In article ,
(Arch) wrote:

Before even tasting, I grind black pepper over light colored food and
shake salt on dark food and so I consume a lot of peppercorns. Lori
bought me a new (to me) product; a small bottle of peppercorns with an
integral plastic grinder on top. It's the same price as other brands
that lack a grinder and so far it really works and looks good enough for
our everyday table.

Well now, that would irritate me - throwaway junk, and most likely at
the cost of worse pepper in the container - and I bet you can get bulk
peppercorns cheaper if you shop for them somewhere that they are not in
a container (there isn't a spice in the local grocery store that can
compare or compete with the spices at the local co-op, but the co-op
does not have them in little packages). Not that I have made one, or
need to, as I have the diminutive mill (wood, turned, probably in a
factory, probably in the US or another western country) I took away to
college a few decades ago, leaving several others in my parent's house.

I've been negatively impressed with several of the available
gew-gaw-ettes, such as those (clearly, even from the catalog pictures,
rather poorly made) peppermills with the little metal hoppers sitting on
top. I haven't bought any of Ruth's fine wine stoppers, but I certainly
see the inspiration for them in the junk various outlets have been
offering for that purpose (but I use a vacuum-pump thingy on my
half-bottles, so...).

--
Cats, coffee, chocolate...vices to live by