I'm wanting to get a mortar and pestle for several reasons. Which one(s) would /ck/ recommend? Stone? Wood? Something else?
>>7533854
stone senpai
Why? Does it do something an electric grinder can't? It seems less versatile, even. Like, I wouldn't want to use it for the flax I put in my oatmeal. Has the electric motor made them obsolete?
>>7533873
Well, the main thing that comes to mind is turning minced garlic to paste, but there may be other ways that I am unaware of, as I have never into cooking. I also enjoy taking pomegranate seeds and crushing them manually in a mortar & pestle to get some pomegranate juice.
>>7533873
Less expensive, uses no electricity, takes up less space usually, looks better in a kitchen with a lot of cookware, less noisy (depending how hard you're going), can control more precisely how much the stuff is ground up.
Weigh these advantages against what you stated and find what works best for you.
How size? I see a lot around 6" diameter. Is that enough?
>>7533912
Also pounding is fun
>>7533854
I got one second hand and sadly haven't used it much. Don't make things in big enough quantities to use it or most off the paste would end up lining it.
Tips on cleaning or taking care of it?
>>7533884
Seems useful for wet things that are too dry/small for a blender. I don't like most food processors because they're plastic-on-plastic, even the $300 ones, and rely on the blade being sharp instead of blunt force.
There are wood ones? How do those work? Isn't it better to have the rough texture of stone?
>>7533949
They're different tools for different jobs.
The stone ones are meant for grinding hard spices into a powder as well as for making pastes.
The wood ones are for bruising vegetables in Thai cooking; they do not work for hard/dry spices.
I have a big ass granite one, and I love it!
And I am afraid of it. Because if I accidentally drop it on my foot, my foot will be gone.
But other than that, I love it.
Oh, and I dont use it very much, because seriously, when do you need a mortar and pestle, but I love. It's the coolest looking kitchenware I have, so I dont even place it in a cupboard, but have it outside, with my fedora whiskeys.
But whatever you do, dont get one that is too small.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRxOxFmV8sc
I've been wanting to get one too.
>>7533916
>pounding is fun
>>7533873
Make some bomb ass chile for tacos and shit, in a blender it turns the ingredients into a liquid and in that it leaves chunks of tomatoes and chilis and shit and its so much better
>>7533854
Depending on your reasons depends on what type as others here have stated.
>>7534681
I second the mentality of not going too small.
I did some research and ended up purchasing one from importfood.com about a year ago. Various reasons made me purchase there but you can do your own research to that end. I had all sorts of different ideas about what I was going to use it for but what I actually DO use it for is grinding spices on a daily basis as well as nuts now and again. It has allowed me to buy whole spices and grind as needed without a bunch of different hand mills. You can usually get cheaper prices on larger chunk salt etc which is nice. Definitely good for turning garlic into paste and maintenance is as easy as just wiping it out. I went for a 7" and there have only been a couple times I wish I had a larger one and in the end realized I was attempting to use the wrong tool for the job anyway. Hope this has helped.
Get a big ass granite one and get into som tam.
I'd go for 10 inches as a practical size, any smaller and you'll find your ingredients working up the sides trying to avoid getting a proper pounding .
>>7533854
Biggest stone you can afford. Most versatile durable and comfortable to use.
>>7533854
Wood is useless, go for a stone one.
>>7533854
Foolish guac bowl merchant
>Wood mortar and pestle
I fucking hope its Ebony or that's gonna crumble really fast.
Stone or ceramic.
You'd have to be an idiot to get a wooden one.
>>7534803
you're making me drool bruv
>>7533873
In particular, it offers control and reduces waste and cleanup time
Cast iron or bust desu
