I am missing something here. I have purchased these little grinders, taken out the peppercorns to fill my regular pepper mill, then tossed the disposable ones. Why? Because ounce for ounce, I find peppercorns cheaper in these disposable grinders than just buying peppercorns.. Thus, I am not seeing the point in refilling these things. It's like "you can save by making your own butter", when I find grade ASA butter for somewhat less than the cream to make my own would cost. I'm not getting this "pay more + do more work" approach to things.
No one’s paying more to do this. That’s literally the whole point of the video, TO SAVE MONEY, and be a little more environmentally friendly. Unless you’re getting some dirt cheap deal on the disposables then you really need to check your math. The disposable sells for $2.13 for a one ounce container which equals $2.13/Oz. You can buy a large 17.5 oz McCormick Peppercorn refill for $13.08 on Amazon or Walmart (both have same price) which equals $0.75/ounce, almost a 66% reduction in cost. And I actually get them for $11.12 for the big container since it is a “subscribe and save” item on Amazon so I save 15%, so MY cost is actually closer to $0.63/ounce. So unless you are getting the 1oz disposables for under $0.75 a piece this way is wayyy cheaper and YOU are the one paying more and doing more work. Just take a step back and think about it logically, for a company does it make sense to do more work packaging the same 17.5 oz of peppercorn into 17 individual bottles just to sell it for less per ounce than a bulk refill bottle, or just make one 17.5 oz bulk refill bottle…? You gotta realize, they have to factor in the cost of the glass bottle (refill just comes in a thin plastic bottle) the cost of the grinder mechanism and all the added extra time/labor (yes I know machines do most/all of this now but it is still a factor in production costs.) Just like how if you go buy a bag of chips. Per ounce which one is almost always going to be cheaper? The single serving size that comes in its own small little bag or the family/party size bag? Absent of any sales promotion/clearance sale, the bigger volume is almost always going to be cheaper per ounce…. Not really sure what you’re missing exactly… And as far as the butter comment I have no clue as I don’t make my own butter but I imagine that is a separate argument, not so much about saving money but more about controlling exactly what ingredients go in /don’t go in your butter. Obviously some are essential but some ppl like to cut all the preservatives/ unnecessary chemicals, etc Here is a link to the bulk peppercorn refill: amzn.to/3bz0WEL
Instead of waterlogging or brute forcing the head off of the grinder, read the label where it states "Remove grinder head to recycle glass. Align arrows on grinder head and bottle to remove." Following these directions is easy enough but remember, the grinder is plastic and will not last forever, especially if you run it on the finest setting. To put the top back on, align the arrows and push.
@@KJ6EAD news flash, this is not the newest model bottle. The newer bottles are easier to remove the cap supposedly, yes. This is a 3 year old video, and an older model that had no instructions to remove, and no arrows to align and yes you DO have to brute force this one off.
@@KJ6EAD C'mon, man. That last question is just ego talking. It was a helpful video years ago and I imagine some people will find it helpful today. I found one of these old bottles in an unpacked moving box recently. Out of curiosity, I just looked and it's the old design. The video was helpful to me.
I have bought them thinking of this but could never get it right. Thank you for this! I'm not the only person that likes to find creative used for containers! Yay!
Because they're disposable, they do wear out, but buying bulk sea salt crystals and whole black peppercorns and refilling is definitely better until you notice they don't grind too well anymore. However the ones I buy aren't McCormicks and the tops screw off 😅
Fantastic. Those McCormick pepper grinders are very well made and work better than my expensive grinders. I hated throwing them out, and thanks to you, I won't have to anymore!
I've been doing this for a while now. I especially like the fact that the container says "Do not refill!" The instruction adds some extra pleasure to recycling a really good grinder.
They don't want you to refill it because its made durable only for the contents. After that the grinder surfaces shed plastics into your food until it eventually fails.
So you think they have this engineered so perfectly, that as soon as the last original peppercorn gets ground, it just starts shedding plastic? That’s not exactly how this works. If it’s shedding once the original content are gone, then it probably was before it was even gone. They just want you to buy a new grinder at 3x or more of the cost of peppercorn refills (cost per ounce)
THANK YOU! I knew there was a way but im 71 and couldn't get it to budge. Arthritis. What blows my mind is there was actually a youtube video answering my question! God bless the internet.
Hahaha of course, that’s the beauty of RUclips. You can find dang near anything! Glad it helped and gotta say getting this off at 71, and with arthritis is pretty dang awesome!
I am in the same boat here, 75 and my grip isn’t as good as it was. Looking forward to trying this with my empty grinders. Then I can also remove the labels and wash out the bottles to make my own spice mixes from dried herbs from the garden. Yea!
Try putting on a pair of household rubber gloves, the kind you wear when you wash dishes. You get a really good grip with them. I do this when I open jars.
Wow....I just tried this over here in Germany. It worked just as well with our disposable pepper grinders. Now it is a nice thing to have multiple grinders (pepper, chili....) for little money. Thank you 🥰
Before stumbling upon your video I was so annoyed that I had to throw away a perfectly fine grinder. Thought of pulling the cap off before but I was afraid I'd break the glass while doing it. Your video really helped to reassure me that it's possible! I was so excited that I tried it right away without even submerging it in warm water and I was able to get it off in a few tries. Super happy that I can refill this thing and keep reusing it now. Thanks a lot for sharing this video :)
1 person suggested warming it with a hair dryer. That would save some time and effort because you wouldn't have to worry about getting it thoroughly dry after being wet.
Here it is 2 years later than your post and I'm looking for a way to refill my pepper grinder. Thank you so much for having the answer. I knew I could count on a RUclipsr for the answer. ✌️
I'm now convinced that I can find ANYTHING on YT, thank you Rob for making this video. Like everyone else here, I also hated the idea of throwing out a perfectly good grinder, besides there was no way it was going to get recycled either. I'm going to use and reuse my pepper grinder now. You're awesome!
I have tried to get those suckers off so many times without success. I was trying to unscrew them. Now I know how to do it. I hate wasting things. Thanks for sharing!
