Pepper Mill? or Pepper Shaker?
When you have company, what do you put on the table, a pepper mill or a pepper shaker?
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30 Comments:
Mill
bessfour at 3:17PM on 06/25/08
A thousand times, "Mill."
robincat at 3:24PM on 06/25/08
I forgot to mention the reason I am asking. At Crate & Barrel last week, on a whim, I bought a recycled melamine S&P shaker set. When I got home, I had buyer's remorse. I hate to waste anything and these were not expensive, but they have all the colors of my outdoor dinnerware. I don't think I can put them on the table!
izatryt at 3:31PM on 06/25/08
A mill! I don't even own a shaker...
bitchincamero at 3:37PM on 06/25/08
@bitchincamero - same here!
joyyy at 3:41PM on 06/25/08
Hehe Robincat. When I clicked on this topic, I was chanting in my head, "MILL MILL MILL MILL MILL."
I don't even own a pepper (or salt) shaker. All we have is a black OXO pepper mill we've used for several years. After owning it for ~3 months, I noticed that the cap has debossed volume measurements. I've never use it to measure, but it's pretty nifty.
Cassaendra at 3:45PM on 06/25/08
Pepper-MILL!
**even though my BF still likes his shaker- and went so far as to make a BIG one out of a rehabbed Corona bottle cause I (supposedly) keep hiding the teeny peppershaker (that I don't use)
bisbee at 3:51PM on 06/25/08
BOTH !!!
Uglycuss at 3:58PM on 06/25/08
Mill. I don't even own a pepper shaker...LOL.
chiff0nade at 4:32PM on 06/25/08
Mill here too
NanaJoie at 4:37PM on 06/25/08
Just try tasting freshly ground pepper versus what comes out of the average pepper shaker, and see which anyone prefers. About the only time I use the tinned stuff is when I make a gigantic batch of New Orleans-style barbecued shrimp, and even then, it's a fresh tin or bottle, preferably from Penzey's, which has very considerately opened a store a mile away.
lemons at 5:21PM on 06/25/08
My mother in law wanted a salt shaker when I was first married. She looked all over my kitchen. I have never owned one. If you open my lazy susan you find 5 or 6 kinds of salt and kosher. There are no shakers there are small mason jars with lids.
I also have about 5 kinds of pepper in mills.
JerzeeTomato at 5:57PM on 06/25/08
Mill. Always a mill.
Brownie at 6:10PM on 06/25/08
Mill for the dinner table...but I like to use the shaker when making big pots of soup or sauce...MILL :)
payper_or_plastek at 6:28PM on 06/25/08
i use a mill to cook with but i don't put pepper on the table. raw pepper tastes nasty and makes me cough.
cybercita at 10:44PM on 06/25/08
I never liked pepper growing up. Then I had it freshly ground and have never looked back. Pepper doesn't even come into my house unless it's whole. I especially like the green and pink peppercorns.
The only exception I make is occasionally I buy a tiny amount of fresh powdery fine white pepper for scrambled eggs because there's really something to that combo but it's not peppery to me either.
And these days the salt is in bowls but there is one shaker with sea salt.
Sieseye at 11:55PM on 06/25/08
Waterford Crystal shakers on the table for show; the mill and salt pot are in the kitchen where I can get to them easily from stove. If I'm serving Caesar salad, the mill comes to the table for the salad course and then goes back in kitchen out of range of talking with hands!
cowprintrabbit at 12:33PM on 06/26/08
Mill always.
You need two: one for the table and one for the kitchen.
Mischiefdish at 10:36AM on 06/27/08
I always use a mill. For salt and Pepper.
BUT I always have little shakers for guests who do not like the mills, or for corn on the cob. Can't use my mills with only one hand...
bodaciousgirl at 12:53PM on 06/27/08
We only have a pepper mill...so I have to go with mill.
Hillary
Chew on That
Chew on That at 2:43PM on 06/27/08
No shakers in my place. Only mills (for black and crushed red pepper), and a little ceramic pot for the obligatory pinch o' salt.
Kerosena at 3:11PM on 06/27/08
Mill
weljwm at 10:21PM on 06/27/08
Mill for sure. Shakers are too risky cause people will loosen the top, and next time you go to shake a lil' seasoning on your dinner, it's covered in pepper and you're sneezing. Not that I would know :)
foodbeast at 1:14AM on 06/28/08
Mills, of course. But does anyone know of a battery-powered mill which won't break on the slightest tumble? I have a dozen of two different brands which I bought on sale recently because I love their one-handed ease of use. However, three of them have already been broken because their flimsy plastic housings have tiny flanges which snap far too easily if they should suffer even a short fall.
JasmineCyrus at 4:57AM on 06/28/08
Always a mill. Like many others on this thread, I don't even own a shaker.
chisai at 8:35AM on 06/28/08
Mill. I'd like a quality one-hander. Any recommendations that won't break the bank?
PerkyMac at 9:09AM on 06/28/08
I always use a mill, too.
@PerkyMac- Cheff'n makes a good peppermill/salt shaker combo. I've had mine for more than 10 years. It's acrylic, has an adjustable grind and a salt shaker in the top. (I drilled the holes a little bigger so kosher salt will fit through them!)
If I need a large quantity of pepper for something, I just grind it in my spice mill, the one that used to be a coffee grinder. :-) Of course, you could hook your pepper mill to a drill like Alton Brown. LOL!
Calichef at 8:18PM on 06/28/08
Mill! The flavor can't compare, and I get to do my little peppermill dance whenever I give it a grind. (Come on, no one else does that?)
nosillak at 3:05PM on 06/29/08
@Calichef - i took your advise and bought a high powered drill like Alton to grind my pepper corns. Ok, you caught me in a fib. I can't believe I didn't think to use my coffee grinder for pepper. Thanks for the tip!
PerkyMac at 7:53PM on 07/12/08
Pepper must be ground before use, lest all those lovely volatile oils escape... BUT if you don't want to waste the shaker why not use it for something else? Home-made garam masala? Chili pepper flakes? Another type of salt???
CarolineRowe at 8:15PM on 09/16/09