Cooking: Mortar and Pestle
They're a familiar sight to most, a common symbol for pharmaceutical products, but what are a mortar and pestle to the world of cooking?
A mortar is a bowl shaped vessel and a pestle is a club shaped tool. They are used for pounding, grinding and mixing ingredients. A Mortar and Pestle is often referred to as a manual food processor. In general, they are sold in a set with one mortar and one pestle, but on occasions, there may be a "nest" sold together.
Mortar and Pestle are excellent tools for grinding spices as they generate very little friction so aromas are not burned off as they can be if using a food processor or grinder.
The sizes of mortar and pestles range from very small to large. When buying a mortar and pestle, while the smaller sets have a "cute" factor, buy the largest one you can accommodate in your kitchen as you can always use a large mortar for a small amount of ingredients but not vice versa.
Mortars with high sides are better as they keep ingredients in the bowl as they're pounded, whereas ingredients pounded in a shallow sided mortar can "jump" out of the bowl.
Mortars are made from a range of materials, each type used for a different purpose:
Resistance to moisture and odor: |
Material Type: |
Appropriate Ingredients: |
Low |
Wood |
Dry ingredients such as spices and dried herbs. |
Medium |
Marble, granite, stoneware, lava stone, iron |
Dry and wet ingredients - special care and preparation is needed before and after use |
High |
Porcelain, vitrified ceramic |
Excellent with wet ingredients and good with dry ingredients. Generally dishwasher safe. |
Mortars and pestles are widely available online and at home stores, kitchen specialty stores, restaurant supply stores and some supermarkets.
This is a useful tools for any kitchen especially if you do not have a food processor or grinder.
