Kyocera Dual Grinder

I use fresh ground pepper exclusively. Although I might have an ancient can of pre-ground stuff stuck in the back of a cabinet somewhere, I never use it. I have a couple of different grinders for different purposes.

The one thing I never saw a major need for was a salt grinder. I have a few, and they look cool. They're fun on the table. Maybe for a finishing salt when you want a rougher texture.

But in the end, it's just plain white salt that you're grinding - and salt doesn't get stale like pepper does, so "freshly ground salt" doesn't make a bit of difference if you're cooking with it.

But when Kyocera offered me their dual grinder to test, I thought I'd give it a shot. Or a grind, I guess.

I filled it with black peppercorns and I raided a couple other grinders for coarse white salt.

And then I read the instructions. Woah. This is something to re-think. Because the grinding mechanisms are ceramic rather than metal, you can use this for "wetter" salts as well as regular salt. And you can use it for spices other than pepper, if that amuses you.

This is a game-changer.

Okay, it's not the most earthshaking thing on the planet, but after I read the instructions, I dumped the white salt back into the original grinders, and I dug out a jar of a gray coarse salt that has been languishing in my pantry. It was a little too coarse for most uses, and too wet for a grinder with a metal mechanism.

Not only does the grinder look cooler with the pebbly gray salt in it, it means I'm actually going to use that goofy salt. And for folks who like the idea that the gray, pink, red, black, and other salts carry minerals that pure white salt doesn't have - well, here's a way to use it more often.

Not only could I use this grinder for salt and pepper, but I could use it for two different salts (gray and pink, maybe) or for black pepper on one side and white pepper on the other. Or, if you have other spices or spice mixes that you like to grind, this could be ideal.

Oh yeah, and the grind size is adjustable, there are caps on both ends so nothing's going to get messy, and it's easy to fill.

It has a pretty design so it would look good on a dining room table (without being pretentious) and it looks sturdy and easy to clean, which means it's great for the kitchen.

Who's it for: People who use salt and pepper. Okay, fine, people who use salt, pepper, or other spices and who are looking for a nice grinder.

Pros: Nice design, easy to use and keep clean, works well, can be used for "wet" salts and for spices other than salt and pepper.

Cons: It's not huuuuge, so if you grind vasts amounts of stuff, this isn't what you're looking for. However, for normal cooking and table use, it's plenty big.

Wishes: Not really a wish for the product, but I'm going to take a hard look at the grinders I use and maybe buy one or two more of these transfer some spices into dual grinders. We'll see.

Source: I received this from the manufacturer for the purpose of a review.

More info: You can find Kyocera one Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest.