Peugeot Pepper Mill

Almost everyone knows Peugeot as the company that has brought recent Le Mans victories such as the 908 in the prototype division of the famous 24-hours endurance race. It has also produced wining pedigrees in various rallies and some of the most beautifully sculpted road cars like the Peugeot 408 and its successors. But not everyone knows that the Peugeot brand also lends itself in the common table miller/dispenser for salt and pepper.

History of the Peugeot Pepper Mill Brand

The brand was owned by the French Peugeot family of Valentigney, Montbéliard, Franche-Comté, France that started their manufacturing business as early as the 1700s. The family entered the automotive industry when Armand Peugeot met with Gottlieb Daimler to produce the first 3-wheed steam-driven car in 1889. But before that, the family was making bicycles, wire wheels for these bikes, umbrella frames and dresses in the crinoline style and material of the period. All the while, they were making coffee, salt and pepper grinders that started in 1810.

You read it right, among chefs, Peugeot is more noted for its salt and pepper grinders, the one you see commonly used to dispense the common table condiments in many fine European restaurants. These grinders or hand pepper mills are considered the best pepper mill ever made. They harness the same patented mechanism that started in 1842 and have surveyed nearly 170 years to this day, unchanged.

The first pioneering Peugeot pepper mill is generally believed to have been designed by the designers employed by the Peugeot brothers. The Model Z mill design was quite focused in grinding peppercorns into finer grains that met its purpose at that time. Little did the designer know that it would last and become the table standard in both homes and restaurants. Since then, the same model has become the perfect handheld milling solution that has been the preferred choice of just about all the chefs mainly due to the quality of the mill and its consistency in producing fine grade pepper.

How the Peugeot Pepper Mill works

The Peugeot pepper mill employs a patented mechanism that has remained unchanged since 1842. It houses two chamber grooves which channel and grind the peppercorns. Using only whole peppercorns from the piper Nigrum (black pepper) species, the first groove channels and cracks the peppercorn while the second contain the grooves that grind the coarse peppercorn into a finer grade. The channeling grooves line up the peppercorns to crack them before being fed into the second groove for a finer grinding process. This second groove section can be adjusted to the desired grade granulation. Once they get to the fine granulation, the fine pepper grains fall off the hand-held miller.

The action of counter-rotating the Peugeot pepper miller’s two sections by hand activates the helix-shaped teeth that hold the peppercorns as they are grounded. The peppercorns are first cracked in halves before the milling process starts. The helix-shaped teeth in the groove mechanisms are individually cut into the metal steel and then case-hardened which makes them indestructible with normal use while exhibiting unhampered performance. The housing is made to high quality standards using beech wood that are harvested, dried and finished in France.

The pepper grinders use only high quality raw materials whose superb durability enabled Peugeot over the years to provide lifetime guarantee on every genuine Peugeot pepper mill manufactured in Germany and France and distributed worldwide. But because the mechanism is finely tuned to the texture of peppercorns, using other condiments like rock salt in the pepper grinder can damage the grinder. The guarantee does not cover misuse by the consumer and the lifetime guarantee does not cover normal wear and tear of the Peugeot pepper mill.

Peugeot Electric Pepper Mill

In the age of electrically-driven appliances, it’s not uncommon that something as romantic as the Peugeot pepper mill eventually goes into mass production as another electric kitchen utility. The internal mechanism has not changed but now benefits from a miniature battery-driven electric motor and a sleek metallic cylindrical exterior of varying designs.

Now, it takes only one touch of its soft-touch button to get your fresh peppercorns to the desired fine grade. And living up to its image as the Rolls Royce of pepper mills, a price of $200 per grinder is indeed one luxurious price for a pepper mill.

Peugeot pepper mill prices

The Model Z Peugeot pepper mill was the first pepper mill designed specifically for the dining table and continues to be produced in France using only the finest materials. Its patented grinding mechanism following the manufacturing techniques and material specification has not changed since the first model came out in 1842.

Today, the Peugeot pepper miller enjoys the same characteristic shape that looks like a chess pawn from a distance and there are various table models with prices that can start as low as $39 to a high of $70.

Other Peugeot Pepper Mills

The proven patented design and mechanism on the Peugeot pepper mills have been licensed to various kitchen equipment makers. They do not fail to carry the Peugeot name when marketing their respective brand which makes them look like models under the Peugeot name. Here are some of them:

Rennes Electric Pepper Mill

Variously priced from $56 to $69 depending on material construction, the Rennes electric pepper uses the same grinding mechanism for grinding peppercorns and is marketed as either Rennes Peugeot Electric Pepper Mill or Peugeot Rennes Electric Pepper Mill. Also made in France, the Rennes pepper mill is made in just one size using 6 triple batteries. Peugeot Rennes pepper mills carry a two-year parts replacement warranty while its famous patented grinding technology enjoys a lifetime warranty for normal use.

Zeli Electric Pepper Mill

Using the same patented grinding mechanism as the original Peugeot pepper mill, the Zeli Electric Pepper Grinder sports a slightly larger diameter using brushed nickel finish on its handles and base with the typical clear window. Powered by 6 triple A batteries in a 5.5-inch high cylindrical body, the Zeli Peugeot Pepper Mill is likewise made in France and Amazon prices it slightly higher at a more luxurious $74.95.

Zephir Pepper Mill

Currently priced in Amazon at $59.95 the Zephir Peugeot electric pepper comes with the same patented grinding technology pioneered by Peugeot and are excellent specimen of contemporary design, working with a soft touch button for an effortless grinding powered by 4 triple A battery. The Zephir mill comes in just one size of 5.5 inches but comes in 3 sections: a soft touch upper section that is comfortable to the hands with a choice of colors, a clear cylindrical acrylic windows and a base made of gauge 18/10 stainless steel with brushed satin finish.

We wish you all the best with your purchase of your peugeot pepper mill.