I need salt and pepper grinders which actually work

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I’m fed up of grinders which stop grinding after a few months. Or where the bottom doesn’t stay on securely after re-filling. Or they block up easily, or are a bugger to re-fill in the first place. My latest purchase were an attractive pair of electric push button ones from Pro Cook (not cheap!) which I had high hopes for. One stopped working after 4 months.

can anyone recommend ones which actually work longer than a few months?

I've had these 2 sets for 6 that's and after everyday use they're still going strong!! Both adjustable and easy to fill!

Cole and Mason are the best.

I’ve found the supermarket salt ones last years. Got a comically large wooden grinder for pepper that has lasted years too…

I have had my Le Crueset ones for 10 years or so and they are still perfect. You can adjust how coarse you want the grind and they're easy enough to refill if you create a sort of funnel by wrapping your hand round the top and pour in that way.

This thread is an example of the difference in quality of products today compared to the past. I have a bog standard wooden pepper grinder (one of those tall ones) from the 80's and it is still going strong today. However it is fiddly to refill - but being tall you don't have to refill it very often.

I bought some 21 years ago and they are still going strong- rather unhelpfully I can’t remember what brand they are.

My OXO good grips ones have lasted years

Nobody has ever been able to explain to me why we grind salt ‘fresh’! It’s literally a simple mineral. If you want fine salt buy fine salt and shake it. I guess the sets look cute.

Anyway after two rubbish Cole and Mason sets I got an OXO one and it’s great. NEVER buy the electric ones. Unnecessary complications unless you’re disabled.

https://www.sainsburys.co.uk/gol-ui/product/habitat-salt-pepper-mill-navy

These are fab

https://amzn.eu/d/3RGaIJd I've had these since 2020 and they're still going strong.

Another vote for Cole + mason, which I’ve had for centuries. Also like can adjust size of pieces that come out from fine dust to large crumbles.

I've got posh Peugot grinders now but to be honest the best pepper mill I ever had was this Ikea £5 one https://www.ikea.com/gb/en/p/ikea-365-ihaerdig-spice-mill-black-10152875/

25 years ago i bought a ‘Crushgrind’ pepper grinder and it has never failed me yet. It wasn’t cheap then, but I've probably spent 10x that in the years since trying to get a decent salt grinder. (The little shop I’d bought it from closed down).

Thanks to this thread I’ve looked them up and found their website. They’re based in Denmark, and I think i might treat myself! (You can buy in the UK too - they’re on Amazon)

That's hardly a recommendation. Le Creuset should certainly last for many years.

We have a Peugeot pepper grinder which is great, and a Le Cruset salt pig. If I wanted a grinder for salt I’d buy another Peugeot.

I endorse the recommendation for OXO which I bought in Sainsbury’s.
Every year we stay in a place which the owner has increasingly kitted out with Procook. Awful stuff. Wouldn’t touch it with a barge pole.

I feel your pain. I tend to rely on these from Costco https://www.costco.co.uk/Grocery-Household/Food-Cupboard/Spices-Seasonings/Kirkland-Signature-Mediterranean-Sea-Salt-Grinder-with-Refill-737g-2-Pack/p/1250148 (+pepper), but every now and again I give in to my Mrs Bucket and buy nicer ones for the table. They alway fail after a few months. I do list after Peugeot ones but can’t really justify the cost.

I second Peugeot grinders. Mine are good after 3 years .

Another vote for Peugeot. Fantastic quality. Grinding into steamy pans does introduce moisture and clog grinders though….I use a salt pig for my salt and grind pepper onto my chopping board or into a little dish if I’m adding it to food as it cooks.

I've had the same Marlux mills for over 30 years. They just sit there and quietly do their jobs perfectly. They went back to the manufacturer once under their lifetime guarantee but it transpired that the only problem was that my DH had put salt in the pepper one and vice versa, and the mechanisms are different. They seemed inordinately expensive at the time but they've been worth it in spades.

Judging by the pictures here they look to be the same as the Peugeot ones https://www.buymeonce.co.uk/blogs/research/the-best-buy-for-life-pepper-grinders-reviewed?srsltid=AfmBOoq56ZRaYp2ZC7xU0KpxEafViKu5MvO7-exASFglNWqDhz_2lbzv
Standing them in a cereal bowl or similar to fill them eliminates chasing after spilled peppercorns.

Me too in the almond colour. Easy to fill and adjustable. Best we've had.

I have these too. No mess underneath them, easy to fill.

Supporting the Ikea ones. They go strong for years

@OrsolaRosso I have the electric version of those, I love them.

We got Cole and Mason ones as wedding presents about 20 years ago and we’ve only just replaced them with Le Creuset, as they were giving up the ghost.