I Used This Pepper Grinder to Crack a Whole Bag of Peppercorns—and My Arm Wasn’t Even Tired After

Perhaps the most infuriating of kitchen tasks is grinding pepper. If a recipe calls for a tablespoon, that’s typically at least five good cranks (on a good day). When cooking is fast-paced, like say, making stir-fry, grinding pepper seems to be one of those jobs that always happens too slowly.

But recently, I received a sample of Männkitchen’s Pepper Cannon, a pepper grinder that breaks down pepper faster than anything I’ve ever thought possible, and is just so, so satisfying to use.

Männkitchen Pepper Cannon

While it may look like your run-of-the-mill pepper mill, make no mistake, this pepper cannon is nothing short of extraordinary. One simple twist of the top, and out shoots about five times the amount you’d get from a typical pepper grinder in my experience. If that sounds like too much pepper to you, fear not! It smartly has a cup on the bottom to catch pepper before it falls into your dish, making it easy to measure out the exact right amount. 

If you really want to know how easy it is to grind pepper with this thing, consider this: I once ground an entire bag of black peppercorns in about two minutes using it. My partner watched as I ground and I ground pepper, for no reason other than to prove to her (and maybe to myself) that this grinder is amazing. My arm didn’t even hurt after. 

Beyond its undeniable power, it’s also relatively sleek. It is made from what the brand describes as a “chunk of aerospace aluminum,” and while I’m not sure what that means to be quite honest, I can say that it looks good. Plus, it’s extremely easy to load with a variety of peppercorns, like black, white, or even a mix. You can choose from a range of 60  coarseness settings by turning a little switch on the bottom.

Of course, $200 is also undeniably expensive for a pepper grinder (a Peugeot, perhaps the leading brand, is $110 less). But I’m not the only one who loves it. We ranked it as the pepper grinder with the highest output during testing, and Executive Wine Editor Ray Isle also gives it a rave review.

“This thing is to normal pepper grinders as Eddie Van Halen is to some guy named Ted you knew in eighth grade who used to play guitar in his garage. Is it expensive? Yes. Is it worth it? Also yes. You have doubts? What are you, some kind of pepper-weasel? Just go out and buy one."

Get yourself Männkitchen’s pepper cannon, and thank us later. Unless you’re some kind of pepper-weasel, that is. 

Shop Less Expensive, but Way Less Powerful Pepper Grinders:

Peugeout Pepper Mill

Benicci Salt and Pepper Grinder

Cole & Mason Pepper Grinder

OXO Pepper Grinder

Alexander Home Pepper MIll

At the time of publishing, the price was $200.