# Do you own/use a kitchen mortar & pestle? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 1, 2019, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-own-use-a-kitchen-mortar-pestle/837979 "2019-08-01T03:37:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Die\_Capacitrix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/die_capacitrix/32/9_2.png) [@Die\_Capacitrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Die_Capacitrix)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2019, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-own-use-a-kitchen-mortar-pestle/837979/41 "2019-08-07T05:00:26Z")
I used to have two, the Thai one (also broke the pestle) and a smaller ceramic one. I think I might still have the Thai one, but it’s hidden away. The smaller one I use for whole cumin and anise. I accdentally bought ground cumin, so i haven’t been using it so often, and I only use it for anise for Christmas cookies. Why did I buy ground cumin? I was so surprise to find it at the store I forgot to check. It seems that cumin is not as common here in Switzerland. At least not in my corner. There are videos of a British chef (his name is not coming to mind) using a mortar and pestle, and the mortar was about the size of dinner plate and even the pestle was a good 2-3" across. If I had space for such a thing, I would buy it. And I did a search for a big-ass mortar and pestle and found the chef’s name. [Nigel Slater](http://laythetable.com/reviews/john-julian-style-pestle-mortar/) (includes a picture of the mortar and pestle, not the chef 🙂 ). ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2019, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-own-use-a-kitchen-mortar-pestle/837979/42 "2019-08-07T06:11:29Z")
My mother owns a mortar (bright yellow with some depictions of vague green leaves) and pestle (wood), but I’ve never used her much less seen her do it. It sits on top of her kitchen cabinets. In Spanish, the words are _mortero_ and _mano de mortero_, mortar’s hand: I’ve seen some where the hand is shaped like a fist. I’ve used ceramic mortar and pestle sets in the lab, but only once or twice and never once I started getting paid to be in the lab. ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2019, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-own-use-a-kitchen-mortar-pestle/837979/43 "2019-08-07T06:29:30Z")
I have a nice stone mortar and pestle from Indonesia - while I don’t use it often these days, it’s great to have when I need it. A tip I read years ago and always follow: if you need to grind some spices, add the salt you plan to use and grind the spices and the salt together. It helps turn the whole spices into a nice, uniform powder. ---
**Author:** ![gkster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gkster/32/14107_2.png) [@gkster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gkster)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2019, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-own-use-a-kitchen-mortar-pestle/837979/44 "2019-08-07T06:34:44Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > I have one, but haven’t used it since administering chemo to my cat. I had to give him three pills a day, but he was really bad at taking pills. So I powderized them and mixed them with a little condensed milk. Slight hijack: I have a cat that hates taking pills, have tried putting them in pill pockets or grinding them up and putting them in liver, with minimal success. It sounds like the condensed milk method works for your cat? ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2019, 7:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-own-use-a-kitchen-mortar-pestle/837979/45 "2019-08-07T07:02:28Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > It was only notable to me because hers was huge, easily more than twice as large and the one I use, and mine has always seemed a perfectly adequate size for my purposes. Don’t worry about it, son. The ladies really don’t care about your pestle’s size, so long as you know how to grind fine with it. ---
**Author:** ![kittenblue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ba8739/32.png) [@kittenblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kittenblue)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2019, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-own-use-a-kitchen-mortar-pestle/837979/46 "2019-08-07T12:15:04Z")
I have a ridiculously tiny one that I use to grind garlic and salt into a paste for my famous herb butter that I make for a Spaghetti Dinner fundraiser once a year. I’ve used it to grind other spices as well, because the tiny amounts I’m grinding don’t even get near the blades in my electric grinder, and it’s much easier to clean. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2019, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-own-use-a-kitchen-mortar-pestle/837979/47 "2019-08-07T13:26:36Z")
I own one, but I can’t say it gets a whole lot of use. Mostly when there’s some specific reason we can’t use a blender or blade-style spice grinder, or the amount of spices is too tiny to bother with the spice grinder for. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2019, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-own-use-a-kitchen-mortar-pestle/837979/48 "2019-08-07T13:29:55Z")
