Greetings, friends! And welcome to Caroline Finds It: my new weekly newsletter where I reply to submissions from YOU for objects and products you need recommendations for.
After last week’s post, I received so many great submissions, including many that were for kitchen items. Since I make the rules here, I’m going to try out doing one long-form reply, and a number of quick answer replies. Our first request comes from Camille in San Diego:
“I’m looking for a statement pepper grinder that isn’t over $100. All the cute ones are so expensive! (And it’s hard to tell if they are made well enough to last)”
Dear Camille,
Let me first tell you that I, too, have been on a long-term hunt for this exact same thing. My current pepper mill is this one, (impulse purchased at Crate & Barrel 7+ years ago) which you have to push down on to use. It’s fine, but I LOVE PEPPER and it simply does not release enough before my thumb gets tired and I give up.
When looking for a good affordable version for a generally pricy item, I like to first think about materials. If the guts of the pepper mill will always be more or less the same, what outer materials are likely to get you more bang for your buck design-wise? I started my search on Etsy and searched “acrylic pepper mill” and “resin pepper mill” and came across this beauty for $29.95:
The good thing about vintage is that you can assume that it works well if it’s survived 40 years of use already.
While in the same search, I kept encountering a specimen called “Olde Thompson Sunset Fiesta Salt and Pepper Set”, so I did a wider Google search and found that it’s made by a spice company, and is extremely affordable to buy new (actually, less than buying secondhand). You can find it on a variety of restaurant supply sites for $13, and for $19 on Amazon (I cackle like a movie villain when something is *more* expensive on Amazon because it proves that it’s NOT always the cheapest place to shop. Please don’t buy this on Amazon!).
If you’re willing to go a little over budget, I was at the MoMA a couple of weeks ago and spotted these Ettore Sottsass-designed Alessi grinders in the shop, which are even more gorgeous IRL and come in three sizes and three colorways, ranging from $93-$130 at the Finnish Design Shop:
The folks at Alessi have a decades-long track record for making quality product, so at least you can trust it’ll last a lifetime (I <3 my Alessi Michael Graves tea kettle, and use it every day).
Honorable mention: This Dusen Dusen motif is EVERYWHERE right now(I own the kitchen timer version), but it sure is cute and the price is nice ($48).
QUICK ANSWERS
Amanda in Washington DC is looking for “The Perfect Cookbook” - Well, Amanda, I’m not sure there is such a thing but if I had to choose one cookbook to use forever, it would be one of the cookbooks from Julia Turshen, whose recipes are approachable (read: all skill levels welcome, no hard-to-find ingredients, made for regular people who can’t spend 3 hrs making a meal) and weave in some useful general knowledge. Another fave: The Modern Cook’s Year is basically a vegetarian bible for seasonal eating, if that’s something you’re into! It’s super educational and will help you build a good foundation for healthy, mindful cooking.
Emily in L.A. needs a non-ugly flashlight: There is no better flashlight than a Maglite, period. I have one of the smaller ones in black and it is so bright. They’re metal and are simple, sturdy and effective. You can’t go wrong with a Maglite!
Zoë in Brooklyn wants a good lazy susan for their dining table: I like this one from Food 52 because it has a lip on it (which I personally think is an essential feature for an enthusiastically used lazy susan). After falling down the fun rabbit hole of “vintage snack lazy susan” on Etsy, I found this cute little concrete one, which is more practical and good for condiments. Another option that is not for everyone’s taste is this Amish basket lazy susan. I LOVE LOVE LOVE Amishbaskets.com and have purchased very specific custom sized baskets for my closet from them (which are not as expensive as you’d expect!). They’re beautiful and smell great and are totally handmade — join me on a crusade to make Amish baskets cool?
FAVORITE THING OF THE WEEK
If you live in the northeast and you’ve been to the farmer’s market lately, you probably know that spinach, arugula and salad greens are in season!! Which means LOTS OF SALADS in my house. This salad dressing shaker is one of the most used non-essential gadgets in my kitchen, and is frequently asked about by guests. I fill it with dressing every week or two and just leave it in the fridge so it’s ready when I need it.
This is the formula I follow:
1 heaping teaspoon of whatever mustard you like (I use dijon or whole grain)
1 heaping teaspoon of honey
Fill the remaining 2/3 with the vinegar of your choice (Red wine, apple cider or something fun from Tart Vinegar)
Fill the last 1/3 with olive oil and leave a little room for the juice of 1/2 or a whole lemon
Add fresh ground pepper and some salt and SHAKE!
Is there a product you’re looking for? Submit your request here. See you next Friday for fresh recommendations! xo Caroline
I love anything that comes in red and when I saw the Finnish design store has a pink AND red colorway... sold!
Reading gave me so much joy—Yes to Shaker baskets!!!