I needed no warm water, no hair dryer. I just used the pivot technique that he mentioned and, voilà! Worked like a charm. Thank you!! While talking to a family member I was telling him that there had to be a way to open the bottle and refill, cuz else, buying a new one every single time would be just waste in every single level! Not to mention the pollution! He said: Companies do it under the premise "We want to offer you a good product but we pack it in a way in which you'll just have to keep buying, cuz refill for us is money loss". And that hit me. If I was already determined to find a way to refill it, now I was just gonig to be adamant.
Only thing is you put stress on the plastic. The heat is to move the molecules to the plastic gets pliable and can take form without stress and go back to its shape. While it's cold, it can get bent out of shape.
Thanks for the technique, just what I needed to refill it! As others have mentioned, it's a shame that these aren't designed to be refillable, I guess the company wants to keep you buying their products, but I hate to think of the waste generated by single-use products like this and so many others. Videos like this not only save a lot of people money, but keep landfills a little less full.
I don't mind buying a new one because I don't use much salt. However the sweet onion sea-salt variety seems out of production now. So I ordered what I think is probably the closest thing to it and will try to refill the grinder
@@Hunter-sm8nd I like having the ability to decide how course the grindings are with the three positions. And it's so small that fits in my spice rack real nice
Three years ago I sawed a slit in a McCormick pepper grinder for exactly this reason. Mine was shaped differently from yours. The "lid" was much shorter and flatter to the glass jar. So, I don't know if your method would have worked on my container. What I love is seeing that all you nice people, just like me, don't like throwing away a perfectly good grinder. :)
Thanks for posting this! I really hate all this lack of recycling here in SW Florida. Now I can reuse these nice little bottles, plus they are better for keeping on the table as they are smaller and take up less space. Much appreciated!! 😉
South Florida?? The whole south of US could care less for recycling, reusable bagging, sustainable power and more and more. It is sickening seriously. 🙄🙄
Dude this video with such a help! I was able to do it without the water step. And rip it off without making a mess. But if I hadn't been blessed by the Lord to find this video I would have never known that was possible. I have a bottle of peppercorns that I can now use. Thanks a million!
It looked like it took a good bit of effort for you to get the lid off. I’m old with arthritic fingers. Don’t know that I have the strength to do this, but I’m glad you showed people how to do it.
WOW!!!! I thought getting those grinder tops off was literally impossible till I saw this.. And who knew it was so easy.. Clearly the manufacturers want us to keep running to the store and not refilling their little grinders they sell us. I'll keep this information in back pocket for next time. Thanks so much for sharing.
This video appeared in my feed as I was scrolling. It appeared maybe 10 videos down. I saw your image of the McCormick grinder and I was excited to learn how to reuse these grinders. It's a waste to toss them out. At the very least I now know how to remove the plastic from the glass in order to recycle the glass if it comes to that. Thank you. I really like practical videos.
Agree as well these being glass and the grinder on these McCormicks sea salt and pepper and the grinders are very nice and quality made and for 2.75 cents for these is perfect I love mine have refilled them about 4 or 5 times each so far had these a long time
There’s actual a newer method I have found out that works without the water, use a blow dryer to heat up the plastic cap and then use my pivot method, comes off super easy!!
Thank you!! I've been throwing them out when empty because I didn't think the lid would come off, but now that I know the trick to take it off, I will be doing that ! Thanks again !!
I'm a hairdryer fanatic, so I warm up everything with it!!! Worked great! I'm like everyone else that hates to toss out a good grinder when 1. It's much cheaper to buy refill pepper/salt!! 2. Definitely hate throwing out a good grinder. Thanks so much for doing the work for us!! You rock!! 👏👏👏👏🥳🎉💐
You can also do this with the swiffer mop refills. You have to boil about half inch to an inch of water and submerge just the cap, for 10 seconds only! Then you can go ahead and refill the container with whatever much less expensive cleaning product you wish.
Thank you for making this video! Just tried it without soaking and it came off surprisingly easily. You can feel it slowly coming off as you pull and bend. When done refilling, it's easier to put the top part back on if you first put the cap back onto the top part.
OMG. After years of actually holding on to a couple of these, I finally stumbled across your demo and the stumble steps worked perfectly for me the first time. I was ready to throw them away. Now I'm ready to refill them! Thanks!!!
Dang this video has blown up in the past week. Comment and let me know if you looked this video up or if it was recommended to you! Thanks for watchin and don't forget to hit the like button 👍👍👍 !
That bending tip REALLY helps! I was unable to take the cap out when just trying to pull straight out. But once I bended it like what you said, towards myself, the cap came off! Thumbs up for your help!!! 🥰🥰🥰
Thank you so much - would never have thought that and am a pretty handy person. Every little bit kept from the landfill is great, plus any money saved is welcome.
Thank you for the video! I actually went and bought the refill for the peppercorns at Costco without seeing this video. I tried on my own to take the top off and since I have arthritis tweaked my hand, then I went on RUclips and found this video that helps so much!! I used a jar opener that has a rubber grip for all different size bottles or jars held it by the glass part in with the rubber gloves pop the top right off didn’t think it was gonna work so pepper corn went everywhere! Thanks for the video🎉
Perfect instructions! Thank you for taking the time to share this info. I would never have figured it out without this very straight forward how-to video. Many thanks!
Does anyone remember when minimal packaging was the trend. It seems nowadays that manufacturers are intentionally increasing packaging as if it makes the product seem more valuable. Love this.
McCormick's recently redesigned this grinder and the new one is HORRIBLE (hard to change grind size, hard\hurts to pop off cap, and uncomfortable to hold). Thank you for this, now I can refill my old bottle that I loved!
thank you, rob. this is very useful. as information, i put on a pair of rubber work gloves and, like you showed, bent the plastic top off the glass part of the unit without having to soak the top. it worked like a dream! thanks again. i love these type of shortcuts to recycling.
