****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
My dad always showered his food with lots of cracked black pepper. He didn’t care for anything spicy like Tabasco sauce, but always seasoned everything he ate with lots of pepper. When he made dinner, he would sometimes forget that not all of us were the kind of pepper fans he was, so he would apply a good shake of the large-grind pepper he favored to our food, too. I always disliked that, and would assiduously scrape it off the best I could.I’m not sure why, but recently, I began craving lots of pepper on my food. And I wasn’t craving “regular” pepper- I wanted the kind of pepper I remembered my dad using, and you can’t buy that at the store- at least, I couldn’t find pepper like he used in any pre-ground form.I had an old pepper grinder that had been in a drawer, so I ordered some “regular” peppercorns with my grocery order from a big box store. I quickly realized that I was going to have to go out of my way to find the right combination of grinder and peppercorns, as what I ended up with on my food were tiny gray flakes that tasted like- nothing. I threw the seldom-used cheap-o pepper grinder and flavorless peppercorns away. Time for a fresh start.I got to work reading reviews on Amazon, and one of the video reviews for this grinder (I forget the name of the reviewer, but thank you so much, grinder-reviewing person!)- made the filling and use of this pepper grinder look fun, and easy. It seemed kind of pricey, but as with anything, you pay more for something well-made (and really cool-looking.). This grinder is indeed very simple to use. You can easily adjust the size of the flakes, and I was relieved I didn’t have to unscrew some elaborate parts to fill the grinder, as was the case with that old pepper grinder. I decided to kill two birds, and ordered the Kuhn Rukon grinder, and also some tellicherry whole peppercorns (“Happy Belly Tellicherry Peppercorns”) which were recommended by another Amazon customer.I ordered the red one. It is actually kind of beautiful! It reminds me of the 60s. It’s like something Austin Powers or Twiggy would have in their kitchens. It’s such a bright, happy, vibrant red. And, while it is made out of plastic, it feels very sturdy. All you do is open the little aperture in the side, pour in the peppercorns (which smelled fantastic, and so deliciously pepper-y), then close the aperture, get your food, hold the thing over the plate, and pull the lever back and forth. And- there you have it! A lot- or a little- delicious, freshly ground pepper!I am an older person, and have arthritis in both hands. I have no trouble pulling the lever back and forth to grind the pepper. This grinder is very efficient at putting out pepper, and I was having too much fun probably, pulling the lever when I was trying it out. I soon found out that one or two pulls only, back and forth, puts out plenty of ground pepper. I really like that about this pepper grinder: I no longer have to stand there and grind, and grind, and grind, and barely get anything on the food.I never realized the difference in taste and quality it makes in daily cooking and eating, seasoning with fresh, flavorful just-ground pepper. I mean- it seems so obvious. But I just used whatever I could find at the grocery store. A big bag of “gourmet” peppercorns didn’t cost much- you get 16 ounces for $9.49 of the Happy Belly kind here on Amazon, as of this writing. After trying these peppercorns, I’m never going back to grocery store shelf ground pepper, or grocery store (i.e. stale) peppercorns. I think I will keep the bag of peppercorns in the fridge, as it will take even pepper-loving me quite awhile to go through 16 ounces.If you are at all on the fence about buying this pepper grinder- my gosh, go for it! It just arrived, so I can’t attest to the longevity of the product, but I will update the review over time. I was skeptical of it, as you are of anything you buy without trying it out yourself. But I was relieved to find it seems very well-made, and doesn’t have a lot of fiddly moving parts that might go wrong. And it is so fun to use. I have a friend who loves to cook, and I am getting her one of these for Christmas, along with some peppercorns. I know she will love it.I am VERY happy with my purchase! Highly recommended. Thank you.
