Mortars and pestles have a time-honored role to play in many areas, including food production and pharmaceuticals. Over thousands of years, healers, cooks, and even kings have relied on these tools for both common and crucial matters.
The forms that mortars and pestles have taken over the centuries have also changed based on the era, the culture, and even the needs. The bowl and rod variant that is the most well-known today is only one of the many fascinating shapes that they have taken.
Even now, there are still many places in the world that consider mortars and pestles as valuable and more efficient tools. Regardless of what you want them for, though, the five mortars and pestles featured here will serve your needs.
They are made of some of the best materials available that provide excellent value for money. So go ahead and check them out now!
Best Mortar And Pestle Comparison & Rating
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Before you decide which mortar and pestle to buy, you might want to find out more about the best options available. This is to make sure that you will absolutely enjoy the mortar and pestle that you would get for your kitchen. Also, be sure to click the yellow buttons below to see their best deals on Amazon! With that, here are five of the best options that we rounded up especially for you.
Tera Mortar and Pestle Set
Specifications | |
|---|---|
Dimensions | 10 x 8 x 8 inches |
Color | Black |
Material | Granite |
Weight | 6.89 pounds |
This is a solid choice for those who are just starting out with using a mortar and pestle. It is dense, heavy, and will stay in place when you are grinding. The silicone mat helps too, so you never have to worry about keeping the bowl in the same spot. You won’t have trouble with herbs, aromatics, garlic, ginger, or anything else. Grinding to a fine powder or paste using this is effortless.
PriorityChef Mortar and Pestle Set
Specifications | |
|---|---|
Dimensions | 6.81 x 6.18 x 6.06 inches |
Color | Gray |
Material | Unpolished Granite |
Weight | 9.7 pounds |
This set is absolutely perfect for beginners with some excellent features. The heavy granite body of the mortar means that it won’t be sliding around the table. Throw in the two non-slip pads and this stops being an issue. The unpolished finish also makes grinding, crushing, and scraping ridiculously easy. You hardly need to use any strength to turn peppercorn into ground pepper.
Pepe Nero Mortar And Pestle Set
Specifications | |
|---|---|
Dimensions | 7.8 x 6.1 x 4.2 inches |
Color | Black |
Material | Granite |
Weight | 6.39 pounds |
This is a gorgeous mortar and pestle set with plenty of goodies to offer. It is actually based on the tools used by Mexicans to make their salsas and dips. Anyone who wants to make delicious guacamole will love this set. The shape and heft of the mortar make it nearly impossible to slide around. Cleaning the bowl and the pestle takes no time at all, too.
ChefSofi Mortar and Pestle Set
Specifications | |
|---|---|
Dimensions | 6.5 x 6.5 x 6.5 inches |
Color | Black |
Material | Granite |
Weight | 6.98 pounds |
This is a simple, straightforward mortar and pestle set. It’s very good at what it does, which is to help you crush, grind, and flatten any food ingredient. You can use this for seeds, nuts, barks, roots, leaves, fruits, and so much more. You can make your own seasoning mixtures with this set too. Once you are done, it doesn’t take a lot to clean this product.
Tera Mortar and Pestle with Brush
Specifications | |
|---|---|
Dimensions | 3.94 x 3.31 x 3.54 inches |
Color | Stainless Steel |
Material | Stainless Steel |
Weight | 1.87 pounds |
This is a neat mortar and pestle set that is pretty much indestructible. The stainless steel polish makes this set look more like lab equipment. This also speaks to how safe this set is to use when crushing spices, grinding herbs, and milling grains. You could also make chemically reactive mixtures with this with no problems. After you’re done, you can clean this set with ease.
Mortar and Pestle Buyer's Guide
The results of the mortar and pestle that you buy will be affected by how dense and heavy they are. In the case of the mortar, the heavier it is, the less likely it is to accidentally tip over. Controlling the crushing and grinding will also be a lot easier. For the pestle, the denser it is, the less strength you need to get the results you want. So be sure to keep these things in mind.
Mortars and pestles can vary wildly in size, with some being as small as to accommodate only an egg. Others can be so large, they can almost be confused for mixing bowls. Your choice will affect your grinding’s efficiency, quantity, and quality. If you only need it for the occasional stew, it doesn’t have to be that big. If you are using them to bake herbed bread en masse, you will need the larger ones.
Many materials have been used to create mortars and pestles. The more common ones are granite, wood, and steel. However, you can also find some that are made of jade or other precious materials in the market. You need to consider how they will affect your ability to grind or crush ingredients.
Using a mortar and pestle requires quite a bit of force and exertion on your part. This means that the set you choose should be resistant to cracking or crumbling. This goes for both the bowl and the rod since the latter can often snap due to rigorous use.
Some mortars and pestles can have a smooth finish while others are rougher and more coarse. Naturally, this will affect your ability to get the results you want. Rougher bowls can mean an easier time crushing ingredients but more waste. Mortars with a smooth finish will let you scrape out all of the powder, paste, or extract you made, but seeds might dance around a lot more.
FAQs
The main function of mortar and pestles is grinding different ingredients into powder, paste or extracts. They are typically used on seeds, spices, aromatics, herbs, and tea leaves. These ingredients are then used for a wide variety of things such as cooking, baking, making natural dyes, and even supplements or medicine.
Yes, it is. Different materials tend to vary in terms of density, resistance, mass, porosity, and even smell. In the case of granite, for example, it’s perfect for crushing and grinding tough spices because it will not give way. This means that it takes less effort to achieve the consistency that you want.
Most households use mortars and pestles for cooking. They will grind and crush different spices, herbs, and aromatics into appropriate consistencies to achieve certain effects. In the case of peppercorn, for example, the point is to bring out the natural aroma and flavor of the seeds. This will then make it easier to blend with other ingredients when cooking.
Using mortars and pestles typically involves a lot of pressing, rubbing, and scraping. You will either use the weight of the pestle, your own strength, or your body’s mass to generate the force necessary to achieve results. You rarely ever need to tap like you would with a hammer because this could cause the ingredients to fly all over the place.