Utensils & kitchen tools · Grinder

Mortar and pestle

A heavy bowl and club-shaped tool for crushing and grinding spices, garlic, herbs and pastes by hand.

Useful to have · Manual · 124 recipes

Photo: Evan-Amos, via Wikimedia Commons (public-domain)

What it is

The mortar is a thick bowl of stone, granite, marble, wood or ceramic; the pestle is a heavy rounded club. Food is pounded and ground between them. Rough granite suits pastes and curry bases; smooth ceramic suits fine powders. Japanese suribachi have ridged bowls; Thai and Mexican versions (krok, molcajete) are deep stone bowls.

What it’s for: Releasing oils and flavour by crushing, giving texture control that machines cannot.

How to use it

Set the mortar on a folded cloth on a stable surface.
Add a small amount at a time; a pinch of salt or sugar adds grip.
Pound straight down to crack, then grind in circles to turn into powder or paste.
Add wetter ingredients last, scraping down the sides.

Good to know

Tasks: grinding whole spices, making ginger-garlic and curry pastes, making pesto and guacamole, crushing nuts and seeds, bruising herbs and lemongrass
Cooking methods: Raw, No-cook
Materials: granite, marble, basalt, wood, ceramic
Care and cleaning: Rinse with warm water and a brush; avoid soap in porous stone and wood. Season new granite by grinding a little raw rice until the grit stops. Dry fully.
Limitations: Slow for large batches; very hard spices like dried turmeric root are tough to grind.

Safety

Heavy; keep it on a low, stable surface.
Avoid pounding very hard spices with a light pestle that could slip.

If you don’t have one

Coffee / spice grinder — Faster for dry spices, less textural control.
Rolling pin and freezer bag — Crushes seeds and peppercorns coarsely.

Equipment guide

How it works: The pestle crushes and grinds by pressure and a rolling, rubbing motion against the bowl. Unlike blades, it bursts cells and releases oils, giving pastes with better aroma and texture. A heavy, rough mortar does the work faster; a smooth one is for wet grinding.

Material	Good	Watch out
Granite	Heavy and rough; grinds spices and pastes quickly; does not absorb much.	Very heavy; season first by grinding rice.
Marble	Smooth and attractive.	Etched by acids (lime, tamarind); slippery for whole spices.
Wood	Light; good for gently bruising herbs and salt.	Absorbs oils and smells; poor for hard spices.
Ceramic or porcelain	Non-porous; good for small amounts of powder.	Smooth, so slow for coarse grinding; chips.
Volcanic basalt (molcajete)	Rough grinding surface for salsas.	Must be seasoned to remove grit.
Clay mortar with wooden pestle	Traditional for pounding Thai and Lao salads.	Breakable.

Deep granite mortar: Spice pastes and curry pastes.
Small ceramic mortar: Small amounts of spices and saffron.
Indian stone grinder (sil-batta, ammikal): Flat or hollowed stone with a grinding stone for wet masalas and chutneys.
Molcajete: Mexican volcanic-stone mortar.

Buying guidance

Starting out: A granite mortar 15–20 cm across holds enough to grind a paste without spilling.