Kuhn Rikon 25550 Ratchet Grinder: A Lever for Seasoning

One hand stays around the body of the Kuhn Rikon 25550 while the other works its long, ball-tipped lever. That is its distinctive way of grinding salt, pepper and suitable spices: the handle moves back and forth instead of requiring the repeated top-twisting motion of a traditional mill. This black Ratchet Grinder combines that action with an adjustable ceramic grinding stone and a front refill door.

Work the lever above the plate

Hold the cylindrical body in one hand and move the lever with the other. Over a salad or a plate of sliced tomatoes, that gives each hand a clear job: one positions the grinder, while the other supplies the grinding motion.

The attraction is the action itself. Someone who prefers a lever to turning a mill's top gets another way to add freshly ground pepper at the table. It still takes two hands and repeated movement, so it is a poor match for a buyer who specifically needs one-handed seasoning.

Allow room for the lever and your hand around it. The grinder is roughly 8.5 inches tall overall, so check cupboard clearance if you plan to put it away after meals.

Set the texture at the base

A dial underneath adjusts the ceramic grinding mechanism from fine to coarse. You might prefer coarser pepper over tomatoes and a finer texture in a dressing. Having that adjustment in one mill lets you change the texture without buying a separate grinder for each preference.

Kuhn Rikon's instructions for the green 25553, in the same older front-door Ratchet family as this black 25550, specify clockwise for a finer grind and counterclockwise for a coarser one.

Check the first few ground particles before seasoning the whole dish. Adjust the dial for the texture you prefer, then add pepper gradually. Coarseness and quantity are separate choices, so the base setting is not a substitute for deciding how much seasoning the dish needs.

Refill through the front door

The small door on the front opens for adding salt, pepper or suitable spices. Below it, the clear chamber makes the contents visible. You can see what is loaded and whether the chamber is running low without opening the door just to check.

For a pepper grinder that stays near the dining table, that combination is practical: visible contents provide a refill cue, and the access point is on the front of the body. This is the older 25550 design; instructions for newer Ratchet models with a removable upper section describe a different filling arrangement.

The offer is for one grinder. Keeping salt and pepper loaded and ready to grind separately requires two grinders, and changing the contents of this one brings residue and leftover flavor into the decision.

Keep the spices dry

The older front-door family's instructions warn against dampness and grinding over a boiling pot. Season a finished dish away from rising steam, rather than holding the mill over the wet heat of a saucepan.

Those instructions also say oilier spices can clog the mill and exclude cloves and anise because their oils can damage plastic. A ceramic grinding stone does not remove that restriction. This is a tool for suitable dry seasonings, not an unrestricted replacement for every spice-preparation tool.

For the black 25550 itself, Kuhn Rikon recommends grinding coarse salt to clear residue and spice aftertaste, and says not to put it in the dishwasher. The listing allows wiping or hand washing; the older family's care guidance recommends air drying.

If you keep this single grinder filled with pepper, its lever action, adjustable texture and visible supply can all serve everyday table seasoning. Frequent changes between strongly flavored spices make cleaning a larger part of ownership, so the contents you plan to keep inside matter as much as the grinding action.