Mortar and pestle newbie here. I've finally decided to take the mortar and pestle plunge, but not sure which one to get. What mortar and pestle material do you think is best? All mortar and pestle advice is welcome.
>granite
>marble
>porcelain
>metal
>wood
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Marble.
Get one of the ones with rough walls inside so it's easier to paste vegetables.
I bought a granite one like this at an international market and really like it. I think I paid @ $15 for it.
What are these even for
cooking
I had a marble one and liked it very much. get the bigger one than you think you need. I wished I would have but mine was a christmas gift so I didn't choose it, but was still happy with it
I have that exact one, it has been a nice companion for the last 4 years now
what do you guys crush in these?
marble is the gold standard, but ceramic works fine for me
cloves, black pepper, white pepper, and whatever else that might need crushed
I have a granite one almost exactly like that and it works great.
>get the bigger one than you think you need.
This is very good advice
spices and vegetables. I'm going to get called a faggot for this but you can taste the fresh difference between ground up seeds, like cumin or mustard, and just premade powder.
Black pepper, cumin seed, coriander seed, mustard seed, etc. The nice thing is it lets you buy whole spices which will stay fresher longer. My wife has a separate one she uses to grind green tea leaves. I made a thai curry paste in mine which was more work than a blender, but felt like a real accomplishment. They will last forever unlike an electric grinder with their built in obsolesence designed to fail in a year or two.
Even people very casually into cooking will know there's a huge difference in fresh ground pepper and preground, if nothing else.
This, I would buy a ceramic for myself, but ask for a marble one as a gift.
Uncut cocaine. That's it.
I buy whole spices because they keep their flavors longer and use a mortar to crush them as needed. I also use it to make various pastes and to crush shit for sauces, like pesto, curry, etc...
They aren't as convenient as a spice grinder, but are a great option when you don't want to bust out the blender or food processor.
Love having one around. Mine's marble, though granite or others would likely be fine. I use it to paste garlic and crush whole spices mainly.
Dried cayenne + salt = cayennw salt. Good times
I have both Marble and Ceramic, and, if you do as much cooking as me, will recommend that you acquire both as well. The marble is far superior for pasting and wet ingredients, and I would recommend buying one far larger than you think you will need, as I often find myself wishing I had a much bigger one. The Ceramic is infinitely better for grinding dry and toasted spices into a fine powder.
What is the texture interior like on each? I'm tempted to believe any crushing performance differences between them are more due to finish than material.
i mean.. it just works.
Ceramic is roughly twice as hard as marble.
user asked about surface texture, and I'm curious too. Think of different grits of sand paper. Does a rough/coarse surface have any benefits over a smooth/polished surface?
How does one grind/mash ginger root into a fine powder? Or is ginger paste considered to be better than powder?
Not him but I imagine the ceramic one would have to be smooth. As for marble, I dunno.
Puss
>How does one grind/mash ginger root into a fine powder?
Dry it, then mash it.
Is dry ginger stale ginger?
Nah, it's just dried. Ginger goes bad after awhile if you don't use it, so it's dried and made into powder to conserve it over time.
I never use the dried stuff anymore.
Cheers.
So basically it goes from good to bad then good enough. And that's the best time to smash it.?
>Is dry ginger stale ginger?
yes.
There is a fresh citrusy and floral nature to ginger that is lost when not fresh. Gingerol has health benefits and is lessened when dry. But, from a foodie perspective, fresh is simply amazing.
The best time to make powder would be while it's still fresh. Just grate it or chop it up real fine, then let it dry completely in front of a fan or on low heat in the oven. Then you'd smash and powder it.
what are those two green leaf things?
this helps me live life to its kekest. thank you user
you can make a very nice Chimichurri sauce directly in mortar/pestle.
its how they do it in south america i believe. goes well with steak.
Left looks like a basil variety (maybe Thai) and the right could be watercress. Not 100% sure.
that ain't thai basil tho
It may surprise you to learn there is more than one variety of Thai basil. Some have smooth edges and some jagged, some have a muted finish and some are glossier.
If you've got proof it's something else then feel free to post it.
ok this picture is just fucked up.
it's ginger which you could peel and make into a pulp. then watercress? but why? pepper corns; yay i was tired of those pesky pepper grinders :D cloves, nutmeg, allspice(?) and peeled dried turmeric? You need a sledgehammer for all of those. then there's that lime. you do the math. and finally i'm convinced that those two things on the right are from some random tree