Thanks for the tip! It worked great. I was actually cooking something and I needed peppercorns. Only ones I had were in the grinder. Only a few got wet and I was able to use them so it was a win win!!
I've always wanted to do this so I can reuse the jars for other spices that don't come with a grinder. Sometimes I find that even seasoning mixes are too coarse, or I want to grind my own coriander seeds, for example. Great video!
I couldn't figure out how to open the grinder to refill. And I thought there is no way someone would've made a video of this hack while i was searching on the net. Thanks for your video.
I go to an Asian store and buy whole pepper corn then roast a small batch at a time. My mom always do this and I still do it. It taste much better and I also grind them in different sizes because well...different textures makes things taste better.
Reloaded that exact PM a couple months ago by using a bread knife and some brute strength to get it apart. Afterwards I thought, it’s time for my Christmas present to myself. I purchased a set of battery powered, USB rechargeable S@P mills, both with LED lights from Amazon. I love them and can’t believe I didn’t buy a set years ago!
Thank you! This was the 1st video recommended when I opened RUclips. I don't like throwing those away because they do work great. Now I can just refill! 💥❤
Thank you for sharing the video. Another way you can do is: Microwave a wet hand towel for 20 seconds, wrap around the cap with the hot towel (you may wear kitchen gloves if it's too hot for you), after about 20 seconds, grab the cap tight and put it off the glass grinder. After refill, repeat the heating process and push the cap back to the glass grinder. Done.
i used to take the almost empty grinder, turn on my coffeemaker, put a metal spoon on the coffee maker heating element, then rest the plastic seam where it meets the glass on the heating spoon. NOT a long time. After a couple minutes, pry off. I only let it go too long one time and it melted the gauge where the grind size switch is but it was still usable. I was just stuck on medium grind (for something I use with protein shakes so not a biggie). Found the tip on a blog once, years and years ago. Oh, they now changed the design of those. I like the original like what you have. I hate the newer pointy ones. Best regards,
Been a pet peeve of mine forever, I have one that is the fillable kind but the grind is too big, says it adjusts, but doesn't... so I prefer the grind on these sealed ones and never could get the lid off... so thanks, I'll give it a try!
I'm so happy I found this. I almost at the end of my jar of McCormick white and black peppercorn that comes in this exact grinder. I was trying to figure out a way to open it, and a butter knife under the plastic part didn't work and I didn't want to break the glass. I'm actually going to try this with a heat gun and see if that works (obviously I would put it on a low setting so it doesn't melt)
Thank you! This was perfectly what I needed. I managed to bend it off easily without warming the lid at all, and I am by no means strong at lid-opening. (I make my husband open lids for me all the time).
Mine popped right off super easy without the water, I was just trying to pull it straight off before this video, the kinda bending method worked like a charm
At first i was struggling for the first minute, but I use a microfiber cloth and it open immediately. I knew there was a way to open it! Yay! 😁 Although I had a larger bottle pepper grinder I prefer to use the smaller one you have, it fits in my narrow wall rack.
Was googling this cuz i was afriad my determined hubby was gunna break something trying to open it😅 Luckily this was the first video to pop up and was fast enough to get to the point!
Yes I've opened these grinders and i used my scissors that have like a grip on them for grasping things like this and I wrapped a thin towel around the black lid so as not to scratch it then grasped it with the Scissors and viola I. Had my grinder spice jar ready for refill Thank you 👍
Thank you! This is just what I wanted to know! The grinding bits don't last forever, so eventually you do need to toss it and get a new one, but they're good for more than a single jar full, frevin sakes.
Thanks Rob for showing us how's it done. Your video just popped up randomly on the 'trending sidebar', so I clicked on it out of curiosity. I had one of these and tried twisting, i.e., unscrewing it, to no avail. I might have thrown mine away, since it was no longer useful. Next time, now I know. Tips: [1] I'd wear protective gloves made of rubber or lined with silicon for better grip. [2] Open it outside, so you don't have to deal with 'cleaning up the flying pepper'.
Your video just pop up, so glad I got it. Noticed that it was premiered 3 yrs ago! Thanks for sharing young man. My daughter got alot of these small ones when we had a graduation party like 4 yrs ago. God bless. Hope you are doing well.
The grinders are also burr grinders though the burrs aren't large enough to pull in coffee beans but you can still fill them with crushed coffee beans that you smashed in a mortar and pestle, however it takes a very long time to grind enough coffee grounds by hand. I have crushed dry porcini mushrooms in one because I once found such a disposable grinder with dried mushrooms in it at Randall's once though I haven't found it anywhere after that, spaghetti with just butter and the ground mushrooms was fantastic and was the suggested preparation on the label. I've been refilling disposable grinders from President's choice, they actual have an adjustment for adjusting the grind from fine to coarse, the grinders are quite large/tall and are just screw tops, obviously the pepper corns are available in bulk but I just use coarse Kosher salt instead of splurging for the coarse sea salt. The no name coarse Kosher salt is more of a medium than a coarse and are slightly off white as in slightly grey so you need to buy the name brand coarse Kosher salt if aesthetics are an issue. It's remarkable that they are disposable whereas coffee burr grinders are so expensive when the pepper and salt grinders are just smaller versions of burr grinders and often of the same quality.
Thank you so much! When you buy their pepper you never know what you're really getting. Yeah the peppercorns you buy maybe subpar or maybe they won't be but at least you have some control over it and it's way fresher. I love the fact that I can control the size of the pepper that comes out. Awesome hack!
Good, helpful vid...thanks. I was in a bind as my oxo grinder wasn't working and I had two pork butts just about to go in the smoker. One of these was in my spice cabinet but was almost empty. I just brute forced it off like you said because I needed it right then without taking the time to clean and dry. The lever description was very helpful.
I thought what are the chances I’ll find an answer to this on RUclips and here it is! I also used the hair dryer afterwards but can see that’s all you really need, cap softened even more in seconds.
Thank you for linking to long term use grinders in the description. It's well worth the investment, and much less wasteful. You know recycling facilities arent pulling those caps off, so they just go in the landfill if people don't separate the grinder part from the glass.
