Who Owns a Mortar & Pestle?

[Corey123]

Not sure if I'm even spelling this right, but do any of you own this tool? Just being a little bit nosy.
I'm just now getting around to buying one of these. I just bought one today. This is and old-time cook's tool that's probably been around for eons, at least maybe for centuries.

It's usually made of a very heavy marble stone material - and it consists of a tapered pole-shaped handle with the wider end in the bowl.

The bowl itself is made from the same material. It can be in a small size, medium or large. But the thing is so heavy that you can knock someone out or kill them with it!!

It is mainly used to mash up and make paste or powder from things like garlic, herbs and dry spices.

 

[TATTRAT]

I've got a couple actually, I love 'em.

 

[skilletlicker]

Not exactly, but I do us a molcajete which is like a big one made of lava rock.

 

[Nicholas Mosher]

I love both of mine!

Big difference betwen something that is finely minced and actually mashed to a paste. Huge increase in flavor!

Garlic, herbs, spices, oh my. I often make compound butters in mine. I start with the dry spices, add the herbs, and then any big solids like garlic/shallots. Then I add butter/oil and mix/fold with a small spatula I have.

 

[BlueCat]

Me too. I have a small one for little amounts of spices or to crush pills for the pets to mix into their food. Then I have a Molcajete which weighs about a ton for the bigger jobs.

BC

 

[boufa06]

Corey, I also own one of these and I have been using it all of my life to make chilli paste by pounding all the ingredients in it. We do believe that mixing the chilli paste ingredients this way makes a better tasting chilli paste than by using a blender. I use it also to crush garlic and to bruise herbs such as lemon grass, ginger etc. The mortar can also be used for crushing ad pounding nuts.

 

[shpj4]

I have one and I like it a lot.

 

[Half Baked]

I have a marble one and a wooden one. Mashes bits that would be lost in a food processor.

 

[bullseye]

I have two--a large, smooth stoneware one made in England and a smaller Japanese suribachi with a textured interior. I use them all the time.

 

[expatgirl]

Would owning 4 count? I own a wooden one, two marbles (green and grey) and then a Japanese suribachi (thanks to bullseye's naming of it) one where the mortar itself has deep ingrained lines to give a coarse texture to the grinding surface for the mortar. I love all of them!!! And as Boufa06 says, invaluable for making chili pastes. I also grind up a lot of dried spice seeds, pods, etc. in them as well. Also make nice decorative accents in your kitchen.

 

[Corey123]

I just got one, and you already own THAT many?! What time will dinner be ready? Haha!!

 

[goboenomo]

How is this different from something like a Food processor?

 

[sattie]

I recently bought a marble one, have only used it a couple of times. The first time I used it, hubby came out in the kitched and asked "What the heck is that???" I love it when that happens!!!! I suppose I will find more uses for as time goes by!

 

[Hopz]

I have two. One small one, and one behemoth.

I use the small one for so many things I can't even begin to list them all.

The big one excells at guacamole. and well, anything large. If you have one it will not be long before you find many uses for it.

Another basic tool in my opinion.

 

[jennyema]

I have a fairly large marble one and, though I don't use it that iften, find it really indispensible when I need to make a paste or grind things up. I used it a lot on spices ... till I found the spice grinder that had been hiding from me for years.

 

[YT2095]

I have several also, incl a couple in the Lab.
My kitchen ones are Marble and the other is Wood, although I think I ruined the wooden one by leaving it soak too long. but I`ve used mine for alsorts really, even homemade mustard and chinese 5 spice, although cinamon bark is the devil to grind up

 

[Corey123]

Well, long before the food processor and grinder ever came along - and that was eons later, next to the knife, THIS tool did all of the mashing and pulverizing of most soft and semi-soft foods, garlic, onions, herbs and spices.

Looks like it was used during ancient Biblical times.

Today, people STILL like to use it just to get the feel of using their hands to grind or mash food with this tool. I was told that it makes great pesto sauce for pasta.

For those of you who might not know what this tool looks like, go to http:// CHEFS - Search Results and view the tool which appears in the extrem left of the blocks on the page.

 

[Robo410]

got a terra cota Tuscan one with wooden pestle, and a rough stone one (granite).

 

[D_Blackwell]

Yes, they are one of the oldest tools known. I've got a couple, plus a 'metate y mano' that I made myself. Selection of mortar and pestles can be very personal; material, width and height, smoothness or roughness of the grinding surface..... It's not something that I would pick for someone else.

Except for being 'quicker?', no peppermill will ever top hand ground.

 

[kadesma]

I have two small and one large one. I have used the small ones for pesto for ages the big one I just found in our storage room..My husband use to use it for compounding when we had the pharmacy open and patients needed someting special made up. Now this baby is mine and I can hardly wait to use it.
kadesma