The 8 Best Salt and Pepper Grinders

The Merazi Living wood salt and pepper mills are beautifully crafted out of honey-toned acacia wood. This is a solid set made of high-quality wood that for some might seem a little heavy. The grinding mechanism for the pepper mill is a sturdy piece of stainless steel, and for the salt mill, it’s ceramic. Both materials ensure years of everyday use.

The mills have wide mouths, so refilling them is a breeze, with or without a spoon. The set is 8-inches tall and each holds approximately 1/3 cup of salt or pepper. The Merazi Living mills has two types of grind — fine and medium-fine — and both grind effortlessly. These exquisite and well-made salt and pepper mills will make an elegant addition to any kitchen or dining room table.

The AmuseWit gravity electric salt and pepper mills were made with convenience in mind. If you have copper cookware in your kitchen, this set with fit right in. The motor is housed in a sturdy acrylic cover that’s coated with a very thin sheet of copper that appears to have been treated to be smudge-free. Each mill runs off of six AAA batteries, and the only difficulty we had was attaching the motor to the jar that holds the salt and peppercorns, which needs to be precisely lined up to lock into place.

Refilling the wide-mouth acrylic jar is hassle-free, and it holds a generous 1/2 cup of salt crystals or peppercorns. Once you’ve got the mills set up, all you have to do is tilt them at a 45-degree angle, and three white LEDs light up and the grinder starts automatically. Grinding size is medium to coarse for pepper and a finer consistency for salt. Pepper accumulates in the ridge of the grinder, but a brush is included for cleaning.

The Smart House salt and pepper shakers are simple yet well-made and are perfect for everyday use. If you’re the type of person who leaves your salt and pepper shakers on the table, this bargain-priced set is elegant and functional. Think of a salt and pepper shaker you see in a diner: a wide-mouth glass jar with a stainless steel top. The Smart House shaker jars hold 1/2 cup, covered by a stainless-steel sheath that leaves 3/4-inch of the jar visible.

The cap of the sheath revolves from closed to pour to coarse grind to fine grind. The cap can be removed to brush off salt or pepper that gets stuck between its grooves, but it does need to be snapped back on firmly or the cap will only turn clockwise. Other than that, the Smart House salt and pepper shakes are great for everyday or fancy dining.

Simplicity and functionality make the OutGeek Seasoning Shakers one of our favorite salt and pepper shakers on this list. The set is made out of corrosion-resistant stainless steel, which makes them ideal for glamping, camping, or picnics. Their design is similar to a powdered-sugar duster, but instead of sifting holes, the OutGeek shakers have three different holes for fine, medium, and coarse seasonings that are selected by turning the shaker’s cap. The cap also seals the shaker shut, and a silicone lid is included for ensuring your seasonings are moisture-free and pest-proof.

Each shaker holds 14 ounces of salt or pepper, but you can use also use them for herbs and spices because you also get 126 preprinted labels for any herb and baking ingredient you can think of and 18 blank labels to customize the shakers yourself.

The VanLon Pro salt and pepper grinder set is made of acacia wood with a bit of stainless steel trim. The acacia isn’t a solid piece of wood, and the seams have been artistically hidden by using the natural grain of the wood. Its grinding mechanism is composed of lower-grade stainless steel and ceramic, which made grinding the salt effective but the pepper less so.

The grinders stand 8-inches tall and hold about 1/3 cup of salt or pepper. They have wide openings and can be easily refilled with a spoon or funnel. Like many of the wooden salt and pepper mills we tested, the VanLon Pro has two settings, medium coarse and coarse. Grinding is smooth, and if you prefer a heartier texture to salt and pepper, this handsome wood set is reasonably priced.

Urban Noon is an electric salt and pepper mill set that has a sleek, modern aesthetic for kitchens with stainless steel appliances. Will all-metal bodies, the shakers have some heft and substance without being too heavy. Each is powered by four AA batteries that give plenty of power to the grinding mechanism, which is activated by a push-button on top of the shaker. Grind size is adjusted by loosening and tightening a bolt on the bottom; this is one of the few grinders we tested that actually delivered fine, medium, and coarse grinds.

A couple of design flaws prevented our recommending the Urban Noon shakers as our top pick for electric shakers. First, installation of the batteries is more difficult than it should be. The positive ends of the batteries fit too snugly against the inner housing wall, so it’s a struggle to get the push-button cap locked in. Second, the acrylic jar holds less than 1/3 cup, and the jar’s locking device limits how much salt and pepper you can get in with a spoon, which makes refilling time-consuming.Read more…

The best feature of the Corkle gravity salt and pepper grinders is that it’s powered by a USB rechargeable lithium-ion battery. It takes about three hours to fully charge, and the charge lasts for about 200 grinds. The Corkle is similar in design to our top pick for electric grinders, AmuseWit, but it has a slimmer profile. Its large glass jar holds nearly six ounces of salt or pepper, and refilling the wide-mouth jars is a cinch. These are also gravity shakers for one-handed operation.

Build-wise, however, the Corkle isn’t as well-made as the AmuseWit shakers. The battery and motor housing, however, are plastic, sheathed in a very thin sheet of stainless steel. The plastic grind adjustment is made of flimsy plastic and doesn’t work in changing grind size, which for both salt and pepper is a medium grind. If you’re not particular about grind size, then the convenient USB recharging capability is the Corkle set’s selling point.

The relatively inexpensive Belugahots manual salt and pepper grinders are made of good-quality acacia wood and have an ultra-slim profile accentuated by the beautiful graining of the wood. They’re lightweight, have an ultra-slim profile, and feel ergonomically designed to fit comfortably in your hand. You also get a nice acacia wood spoon for refilling the shakers.

The grinding mechanism is non-corrosive ceramic, which is more durable and has a longer life span than metal, and is usually effective in grinding finely. Despite the undeniable craftsmanship, however, the grinding adjustment only produces a fine-to-medium grind for both salt and pepper.