Thank you! Suggestion: wrap small piece of plastic wrap around grinder to keep water out of the grinder but will allow heat transfer. Plastic film will also contain any spillage.
Something to keep in mind: These “throwaway” grinders often have plastic mills which means when you grind little tiny (microscopic) bits of plastic also get ground. Youre better off, IMO, just buying reusable grinders with ceramic mills.
On top of that, we're all probably infiltrated with plastic microbits by now. They even used to put them in some toothpaste. I found this when I liked at the samples my dentist was providing. I showed them at my next exam. They were shocked.
I can’t budge the adjustment mechanism. This is also a pretty useless pepper grinder. But I do appreciate this video. I actually buy these things and keep reminding myself to buy a real pepper grinder.
These little disposable pepper mills actually do an amazing job of grinding. With plastic cutters, it performs far better than the $100 dollar Chef's pepper mill I was given as a gift which has stainless steel cutters. I've been refilling these little mills for years and they last for at least 15 to 20 refills. I just run the plastic cap/mechanism under the hot water tap for about 1 minute and pull the top straight off. Refill the bottle and then reheat the cap under the tap, dry it off quickly and push the cap back onto the bottle. The hot water softens the plastic and expands the plastic very slightly to make removal and re-installation quite easy.
Hey bud this pop up on my feed and luckly enough i had a empty one in my pantry for a few years that i just decided not to get rid off and it was definitely a good decision..... because i went and got my empty bottle and immediately gave a try without using the warm water and it worked like a ‼️CHARM‼️now i just have to get a couple other bottles which I'll have to purchase but it will be worth it in long term since those grinders work perfectly and they also have adjustable grind. Thanks for sharing...watching from Trinidad & Tobago 🇹🇹
Great job! Thank you very much! I just grabbed the lid with a pair of channel locs and did the same thing but the hot water makes it a whole lot easier.
I am missing something here. I have purchased these little grinders, taken out the peppercorns to fill my regular pepper mill, then tossed the disposable ones. Why? Because ounce for ounce, I find peppercorns cheaper in these disposable grinders than just buying peppercorns.. Thus, I am not seeing the point in refilling these things.
It's like "you can save by making your own butter", when I find grade ASA butter for somewhat less than the cream to make my own would cost. I'm not getting this "pay more + do more work" approach to things.
No one’s paying more to do this. That’s literally the whole point of the video, TO SAVE MONEY, and be a little more environmentally friendly. Unless you’re getting some dirt cheap deal on the disposables then you really need to check your math.
The disposable sells for $2.13 for a one ounce container which equals $2.13/Oz. You can buy a large 17.5 oz McCormick Peppercorn refill for $13.08 on Amazon or Walmart (both have same price) which equals $0.75/ounce, almost a 66% reduction in cost. And I actually get them for $11.12 for the big container since it is a “subscribe and save” item on Amazon so I save 15%, so MY cost is actually closer to $0.63/ounce. So unless you are getting the 1oz disposables for under $0.75 a piece this way is wayyy cheaper and YOU are the one paying more and doing more work.
Just take a step back and think about it logically, for a company does it make sense to do more work packaging the same 17.5 oz of peppercorn into 17 individual bottles just to sell it for less per ounce than a bulk refill bottle, or just make one 17.5 oz bulk refill bottle…? You gotta realize, they have to factor in the cost of the glass bottle (refill just comes in a thin plastic bottle) the cost of the grinder mechanism and all the added extra time/labor (yes I know machines do most/all of this now but it is still a factor in production costs.) Just like how if you go buy a bag of chips. Per ounce which one is almost always going to be cheaper? The single serving size that comes in its own small little bag or the family/party size bag? Absent of any sales promotion/clearance sale, the bigger volume is almost always going to be cheaper per ounce…. Not really sure what you’re missing exactly…
And as far as the butter comment I have no clue as I don’t make my own butter but I imagine that is a separate argument, not so much about saving money but more about controlling exactly what ingredients go in /don’t go in your butter. Obviously some are essential but some ppl like to cut all the preservatives/ unnecessary chemicals, etc
Here is a link to the bulk peppercorn refill: amzn.to/3bz0WEL
Instead of waterlogging or brute forcing the head off of the grinder, read the label where it states "Remove grinder head to recycle glass. Align arrows on grinder head and bottle to remove." Following these directions is easy enough but remember, the grinder is plastic and will not last forever, especially if you run it on the finest setting. To put the top back on, align the arrows and push.
@@KJ6EAD news flash, this is not the newest model bottle. The newer bottles are easier to remove the cap supposedly, yes. This is a 3 year old video, and an older model that had no instructions to remove, and no arrows to align and yes you DO have to brute force this one off.
@@RobSomeKnowledge Well, in that case you're welcome to the updated information. When are you replacing this video with a new, more accurate one?
@@KJ6EAD C'mon, man. That last question is just ego talking. It was a helpful video years ago and I imagine some people will find it helpful today. I found one of these old bottles in an unpacked moving box recently. Out of curiosity, I just looked and it's the old design. The video was helpful to me.
I'm glad I wasn't the only person who wanted to reuse this grinder! It actually grinds better than ALL of the grinders I've ever purchased.
Thank you!
Exactly! I keep buying different kinds of pepper grinders and they crap out.
I agree with you on that. Nice to know how to reuse the “disposable ones👍🏼👍🏼
I have bought them thinking of this but could never get it right. Thank you for this!
I'm not the only person that likes to find creative used for containers! Yay!
Because they're disposable, they do wear out, but buying bulk sea salt crystals and whole black peppercorns and refilling is definitely better until you notice they don't grind too well anymore. However the ones I buy aren't McCormicks and the tops screw off 😅
Throw it out buy a grinder that's made from steel, otherwise your just eating plastic.
Fantastic. Those McCormick pepper grinders are very well made and work better than my expensive grinders. I hated throwing them out, and thanks to you, I won't have to anymore!
I wonder what other herbs and spices we could put in them.
