Gordon Ramsay's Hack Will Change How You See Pepper Mills Forever

These days, pepper mills are a relatively common sighting in the chef's kitchen. In fact, after discovering what freshly cracked pepper can do in a variety of recipes, the odds are you also have one. Considered nearly as versatile and essential a seasoning as salt, pepper was once known as "black gold" or "the king of spices" for its tremendous value, McCormick Science Institute explains. While the whole spice is known as "peppercorns," these are actually the fruits (or "drupes," botanically speaking) of the pepper vine, native to India and grown in southeast Asia and Brazil, McCormick adds. It gives us green, black, and white pepper.

The Independent reports that the pepper mill was first produced by the Peugeot brothers in 1840, who later became famous for cars. Their pepper mills are considered the world's finest — with impeccable craftsmanship and a lifetime guarantee. However, sources also identify earlier renditions, like the 300-plus-year-old Atlas Pepper Mill (first made for coffee) and the pepper mill recovered from the 437-year-old shipwreck of the HMS Mary Rose. 

In fact, people have been putting this stuff on their food for a long time, and it totally pays to grind your own pepper. But did you know that the knob that screws onto the top does more than just hold the mill together? Celebrity chef and restaurateur Gordon Ramsay explains how to use it.

In a YouTube video about his top six culinary hacks, Gordon Ramsay explains that the knob on your pepper mill adjusts the grind. By tightening the screw, you'll get finely ground pepper, whose light texture blends into sauce and soups, Ramsay explains. The chef adds that adjusting the screw to the "middle" setting results in a medium ground suitable for "general seasoning," while the loosest setting gives you coarse pepper for coating steaks and seafood.

With many exemplary meat recipes up his sleeve and served at his restaurants, Ramsay's trusted advice can be employed during your next cooking session. A fine grind is suitable for recipes like homemade mayonnaise — just be sure to add it after the egg and oil have emulsified, Ramsay cautions. Use the medium grind to season dishes like Ramsay's grilled seafood with sweet pepper sauce or seared tuna and salmon. Needless to say, the applications for this particular ingredient are nearly endless.

Black pepper enhances side dishes like spicy bacon and black pepper baked beans. Unexpected preparations include grilled squash with sea salt and black pepper marshmallow, and balsamic and black pepper strawberries. If you're a true pepper fan, make Wolfgang Puck's pepper steak sauce — no pepper grinder necessary, just a good swing with a mallet or rolling pin, per MasterClass.

If you're wondering about other colors of peppercorns, Better Homes and Gardens explains that they start off as green before they're dried and cooked into the black ones, and the white peppercorns are the dried, ripened berries without their black shells. Pink and Sichuan peppercorns come from two different species than the others. Regardless of what you load it with, a pepper grinder is a foodie's friend. They're a great way to prolong the shelf life of your tasty peppercorns, as they do expire more quickly when they're ground. 

For the best flavor, consider toasting the peppercorns before adding them to your grinder. McCormick reminds cooks to always grind your pepper as you need it and to use it to finish meals, as its flavor is tempered by heat. Now you're ready to pepper in some knowledge and history with your next recipe.