I stumbled across Iron Mills while browsing online a few months ago. They are a British made premium cast-iron pepper and salt mill with a big price tag and a promise to last a long time. In this video I find out the inspiration behind the invention and test out whether it’s any good.
Transcript
This peppermill is pretty expensive. It isn’t smart or battery-powered and the design isn’t even that new, but it completely sold out before Christmas and the manufacturers can’t replenish the stock quick enough to meet demand. So why do so many people want an Iron Mill and are they really worth the price tag?
Pepper mills should last a lifetime, but like so many things that we buy now they have been slowly decreasing in quality, meanwhile some pepper mills made in the 60s and 70s are still in working condition today and you can actually buy them second hand at a price on eBay or in antique shops. You’ve probably noticed that those old mills look a lot like this new one and that’s not a coincidence. It was one of these designs by an industrial designer called Robert Welch that inspired the creation of this modern mill
It’s made of cast iron and weighs 1.2kg when empty. This modern version is spray-coated for a flawless finish and it’s topped with a metal crank mechanism. Even the packaging is well-designed.
Inside each mill, there’s a Swiss-made steel grinding mechanism with an adjustable coarseness setting. Peppercorns in this mill are stripped rather than ground to create a really strong smell and flavour
To fill it you remove a rubber bung and insert the funnel.
This is a pretty solid bit of kit so you feel the weight when you lift it and you need a bit of oomph to turn the handle, but it’s worth it
I love the fact it’s British made by a small company and it has a 10-year guarantee. I love its industrial design and I’ve never come across something which produces such an incredible pepper smell, which frustratingly is the one thing I can’t share in a video!
Is it expensive? Yes. But if you want to buy a peppermill that will last a lifetime, this has got to be a strong contender