Please excuse the low end comparison but Kirkland peppercorns are roughly 80 cents an ounce. I presume most have had them. Pohnpei peppercorns are priced at over ten times that. What makes them so good that they’re worth that much (to you)?
Well, they taste 10 times better. Cheap peppercorns mostly just taste of heat. Pohnpeis and such have a distinct fruity flavor profile that I enjoy.
Good answer, I don’t at all dispute it but, is there a middle ground recommendation?
*Like at home depot they usually have a good-better-best option
Mikko had also mentioned Kampot no?
(That “only” seems to be ~4.5x price.)
Pohnpei peppercorns are strongly aromatic with fruity/floral notes and a bit of citrus zing. They’re a very full and rounded flavour when cracked/ground. Years ago we did a comparison of Pohnpei pepper and Tellicherry pepper (from Penzey’s, as I recall), and next to the Pohnpei pepper, the Tellicherry pepper seemed rather one-dimensional.
Pepper is used in relatively small quantities, so I don’t mind spending on good peppercorns. Kampot is good, as is Cameroon (Penja, black or white). If you like pepper, try long pepper or tailed pepper or sansho or Sichuan pepper (latter two are in the ash family, not true pepper).
As I said, I think spending multiple hundreds of $$ on a mill seems a bit ridiculous if you’re loading it with mediocre peppercorns. I think I spent something like $40 on my trusty Peugeot some 25 or so years ago, but I have spent much more than that on quality whole pepper of various types. And I actually enjoy using a mortar and pestle on occasion.
And don’t buy any wine over $12 a bottle, the high priced stuff is just a scam.
Joking, but if $4 pepper works for you great.
I wasn’t trying to be a contrarian. Just pointing out what they had said. Kirkland is the only one I have bought for years. I didn’t even realize there were truly appreciable differences.
Pepper is a (dried) fruit, so it isn’t surprising that there is variation in taste depending on varietal and location and season (not to mention how it is processed). It is very much not a monolithic product.
I would not spend the money on relatively expensive pepper if I didn’t think it was worth it. I have not tried Tone’s Whole Black Peppercorns, or for that matter Kirkland, so can’t comment on them. My first introduction to Pohnpei pepper was 35 years ago through friends working in Micronesia–back then I could buy it by the pound. It’s become less convenient and much more expensive to buy, but I still purchase it and other peppercorns. The Penzey’s Tellicherry I mentioned above is not at all a “bad” pepper–in fact I have some in my kitchen; it just didn’t show well adjacent to the Pohnpei.
You could do a comparison of a few peppercorns. It is rather a fun exercise. We did our comparison with homemade pizza topped with just cheese and cracked (no mill!) peppercorns (sort of a cacio e pepe pizza).
What’s so good (or the difference) about the long ones? I found some on sale.
It’s in the same genus as black peppercorns (Piper nigrum) but it’s a different species (Piper longum in India, Piper retrofactum in southeast Asia). Long pepper’s individual fruits are much smaller and grow in an elongated cluster, which when dried is the “long pepper” (really a group of tiny fruits rather than a single dried fruit). My recollection is that long pepper was the original “pepper” that was written about in antiquity but it has been superseded by P. nigrum which is easier to grow. The long pepper I have was a gift from a cousin who knows I like to cook and it is from Cambodia. To me, this long pepper is less hot than black pepper and it has a sort of citrusy/woodsy quality rather than a floral/fruity quality.
I also like the “tailed” peppers, cubeb and voa tsiperifery, which are different Piper species but have a similar aromatic allspice/nutmeggy quality.
I took your post as a bit of humor.
My wife just got me a Pepper Cannon for an early birthday present and it’s incredible! Ridiculously efficient and way more grind options than I need. This will make cooking so much easier and effective considering how often I use pepper.
well, mine just broke. i suppose 20 years is okay.
what’s the go-to now?
I use a variation of the ratchet grinder pictured here: Premium Salt and Pepper Mills | Essential Commercial Kitchen Supplies. It is extremely easy to use, takes up little space, does not require an outlet or a battery, and the one I have has a door in the side that allowed you to load it in 5 seconds. Rebecca originally got it for me as tailgate equipment but I have removed it from my tailgate equipment box and it is now my go to grinder at home.
I use two types. For a flurry of pepper in a short time, I use a hand held brass Turkish coffee/spice grinder.
For more adjustable grind, I use Peugeot Bistro mills. But only those that have all metal gears/grinders. The oldest is 40+ years old and works as well as the day I bought it.
These are what I have too–decades old and work just as when new. So I haven’t been in the market for mills in many years; the type and quality of peppercorn is what I give most attention.
thanks. ordered a peugeot. $42 seems too cheap but gets great reviews across the board.
Seems a fair price for a wood case and steel mechanism, with a design that’s been tried over time. Peugeot mills have a lifetime warranty, and I’ve never had to invoke that.
Why spend more than necessary for a decent mill? Spend on the spice itself (the more important choice!) and/or have multiple mills. I think serious cooks ought to have at least three pepper mills–one each for your “everyday” black and “everyday” white peppers, plus at least one spare for the less frequently used peppers or pepper-like spices (think Sichuan or Timut “pepper”). Right now my mills contain Pohnpei black, Penja white, and Voatsiperifery.
i don’t love the peugeot so far. it’s fine, but the grinding burr is smaller than the fletcher, so it takes a lot more turns to get the desired pepper out. also, grind size ring is dependent on the top screw for its fit.