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notbob

On 2006-08-25, > wrote:
> I like to use fresh ingredients. I use ground pepper on a lot of foods,
> and rubs contain lots and lots of pepper.

I see lots of recommendations for coffee grinders, those cheapy
electric whirly blade kind. Yes, they will grind pepper and other
spices, but they will not give you a uniform grind. You'll get
everything from course chunks to fine powder in the same batch. I
don't recommend them.

If you want uniform grind, I recommend a Turkish coffee grinder. These
are typically made of brass and have conical burrs to give a good
uniform grind. The Atlas grinder mentioned by another poster are
essentially Turkish grinders with a table stand ring added and the
price doubled. They go for $75-100 around here. I've got one. They
are excellent and give a good consistent grind at any setting. But,
you can get a regular Turkish coffee grinder for about $30-40. These
have no upright support stand, instead grinding into a brass cup that
fits over the bottom. They also don't usually have a screw grind
adjustment like the pricey Atlas brand. They instead require a less
precise slide burrs up and down on the shaft adjustment with set screw
and hex key wrench. This is more inconvenient, but the end result is
the same quality grind.

If you want even faster, I suggest you look at cheapo electric burr
coffee grinders ($100-150). Peppercorns are not unlike coffee beans
in hardness and grind requirements.

nb