Last year started building up my kitchen gadget collection. No longer satisfied with using cheap knives and minimal appliances, I wanted to pick and choose some of the better quality items that would help me to make all those recipes that I had been reading about.

My first gadget was a pepper mill. I love the taste of freshly ground black pepper. It’s just so much more flavourful than the pre-ground stuff. I had been getting by with what was basically a table top-sized pepper grinder, meant for use at the dining table. It had been a part of a set that came with my cheapie set of pots and pans. But when I used the pepper grinder for cooking, it took me forever to grind out the correct amount of pepper. I needed something better, faster, and easier to use.

My first try was one of those electronic pepper mills that disperses ground pepper with the touch of a button. It worked well in the store, and I thought it would save my wrist from becoming sore. Too bad it jammed and stopped working within days. I took it apart and still couldn’t manage to get it fixed properly. I finally returned it in frustration, and hopped on the web to see what people said were some of the better pepper mills.

I ended up spending way too much money. More money than I ever thought I would ever spend on pepper. But I’ve had the mill for about a year now, and it still works wonderfully. I love that thing! And from what my research said, this grinder will go on and on for years. That’s worth the cost, in my opinion.

And the one I ended up getting? It’s the one pictured here, from Peugeot, the car maker. They apparently started out making things like pepper mills, and haven’t stopped. I’ll probably never own a Peugeot car, but I have a feeling I’ll be loyal to this pepper mill for a long time.