> [@bump](#): > > I own one, but I can’t say it gets a whole lot of use. Mostly when there’s some specific reason we can’t use a blender or blade-style spice grinder, or the amount of spices is too tiny to bother with the spice grinder for. Jesus. A _spice grinder_ ? You guys have some really specialized equipment in y’alls kitchens. I don’t even own a second pan. ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2019, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-own-use-a-kitchen-mortar-pestle/837979/49 "2019-08-07T13:45:19Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > Jesus. A _spice grinder_ ? You guys have some really specialized equipment in y’alls kitchens. I don’t even own a second pan. I think most people use the same piece of equipment they use to grind coffee beans. As for me, I used to have two coffee grinders, one dedicated to coffee and one for spices, but having decided I’m not enough of a coffee connoisseur to grind fresh beans all the time, one grinder devoted to spices is fine. At the other end of the spectrum, a friend once showed me a great life hack if you need a mortar and pestle but don’t have one: a small ceramic bowl and a bottle of Tabasco sauce work just fine. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2019, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-own-use-a-kitchen-mortar-pestle/837979/50 "2019-08-07T13:50:51Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > Jesus. A _spice grinder_ ? You guys have some really specialized equipment in y’alls kitchens. I don’t even own a second pan. If you ever get into Indian cooking, you’ll buy one quick enough. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2019, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-own-use-a-kitchen-mortar-pestle/837979/51 "2019-08-07T14:22:02Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > If you ever get into Indian cooking, you’ll buy one quick enough. Or just cooking using spices in general. I use a blade-style coffee grinder for cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, coriander seeds, etc., because whole spices last essentially forever in my larder, and pre-ground spices lose all of their potency in fairly short order. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2019, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-own-use-a-kitchen-mortar-pestle/837979/52 "2019-08-07T15:09:12Z")
> [@CairoCarol](#): > > I think most people use the same piece of equipment they use to grind coffee beans. People _grind coffee beans ?!_ (just joking - I’m of the “if you can’t microwave it, just order it delivered” school of cooking. And I’ve cooked some truly spectacular meals just using my phone !) ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2019, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-own-use-a-kitchen-mortar-pestle/837979/53 "2019-08-07T16:04:38Z")
> [@Aspidistra](#): > > My parents always had one, growing up, and I’d love to have one. Unfortunately the grindy sound they make jangles my nerves in the worst way, so I know I’d never bring myself to use it. But in theory, I approve of 'em. Just give me time to get to the next room. Try a wood one. You might have to put a little more elbow into it, but it won’t make that grindy sound. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2019, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-own-use-a-kitchen-mortar-pestle/837979/54 "2019-08-07T19:28:48Z")
> [@gkster](#): > > Slight hijack: I have a cat that hates taking pills, have tried putting them in pill pockets or grinding them up and putting them in liver, with minimal success. It sounds like the condensed milk method works for your cat? He loved it. The only problem was keeping the other cat away. So I had to give her a little milk of her own, without the pills. Of course, then I had to keep them from each other’s milk. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2019, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-own-use-a-kitchen-mortar-pestle/837979/55 "2019-08-07T19:31:23Z")
> [@CairoCarol](#): > > I think most people use the same piece of equipment they use to grind coffee beans. As for me, I used to have two coffee grinders, one dedicated to coffee and one for spices, but having decided I’m not enough of a coffee connoisseur to grind fresh beans all the time, one grinder devoted to spices is fine. > > At the other end of the spectrum, a friend once showed me a great life hack if you need a mortar and pestle but don’t have one: a small ceramic bowl and a bottle of Tabasco sauce work just fine. Yeah, it’s a repurposed blade coffee grinder- Mr. Coffee, IIRC. I had that thing for a long time when I was single, and when I got married, we got a better burr coffee grinder as a gift, so the old blade grinder became the spice grinder. Plus, they’re only like $15 anyway… a good mortar and pestle is more expensive! ---
**Author:** ![Die\_Capacitrix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/die_capacitrix/32/9_2.png) [@Die\_Capacitrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Die_Capacitrix)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2019, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-own-use-a-kitchen-mortar-pestle/837979/56 "2019-12-07T14:08:48Z")
> [@Die\_Capacitrix](#): > > …There are videos of a British chef (his name is not coming to mind) using a mortar and pestle, and the mortar was about the size of dinner plate and even the pestle was a good 2-3" across. If I had space for such a thing, I would buy it… And it’s possible to buy. For 150 British pounds. As I still don’t have a bigger kitchen, and have other things to do with that amount of money, I’m not buying it. If you have a bigger kitchen, more money, and are interested, it’s available [here](https://www.johnjulian.co.uk/collections/pestle-mortars/products/porcelain-bowl-mortar-with-ball-pestle-large?variant=30383491940449). The smaller one is tempting. I can resist. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-own-use-a-kitchen-mortar-pestle/837979.md?page=2)