Every fortnight, Which? free account owners are given an exclusive glimpse behind the curtain at some of our members-only product reviews.
This week, we’re adding a little seasoning by comparing two salt and pepper grinder sets.
While both deliver a fine grind consistency, the similarities end there. One has a large capacity, twists effortlessly (even with wet hands) and brings plenty of flavour to the table; the other takes a pinch too much patience, with fiddly refills and a slower turn.
| Menu Bottle Grinder Spice Mills | Le Creuset Mini Salt and Pepper Mills | |
|---|---|---|
| Which? test score | 90%, Best Buy | 46% |
| Price | SQUIRREL_TEXT_50024678 | SQUIRREL_TEXT_50000277 |
| Fine grind consistency | ||
| Ease of filling | ||
| Speed |
We like: Consistent coarse and fine-ground pepper, easy to grip, robust
We don't like: One of the largest sets we tested
While relatively chunky, these stylish manual grinders were some of our favourites. There are adjustable dials at the top of each grinder to change the coarseness level with ease.
They can hold loads of salt and pepper, and excel at producing fine-ground pepper as well as chunky coarse grains.
They're also easy to grip and twist, and survived our durability tests by showing no visible damage after being dropped 10 times from a kitchen worktop.
For Which? members only: read our Menu Bottle Grinder Spice Mill two-pack review
We like: Good fine grind consistency
We don't like: Tricky to fill up
At the other end of the scale are these Le Creuset mini grinders.
While the fine grind consistency was excellent, they were a fiddle to fill up and slow to grind a teaspoon of pepper.
For Which? members only: compare these and more options in our guide to the best salt and pepper grinders
'Although these two sets of grinders have similar prices and are effective at finely grinding pepper, the Le Creuset fell short in several key testing areas. The grinders from Menu, on the other hand, outperformed many other options.
'When we test salt and pepper grinders, we look at everything from durability and ease of use to how long it takes each grinder to mill a teaspoon of salt or peppercorns.
'The best grinders took just 15 seconds, while the worst took more than a minute and a half of constant grinding. Which? members can see the full results of our testing in our salt and pepper grinder reviews.'
Danny Dougan, Which? kitchen gadgets expert
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