The salt and pepper mills that grind properly.

OXO's mill does away with the twisting top. A crank arm with a non-slip knob turns the adjustable ceramic mechanism, which is easier on the hands than twisting a tall wooden mill and fast enough to season a pan of food in a few turns.

Small practical touches make it a good kitchen mill. A clear door shows when it needs refilling and opens wide, and a snap-on base catches the stray grinds that most mills leave on the counter. The ceramic burr adjusts from coarse to fine.

Skip it for the dining table. It is plastic and looks like kitchen equipment, which is what it is. Keep it by the stove and put something handsomer out for guests.

Cole & Mason's Derwent is a clear acrylic body in a stainless steel finish, so you can see the peppercorns, and at 19 centimeters, about 7.5 inches, it is a comfortable table height. Inside is the maker's Gourmet Precision+ carbon steel mechanism for pepper.

The six preset grind settings are its strength. Each one clicks into place, fine to coarse, so you can switch from a fine grind for a sauce to a cracked one for a steak and come back to the same setting every time. The Derwent is a pepper mill; Cole & Mason makes a matching salt mill with a ceramic mechanism.

Skip it if you want wood or a long warranty. Cole & Mason covers it for two years, where the French and German makers here offer far longer. Wipe it clean with a damp cloth; do not immerse it or put it in the dishwasher.

Zassenhaus is a German mill maker of long standing, and the Frankfurt is its classic table mill, here in walnut, 7 inches tall. The patented grinder is ceramic, made in Germany, and the maker says it is harder than steel and completely free from wear and corrosion.

Because ceramic does not rust, the Frankfurt grinds salt as happily as pepper, along with dried herbs and spices. That makes it the one mill here you could buy twice, one for each. The grind is infinitely adjustable, with six marked positions on a ring scale from fine powder to a coarse, mortar-like crack.

Skip it if you want a big, fast pepper grind. A ceramic burr can be a little slower than a good steel one, and a 7 inch mill holds a modest load of peppercorns.

The Magnum was designed more than 30 years ago by Tom David on Nantucket and has been a cult object among cooks ever since. It is now made in Italy by Tre Spade, the family firm that has long made its grinding mechanisms. The current version has an oversized conical burr of tempered steel that the maker calls the Superiore mechanism.

What sets it apart is output. The oversized burr moves a lot of pepper per turn, which is why cooks who season generously favor it. It fills through a sliding side ring, so there is no lid to unscrew, and a wing nut under the base sets the grind from cracked for steaks to fine for sauces.

Skip it for the dinner table. The body is black ABS plastic and looks like the tool it is. Keep it by the stove and put a wooden mill out for guests.

Peugeot has made mills since 1810, and the Paris is its classic shape, turned from beech sourced from PEFC-certified French forests and made in France. This set pairs a pepper mill and a salt mill at 7 inches, sold as 18 centimeters, a size that sits neatly on a table without looming over the plates.

The mechanisms are the reason to buy Peugeot. The pepper mill has a case-hardened steel burr; the salt mill has Zirlion, Peugeot's zirconia mechanism, which grinds dry salt as fine as powder and will not corrode. Both carry the u'Select ring, six settings from fine to coarse, and both mechanisms are guaranteed for life, with a 5-year warranty on the mill itself.

Skip it if you use wet or grey sea salt. The salt mill is for dry rock salt with crystals up to 4 millimeters. And if you only need pepper, Peugeot's single Paris mills in 9 and 12 inches do the job for less.