That's a great idea. I Have whole coriander that I've never been able to use. Now I will try it! @@Lee-t4i
Cloves come to mind as something else that would work.
Probably also nutmeg if the nutmeg were smashed into smaller pieces first.
Cloves come to mind as something else that would work.
Probably also nutmeg if the nutmeg were smashed into smaller pieces first.
@@justin423 thank you. I'm trying to think of something others. When I do I'll tell you about them.
A hairdryer blown on the base of the cap worked great for me and you don’t have to clean and dry the bottle after.
Yes that is a great tip! Im just a guy and don't keep a hairdryer lol
@@RobSomeKnowledge heat gun!
@@AzuriteCoast yeah true! I do have one of those lol
Breaking out the heat gun...
@@RobSomeKnowledge yeah he’s just a guy leave him alone
I've been doing this for a while now. I especially like the fact that the container says "Do not refill!" The instruction adds some extra pleasure to recycling a really good grinder.
The company wants the consumer to buy a new grinder. Otherwise they would have designed the top to unscrew like all the other spices.
They don't want you to refill it because its made durable only for the contents. After that the grinder surfaces shed plastics into your food until it eventually fails.
So you think they have this engineered so perfectly, that as soon as the last original peppercorn gets ground, it just starts shedding plastic? That’s not exactly how this works. If it’s shedding once the original content are gone, then it probably was before it was even gone. They just want you to buy a new grinder at 3x or more of the cost of peppercorn refills (cost per ounce)
@@RobSomeKnowledgeyou're an idiot.
@@RobSomeKnowledge yep, it has a molecular timer that detects when the last peppercorn is ground and then it starts to disintegrate.
THANK YOU! I knew there was a way but im 71 and couldn't get it to budge. Arthritis. What blows my mind is there was actually a youtube video answering my question! God bless the internet.
Hahaha of course, that’s the beauty of RUclips. You can find dang near anything! Glad it helped and gotta say getting this off at 71, and with arthritis is pretty dang awesome!
Try a hair dryer
I am in the same boat here, 75 and my grip isn’t as good as it was. Looking forward to trying this with my empty grinders. Then I can also remove the labels and wash out the bottles to make my own spice mixes from dried herbs from the garden. Yea!
Try putting on a pair of household rubber gloves, the kind you wear when you wash dishes. You get a really good grip with them. I do this when I open jars.
GREAT idea, TY!@@terryt.1643
Wow....I just tried this over here in Germany. It worked just as well with our disposable pepper grinders. Now it is a nice thing to have multiple grinders (pepper, chili....) for little money. Thank you 🥰
That is a great reply and it will extend my spice pantry. Donka schoen.
I like toasting coriander seeds.
It's 110 degrees in Texas. I just left it in the sun for 5 minutes and it popped off. Thanks!
Gotta remember that next summer in Florida 😂😂😂
My goodness! unfathomable! unimaginable! unthinkable this could happen.🤣
Oh yes it was. I remember it well.
@@martyconroy3786 Yeah, just put it on your car's dash for a few minutes. Free solar heat!
Haha 😂 I’ve been to Texas one time for 3-4 days it’s hot 🥵 hot there in summertime and humid as well.
Before stumbling upon your video I was so annoyed that I had to throw away a perfectly fine grinder. Thought of pulling the cap off before but I was afraid I'd break the glass while doing it. Your video really helped to reassure me that it's possible! I was so excited that I tried it right away without even submerging it in warm water and I was able to get it off in a few tries. Super happy that I can refill this thing and keep reusing it now. Thanks a lot for sharing this video :)
Ditto, I just threw one away
I actually broke one, trying 😅, never dawned on me to heat it up doh.
Throw it out buy a grinder that's made from steel, otherwise your just eating plastic.
So happy to see this vid! I hate to waste a perfectly good grinder. The company is so dumb not to make them refillable
1 person suggested warming it with a hair dryer. That would save some time and effort because you wouldn't have to worry about getting it thoroughly dry after being wet.
Here it is 2 years later than your post and I'm looking for a way to refill my pepper grinder. Thank you so much for having the answer. I knew I could count on a RUclipsr for the answer. ✌️
This still works on the updated design. This vid made my day!
Finally, some useful information from the internet!
I'm now convinced that I can find ANYTHING on YT, thank you Rob for making this video. Like everyone else here, I also hated the idea of throwing out a perfectly good grinder, besides there was no way it was going to get recycled either. I'm going to use and reuse my pepper grinder now. You're awesome!
Me too; so while I'm at it, I'll refill the others I couldn't throw away🤗 Thanks Rob
I second your sentiments
I have tried to get those suckers off so many times without success. I was trying to unscrew them. Now I know how to do it. I hate wasting things. Thanks for sharing!
I needed no warm water, no hair dryer. I just used the pivot technique that he mentioned and, voilà!
Worked like a charm. Thank you!!
While talking to a family member I was telling him that there had to be a way to open the bottle and refill, cuz else, buying a new one every single time would be just waste in every single level! Not to mention the pollution!
He said: Companies do it under the premise "We want to offer you a good product but we pack it in a way in which you'll just have to keep buying, cuz refill for us is money loss".
And that hit me. If I was already determined to find a way to refill it, now I was just gonig to be adamant.
This worked perfectly for me with that pivot trick too! Such a great video
Only thing is you put stress on the plastic. The heat is to move the molecules to the plastic gets pliable and can take form without stress and go back to its shape. While it's cold, it can get bent out of shape.
I've been doing this the hard way by inserting a flat head screwdriver under the lid edge and prying it off. Thanks for the great advice.
Thanks for the technique, just what I needed to refill it! As others have mentioned, it's a shame that these aren't designed to be refillable, I guess the company wants to keep you buying their products, but I hate to think of the waste generated by single-use products like this and so many others. Videos like this not only save a lot of people money, but keep landfills a little less full.
there is a company called clover valley that has a twist off lid, maybe that will help? for grinder, have their sea salt one
@@heaven1kingdom Thanks for the tip!
