Peugeot 18 cm Salt/Pepper Mill Duo in Natural Wood

It is amazing what a difference the simple things in life can make! I’ll admit that I had never really thought much about my salt, pepper and spice grinders much before Peugeot sent me their 18 cm Salt and Pepper mill for review. As far as I was concerned, all grinders did just about the same thing. But, now I know a bit more. And now I’m a little bit obsessed.

Disclosure: Peugeot provided Blog of Dad with the 18cm Peugeot Salt and Pepper Mill in Natural Wood for the purpose of review and ongoing use. Any thoughts expressed about Peugeot products in this article are based on my own experiences. For more information, visit my disclosure statement.  

Peugeot 18 cm Salt/Pepper Mill Duo in Natural Wood – First Impressions

As you would expect, Peugeot grinders are premium products. Because of this, I wasn’t at all surprised to find that they felt great to hold in my hand when I took them out of the box. Quality, natural wood products are always hard to beat when it comes to feel and look. All wood used in Peugeot mills comes from PEFC-certified European forests.

The 18cm Peugeot Salt and Pepper Mill in Natural Wood have a traditional curved design. More than just looking great, this is all about ergonomics. This might not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think of spice grinders, but when you are cooking a lot, it definitely makes a difference. The twisting motion of a grinder can fast become a strain on the wrist with some grinders, but with this Peugeot pair, adding salt or pepper to a meal definitely isn’t a chore!

The two grinders are identical in size and shape. They can be easily identified by the different colours on the logo embedded into the top – white for salt and black for pepper.

Peugeot 18 cm Salt/Pepper Mill Duo in Natural Wood – Use

The 18cm Peugeot Salt and Pepper Mill in Natural Wood may look almost identical, but the key difference between them lies in the mechanism. A quick inspection of the underside of the two grinders reveals a vastly different design between them. This is where Peugeot’s engineering shines through, and why my eyes have been opened to the difference that a quality, purpose-built grinder can make. In the surprisingly interesting mini-manual that comes with both grinders, Peugeot explain that, “For each spice, a specific mechanism has been designed to best express its organoleptic splendour, its singularity, its imagination.”

Peugeot have been making grinding mechanisms since 1840, so it is fair to say that they have expertise in this field. In fact, they have been making grinders for far longer than they have cars. Peugeot’s expertise in this field has been officially recognised with the awarding of the EPV label, which is a state-issued accolade reserved for the very best French companies.

From a consumer point of view, Peugeot back that all up with a lifetime limited guarantee on the mechanism and a 5-year guarantee on the mill.

Why does all this matter? Because the end result is a perfectly controlled, reliable grind for each ingredient.

Peugeot u’Select

Both the Peugeot grinders have adopted the same external mechanism for controlling the coarseness of the grind and this is where all the Peugeot engineering and excellence really shines through. A simple (patented) u’Select system means that a simple twist of the based changes the grind from ultra fine to very coarse, with a total of six stages.

I have owned adjustable grinders before, and the experience has always been the same. The mechanism is fiddly and doesn’t actually seem to do much. Worse, it quickly gets caked up and almost impossible to turn. The end result is that it stays on the one setting.

The u’Select system is ridiculously simple and the results are fantastic! I tried both the salt and pepper grinders at their coarsest setting, then switched them both to the finest setting. Both grinders produced an excellent, consistent result, with the only caveat being that a couple of older coarse chunks dropped from the grinders on the first twist.

The fine grind is what I had been missing most with my old grinders, so I was disproportionately excited to see the fine, even grains appear so easily! There really are times in food preparation and dressing when this makes all the difference.

Each step in between the extremes makes a small, but noticeable change to the coarseness. Most excitingly, the results are consistent, which means I know exactly what I’m getting with each setting. With the limited lifetime guarantee on the mechanism, I can expect to achieve that consistency over long-term use.

Peugeot 18 cm Salt/Pepper Mill Duo in Natural Wood – Final Thoughts

With the Peugeot 18 cm Salt/Pepper Mill Duo in Natural Wood, Peugeot have enlightened me about the benefits of using quality, dedicated grinders that have been specifically designed to suit the unique attributes of each ingredient. The u’Select mechanism is genius – it is so simple to use and it produces great results. While these premium products do come with a premium price tag, the results are great. The Peugeot 18 cm Salt/Pepper Mill Duo in Natural Wood is well worth considering for those who are serious about their seasonings!