Buzz
Until not long ago, I never measured freshly ground pepper. If a recipe called for half a teaspoon, I'd simply grind the peppercorns over the dish, gauging the amount based on my nose and how strong I felt the pepper should be that day. There was no easy way to measure it from the grinder. However, by taking a moment to measure just once, you'll be able to dispense the exact amount needed in any recipe without using a measuring spoon.
This is part of The Grown-Up Kitchen, Skillet’s series created to answer your basic culinary questions and fill in any gaps in your home chef knowledge.
For the first, slightly tedious, measuring process, you’ll need a scale, a measuring spoon, and a couple of ramekins. The more accurate your scale, the more precise your pepper measurements will be, but there’s no need to go overboard; a few extra milligrams of pepper won’t ruin the recipe.
Once you have your tools, grind a good amount of pepper into one of the ramekins. Place another ramekin on the scale, then scoop out half a teaspoon of pepper from your pile, weigh it, and record the weight. The weight will vary depending on how coarse your grinder is, but it should be around a gram. (Alternatively, you could start with the assumption that half a teaspoon of pepper is about a gram, and skip this initial step, though that depends on how precise you like your measurements.)
Next, empty one of the ramekins, put it back on the scale, and grind more pepper into it, keeping track of the number of turns you make on the grinder. When you reach a gram (or the weight you recorded), stop and note that number. Then, make a note saying “1/2 teaspoon = X turns,” where “X” is the number of turns, and tape it inside the door of your spice cabinet or on the grinder itself. (For me, “X” was 35.)
The next time you need to measure fresh pepper, just count the number of grinds, adjusting as needed. This method does rely on the consistency of your grinder’s operation, but it’s much better than guessing or grinding too much pepper and scooping it out of a ramekin every time.