Just buy a real pepper grinder lol
I don't mind buying a new one because I don't use much salt. However the sweet onion sea-salt variety seems out of production now. So I ordered what I think is probably the closest thing to it and will try to refill the grinder
@@Hunter-sm8nd I like having the ability to decide how course the grindings are with the three positions. And it's so small that fits in my spice rack real nice
Thank you! I tried the hair dryer method and it worked great! So easy to get off even for a weak wristed 76 year old woman!
Yay! Im glad you got it! 💪
watched 5 videos on this grinder and YOU are the first that puts it back together and shows how it works.. Thank you. Good job
Three years ago I sawed a slit in a McCormick pepper grinder for exactly this reason. Mine was shaped differently from yours. The "lid" was much shorter and flatter to the glass jar. So, I don't know if your method would have worked on my container. What I love is seeing that all you nice people, just like me, don't like throwing away a perfectly good grinder. :)
Thanks for posting this! I really hate all this lack of recycling here in SW Florida. Now I can reuse these nice little bottles, plus they are better for keeping on the table as they are smaller and take up less space. Much appreciated!! 😉
South Florida?? The whole south of US could care less for recycling, reusable bagging, sustainable power and more and more. It is sickening seriously. 🙄🙄
Ok Karens
Flori-DUHHHHHHH
Dude this video with such a help! I was able to do it without the water step. And rip it off without making a mess. But if I hadn't been blessed by the Lord to find this video I would have never known that was possible. I have a bottle of peppercorns that I can now use. Thanks a million!
It looked like it took a good bit of effort for you to get the lid off. I’m old with arthritic fingers. Don’t know that I have the strength to do this, but I’m glad you showed people how to do it.
Did not work for me not strong enough.
Try a pair of slip-joint pliers. Your wrist will be doing the work instead of your hands.
WOW!!!! I thought getting those grinder tops off was literally impossible till I saw this.. And who knew it was so easy.. Clearly the manufacturers want us to keep running to the store and not refilling their little grinders they sell us. I'll keep this information in back pocket for next time. Thanks so much for sharing.
I just did this by putting it in the microwave for 30sec and flipping it over and another 30sec. Worked like a charm. 👍🏼
I was going to suggest that. Works like a charm
This video appeared in my feed as I was scrolling. It appeared maybe 10 videos down. I saw your image of the McCormick grinder and I was excited to learn how to reuse these grinders. It's a waste to toss them out. At the very least I now know how to remove the plastic from the glass in order to recycle the glass if it comes to that. Thank you. I really like practical videos.
Thanks for the tip. I always have hated to throw away a perfectly good grinder. I am very conscious of not making unnecessary waste
Agreed! It's such a waste to make these things a one shot wonder. I'm so happy to know how to get the top off so I can refill it!
Agree as well these being glass and the grinder on these McCormicks sea salt and pepper and the grinders are very nice and quality made and for 2.75 cents for these is perfect I love mine have refilled them about 4 or 5 times each so far had these a long time
@@joshuat5140 Thanks for this. I was wondering how many times I can expect to get good results refilling these👍
Shoot! I need to get the peppercorns out, so getting them wet defeats the whole purpose. Good info otherwise! 😁
There’s actual a newer method I have found out that works without the water, use a blow dryer to heat up the plastic cap and then use my pivot method, comes off super easy!!
Thank you!! I've been throwing them out when empty because I didn't think the lid would come off, but now that I know the trick to take it off, I will be doing that ! Thanks again !!
I'm a hairdryer fanatic, so I warm up everything with it!!! Worked great! I'm like everyone else that hates to toss out a good grinder when 1. It's much cheaper to buy refill pepper/salt!!
2. Definitely hate throwing out a good grinder.
Thanks so much for doing the work for us!! You rock!!
👏👏👏👏🥳🎉💐
In winter, I make a tent with my blanket using my toes, drape the blanket over and use a blow dryer to warm it up before my body can do it💖💖💖
You can also do this with the swiffer mop refills. You have to boil about half inch to an inch of water and submerge just the cap, for 10 seconds only! Then you can go ahead and refill the container with whatever much less expensive cleaning product you wish.
and then, cut a wine bottle cork to fit as the cap; Done and it works great!
And buy pads you can reuse by washing with towels in washing machine.
Get a spinmop. Stop putting swiffer cloths in the trash
Thank you for making this video!
Just tried it without soaking and it came off surprisingly easily. You can feel it slowly coming off as you pull and bend.
When done refilling, it's easier to put the top part back on if you first put the cap back onto the top part.
OMG. After years of actually holding on to a couple of these, I finally stumbled across your demo and the stumble steps worked perfectly for me the first time. I was ready to throw them away. Now I'm ready to refill them! Thanks!!!
Dang this video has blown up in the past week. Comment and let me know if you looked this video up or if it was recommended to you! Thanks for watchin and don't forget to hit the like button 👍👍👍 !
in the feed!
Not sure why this was in my feed but glad I watched. Thanks, good vid!
RUclips recommended.
In my feed, but so excited!
I tried this before your vid and here you are…scary
These are great little pepper grinders. Excellent tip. It was pretty easy for me to get the lid off without heating it up.
My empty grinder bottle just patiently waited for me to find your video.
Thank you SO much!!!
That bending tip REALLY helps! I was unable to take the cap out when just trying to pull straight out. But once I bended it like what you said, towards myself, the cap came off! Thumbs up for your help!!! 🥰🥰🥰
Thank you so much - would never have thought that and am a pretty handy person. Every little bit kept from the landfill is great, plus any money saved is welcome.
Thank you for the video! I actually went and bought the refill for the peppercorns at Costco without seeing this video. I tried on my own to take the top off and since I have arthritis tweaked my hand, then I went on RUclips and found this video that helps so much!! I used a jar opener that has a rubber grip for all different size bottles or jars held it by the glass part in with the rubber gloves pop the top right off didn’t think it was gonna work so pepper corn went everywhere! Thanks for the video🎉
Worked like a charm! 5 minutes is the sweet spot.
