Mortar & Pestle

It seems like every recipe I want to make lately requires a mortar & pestle. I assume the rough-interior kind are best (?) but I could use some advice about the best size to have, best materials to look for, etc. etc. Thanks!

We have a big one made of white marble, which my mom lugged back from a trip to India...but I've seen very similar sets sold at most Indian stores on Devon. Ours is a beast, about 8" in diameter (6" bowl diameter), 6-7" pestle. The bowl is slightly rough (not nearly as rough as the volcanic rock ones), and the end of the pestle is slightly rough...just what you need for grinding spices, without large pits for your ground spices to get stuck in.

The big aesthetic problem I have with ours is that the white marble stains really easily...no matter how much we try to clean it, the bowl is brown from years of cumin grinding. If I were to buy one now, I'd go with a granite one (which also should be widely available on Devon...looks like around $40 for an 8" diameter set is about the norm). If granite mortars are anything like granite counters, it should be more resistant to staining than marble (especially white marble).

I have this one that I picked up at a scratch-n-dent sale at a mall; it's worked quite well for me for some time; it's probably just like what Khaopaat has but smaller. Since it's smaller, I can stick it in the dishwasher and it comes out pretty clean, though there is some minor staining from spice-grinding.

Pie Lady wrote:It seems like every recipe I want to make lately requires a mortar & pestle. I assume the rough-interior kind are best (?) but I could use some advice about the best size to have, best materials to look for, etc. etc. Thanks!

I would definitely get a large one - this would give you much more flexibility and you would not have food items flying out of the bowl as you try to grind them. The smooth ones are not, in my opinion, as useful as those with a rough texture.

I would consider either the mexican molcajetes or the Thai granite ones.

Jyoti

Check out Maxwell Street Market for good, cheap molcajetes. The stand that sells the big, copper carnitas pots sells 'em, and I've seen them at other stands selling Mexican housewares.

I only have one of the smooth white marble ones, not the rough molcajete, but I did pick up this interesting tip for future reference from a recent episode of Rick Bayless's "Everyday Mexican." He suggested that with a new rough-textured mortar and pestle you grind a few batches of dry rice - this helps, apparently to break off some of the rough texture and, as he put it, "season the surfaces."

I second the notion that bigger is better in the world of mortar and pestles.

Get as big as you dare.

I just don't see any instances of wishing that I had a small mortar and pestle. Larger, though... Everytime the seeds I'm trying to crush fly out over my countertop. When making papaya salad. When making pesto.

Bridgestone wrote:Get as big as you dare.

Within reason.

$20 at Don Outlet going out of business sale. Could not resist

I bought a large (25 cm) granite mortar and pestle at Tai Nam Market a few years ago for about $30. If I knew then what I know now, I would've bought an even larger one. A good mortar and pestle are essential to preparing Thai and Vietnamese foods. A food processor is good, but the texture isn't quite the same and I really enjoy the mingling aromas of pepper and garlic and lemongrass that rise out of the bowl...

Tai Nam Market
4925 N Broadway
Chicago, IL
773.275.5666

We have a rather large mortor and pestle with a rough interior. I think the appropriate size, shape, and material depends on what you will be using it for. It is also important to get one that feels comfortable in your hands. Ours is quite heavy, which means we exert little effort. The interior picks of remnants of everything we grind, which we kind of like.

Here's more information: http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/mortarpestle.htm

crrush wrote:Check out Maxwell Street Market for good, cheap molcajetes. The stand that sells the big, copper carnitas pots sells 'em, and I've seen them at other stands selling Mexican housewares.

Bought ours at Adobe Grill on Wells years ago. I see they still available, although not sure directly at the restaurant.

http://www.davinci-group.com/catalog.aspx

I second the comment about seasoning these with uncooked rice.

I'm looking to pickup a molcajete; Anyone know how to tell the difference between one hewn from a single piece of basalt vs composite volcanic rock an concrete? I'm not certain pricepoint is enough to distinguish.

mchodera wrote:I bought a large (25 cm) granite mortar and pestle at Tai Nam Market a few years ago for about $30. If I knew then what I know now, I would've bought an even larger one. A good mortar and pestle are essential to preparing Thai and Vietnamese foods. A food processor is good, but the texture isn't quite the same and I really enjoy the mingling aromas of pepper and garlic and lemongrass that rise out of the bowl...

Tai Nam Market
4925 N Broadway
Chicago, IL
773.275.5666

Went to Tai Nam last night for nam prik ingredients and then next door to Immm. Talked to Dew at Immm about m&p vs. food processor, and he said he never uses a food processor, adding that pounding the food opens up the flavors. I agree, and I also like the inconsistencies created with m&p as opposed to the homogenized uniformity of stuff that goes through a food processor (sometimes you need it, I know, but for a cup or two of nam prik, no need to use anything more than a m&p).