, Margarita Fores is an avid collector of peppermills.

  11. andie on Thu, 12th Apr 2007 10:08 am 

    miss connie, i know this is a misplaced comment but i just really have to ask you about the sausages you mentioned for you baguio article. we couldn’t find it because nobody seemed to know about the “old laurel house” you mentioned. can you please give me the street where it is or which monastery you’re referring to? i would really like to try those and would like to know as my mom is going back to baguio for the weekend.

  12. Connie on Thu, 12th Apr 2007 9:19 pm 

    Thank you to all of you too. :)

    Tetet, mine cost a thousand. Pair na yun ha. Salt and pepper mills. We bought in the Mall of Asia. Forgot the shop’s name though…

  13. nina on Tue, 23rd Dec 2008 4:38 pm 

    I’ve always wanted to buy one but it’s expensive here. A thousand a pair is a good deal. I should buy when I go home :)




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