I didn't need to soak it at all, it just popped right off and back on! Thanks!
Perfect instructions! Thank you for taking the time to share this info. I would never have figured it out without this very straight forward how-to video. Many thanks!
Thank you for the tutorial. Fine job!!!
Does anyone remember when minimal packaging was the trend. It seems nowadays that manufacturers are intentionally increasing packaging as if it makes the product seem more valuable. Love this.
McCormick's recently redesigned this grinder and the new one is HORRIBLE (hard to change grind size, hard\hurts to pop off cap, and uncomfortable to hold).
Thank you for this, now I can refill my old bottle that I loved!
I seen that, I’m gonna have to go give them a few more dollars just so I can check out the new bottle and make a video on it. Thanks for watching!!!
Quick search and you had exactly what I came for! Thanks man 🙏🏼
thank you, rob. this is very useful. as information, i put on a pair of rubber work gloves and, like you showed, bent the plastic top off the glass part of the unit without having to soak the top. it worked like a dream! thanks again. i love these type of shortcuts to recycling.
Thanks for the tip! It worked great. I was actually cooking something and I needed peppercorns. Only ones I had were in the grinder. Only a few got wet and I was able to use them so it was a win win!!
I've always wanted to do this so I can reuse the jars for other spices that don't come with a grinder. Sometimes I find that even seasoning mixes are too coarse, or I want to grind my own coriander seeds, for example. Great video!
I couldn't figure out how to open the grinder to refill. And I thought there is no way someone would've made a video of this hack while i was searching on the net. Thanks for your video.
I go to an Asian store and buy whole pepper corn then roast a small batch at a time. My mom always do this and I still do it. It taste much better and I also grind them in different sizes because well...different textures makes things taste better.
Reloaded that exact PM a couple months ago by using a bread knife and some brute strength to get it apart. Afterwards I thought, it’s time for my Christmas present to myself. I purchased a set of battery powered, USB rechargeable S@P mills, both with LED lights from Amazon. I love them and can’t believe I didn’t buy a set years ago!
Thank you! This was the 1st video recommended when I opened RUclips. I don't like throwing those away because they do work great. Now I can just refill! 💥❤
Finally! A method that works, safely and easily … thank you!
Best grinder on the market - kudos to McCormick - thanks for the tip
Thank you for sharing the video. Another way you can do is:
Microwave a wet hand towel for 20 seconds, wrap around the cap with the hot towel (you may wear kitchen gloves if it's too hot for you), after about 20 seconds, grab the cap tight and put it off the glass grinder. After refill, repeat the heating process and push the cap back to the glass grinder. Done.
Thank you, thank you, thank you! mission accomplished
i used to take the almost empty grinder, turn on my coffeemaker, put a metal spoon on the coffee maker heating element, then rest the plastic seam where it meets the glass on the heating spoon. NOT a long time. After a couple minutes, pry off. I only let it go too long one time and it melted the gauge where the grind size switch is but it was still usable. I was just stuck on medium grind (for something I use with protein shakes so not a biggie). Found the tip on a blog once, years and years ago. Oh, they now changed the design of those. I like the original like what you have. I hate the newer pointy ones. Best regards,
Been a pet peeve of mine forever, I have one that is the fillable kind but the grind is too big, says it adjusts, but doesn't... so I prefer the grind on these sealed ones and never could get the lid off... so thanks, I'll give it a try!
From some random guy in Jakarta, just wanna say, "You're a champ!" Thanks bud!👍🏼
I'm glad I don't have to buy an expensive grinder I love these
I'm so happy I found this. I almost at the end of my jar of McCormick white and black peppercorn that comes in this exact grinder. I was trying to figure out a way to open it, and a butter knife under the plastic part didn't work and I didn't want to break the glass. I'm actually going to try this with a heat gun and see if that works (obviously I would put it on a low setting so it doesn't melt)
Thank you! This was perfectly what I needed. I managed to bend it off easily without warming the lid at all, and I am by no means strong at lid-opening. (I make my husband open lids for me all the time).
Mine popped right off super easy without the water, I was just trying to pull it straight off before this video, the kinda bending method worked like a charm
At first i was struggling for the first minute, but I use a microfiber cloth and it open immediately. I knew there was a way to open it! Yay! 😁 Although I had a larger bottle pepper grinder I prefer to use the smaller one you have, it fits in my narrow wall rack.
Was googling this cuz i was afriad my determined hubby was gunna break something trying to open it😅 Luckily this was the first video to pop up and was fast enough to get to the point!
Thank you young man...I have a salt and a pepper grinder like that . Glad I kept them.
Yes I've opened these grinders and i used my scissors that have like a grip on them for grasping things like this and I wrapped a thin towel around the black lid so as not to scratch it then grasped it with the
Scissors and viola
I. Had my grinder spice jar ready for refill
Thank you 👍
Thank you! This is just what I wanted to know! The grinding bits don't last forever, so eventually you do need to toss it and get a new one, but they're good for more than a single jar full, frevin sakes.
OMG it worked! I didn't even have to soak it. I just ran hot water over it for a few seconds and it popped right off. ❤❤❤ Thank you!
This worked like a charm, and I was able to use some of the dry peppercorns for a recipe. Thank you!!!
Thanks Rob for showing us how's it done.
Your video just popped up randomly on the 'trending sidebar', so I clicked on it out of curiosity.
I had one of these and tried twisting, i.e., unscrewing it, to no avail.
I might have thrown mine away, since it was no longer useful.
Next time, now I know.
Tips:
[1] I'd wear protective gloves made of rubber or lined with silicon for better grip.
[2] Open it outside, so you don't have to deal with 'cleaning up the flying pepper'.
Thanks for watching! Yeah for sure some silicone gloves or even a rubber band wrapped over the top several times would help a ton with better grip!
Way easier than I expected it was going to be. Thanks!
Your video just pop up, so glad I got it. Noticed that it was premiered 3 yrs ago! Thanks for sharing young man. My daughter got alot of these small ones when we had a graduation party like 4 yrs ago. God bless. Hope you are doing well.
