I keep the pepper mill dry and shut

Supper is already on the table — and the pepper mill stands open by the hob, with wet fingers on the wood. Easy to leave it “quicker to twist”: by morning the mechanism is sticky from steam, the wood damp, and the hand turns — with no pepper. I wipe the body, shut the top and keep it off the steam — so tomorrow the grains fall again, not a squeak.

I keep the pepper mill dry and shut. Pepper from the mill, not dust from a packet, is another note; salt by the hob its own; how I keep the garlic press another story. Here it’s the mill itself after supper: dry, shut — not a wet toy next to a boiling pot.

If it is already damp — a soft cloth on the wood and metal, not under the tap whole: water inside kills the mechanism. I top up with dry peppercorns, not a wet hand from the sink. I don’t put it in the dishwasher. I’m not choosing a new mill with a review in this note — it’s about the one that already stands by the hob.

I don’t need a mill that spends the night wet and goes quiet by morning. I need a dry, shut one ready for the next plate. At yours do you wipe and shut the mill — or already in the morning twist for nothing?