Thanks for this! I didn't need the heat, but used a rubber pad designed for opening tight jar lids, that gave me the grip I needed 😄
Thank You for the info. ESPECIALLY in this economy,!!
The grinders are also burr grinders though the burrs aren't large enough to pull in coffee beans but you can still fill them with crushed coffee beans that you smashed in a mortar and pestle, however it takes a very long time to grind enough coffee grounds by hand. I have crushed dry porcini mushrooms in one because I once found such a disposable grinder with dried mushrooms in it at Randall's once though I haven't found it anywhere after that, spaghetti with just butter and the ground mushrooms was fantastic and was the suggested preparation on the label. I've been refilling disposable grinders from President's choice, they actual have an adjustment for adjusting the grind from fine to coarse, the grinders are quite large/tall and are just screw tops, obviously the pepper corns are available in bulk but I just use coarse Kosher salt instead of splurging for the coarse sea salt. The no name coarse Kosher salt is more of a medium than a coarse and are slightly off white as in slightly grey so you need to buy the name brand coarse Kosher salt if aesthetics are an issue.
It's remarkable that they are disposable whereas coffee burr grinders are so expensive when the pepper and salt grinders are just smaller versions of burr grinders and often of the same quality.
Thank you so much! When you buy their pepper you never know what you're really getting. Yeah the peppercorns you buy maybe subpar or maybe they won't be but at least you have some control over it and it's way fresher. I love the fact that I can control the size of the pepper that comes out. Awesome hack!
I have tried so hard to get the cap off, thanks for showing the way to do it!
Useing the flat rubber gripper is a must in your kitchen,I have several 😊
Grateful for the video, was able to remove cap without having to soak!! Giving God for the Glory for the idea and the ease!
Good, helpful vid...thanks. I was in a bind as my oxo grinder wasn't working and I had two pork butts just about to go in the smoker. One of these was in my spice cabinet but was almost empty. I just brute forced it off like you said because I needed it right then without taking the time to clean and dry. The lever description was very helpful.
💪🏼 let’s gooo! Glad to help hope them pork butts turn out good!
I thought what are the chances I’ll find an answer to this on RUclips and here it is! I also used the hair dryer afterwards but can see that’s all you really need, cap softened even more in seconds.
Thank you for linking to long term use grinders in the description. It's well worth the investment, and much less wasteful. You know recycling facilities arent pulling those caps off, so they just go in the landfill if people don't separate the grinder part from the glass.
Exactlyyyy!!! And I'm glad I could help with the link :)
Thank you! Suggestion: wrap small piece of plastic wrap around grinder to keep water out of the grinder but will allow heat transfer. Plastic film will also contain any spillage.
Love an extra step that saves time. Thanks!
When you said to bend it. I skipped all steps and grabbed my bottle, that I usually would try to twist off. And it worked🎉 Thanks😊
Nice! Glad it worked for you!
Something to keep in mind: These “throwaway” grinders often have plastic mills which means when you grind little tiny (microscopic) bits of plastic also get ground. Youre better off, IMO, just buying reusable grinders with ceramic mills.
My thoughts as well.
That’s right, avoid those plastic mills!
Thank you.
not true at all as the grinding parts never touch: they use the peppercorns themselves to grind
On top of that, we're all probably infiltrated with plastic microbits by now. They even used to put them in some toothpaste. I found this when I liked at the samples my dentist was providing. I showed them at my next exam. They were shocked.
I didn’t search for this video, but RUclips certainly knew I needed it. Thanks!
Lol, i never noticed the adjustment knobs 😅
Glad k stayed to the end lol
I can’t budge the adjustment mechanism. This is also a pretty useless pepper grinder. But I do appreciate this video. I actually buy these things and keep reminding myself to buy a real pepper grinder.
I didn't know about it either!
followed your method. worked like a charm! thank you for posting the viseo.
Worked perfectly and not that hard to pop the top off! Thank you very much!
These little disposable pepper mills actually do an amazing job of grinding. With plastic cutters, it performs far better than the $100 dollar Chef's pepper mill I was given as a gift which has stainless steel cutters. I've been refilling these little mills for years and they last for at least 15 to 20 refills. I just run the plastic cap/mechanism under the hot water tap for about 1 minute and pull the top straight off. Refill the bottle and then reheat the cap under the tap, dry it off quickly and push the cap back onto the bottle. The hot water softens the plastic and expands the plastic very slightly to make removal and re-installation quite easy.
Thanks for the video, I was getting tired of buying salt and pepper grinders. I always was saying there has to be a way to refill them.
Thank you for the awesome tip. 🤩
As soon as he talked about the pivot point, I was able to do it. No hot water needed.
Same here, didn't have to warm it up. Once you understand how it is attached you aren't as worried about breaking it.
Me too lol. It just popped off just by me twisting
Hey bud this pop up on my feed and luckly enough i had a empty one in my pantry for a few years that i just decided not to get rid off and it was definitely a good decision..... because i went and got my empty bottle and immediately gave a try without using the warm water and it worked like a
‼️CHARM‼️now i just have to get a couple other bottles which I'll have to purchase but it will be worth it in long term since those grinders work perfectly and they also have adjustable grind. Thanks for sharing...watching from Trinidad & Tobago 🇹🇹
thanks for the useful tip Rob.
Anytime!
What a brilliant find! With the refill containers handy,I can see it would more than pay for itself in the longrun.
Worked without heating it up. I knew it was possible.. just didn't know how, and this video did it for me.
Great job! Thank you very much! I just grabbed the lid with a pair of channel locs and did the same thing but the hot water makes it a whole lot easier.
''Knowledge speaks, but wisdom listens.'' ~Jimi Hendrix
Said the drug addict!
@@jeledarichardson67have some respect
@@GBst1007 said the cowardly subscriber!
Not only are you disrespectful, you’re funny too !
I use this technique with a lot of bottles, even plastic. I figured it doesnt hurt to try and it has always worked.
Thanks! I was apparently strong enough to get it off without the water!