Q&A for How to Use a Mortar and Pestle

Grind some dry rice for about 15 minutes, then for 5 minutes with a little olive oil added to form a stiff paste. That will really polish up the inside, so removing the fine stone dust. Wash out with warm water and allow to air dry. Do not use any detergent at all, as this taints both the mortar and pestle.

If you mean what size, use a small one. If you mean what kind, use ceramic or wooden. Stone mortar and pestles aren't the best because they can leave bits of stone if you're not careful.

First, grind the dry ingredients to the desired consistency (coarse to dusty). Then, add your liquid in individual, small portions (start with ~5-10% of the powder volume), and continue to mix with the pestle. The dry ingredients should start to be coated by the liquid. Continue to add small amounts of liquid, followed by more mixing until the desired consistency is reached. This process is called trituration.

They have been recorded in Ancient Greece and Egypt, and were used in apothecaries (medieval doctor's offices) until the late 1800s.

You can make your own that's literally just a hefty rock in a sturdy bowl or something like that for free. Usually they're $3.99-$15.99.

You should be able to get one at a local supercenter or a home goods store.

No. You want it course/rough. Rough surfaces grind things to a powder, a paste, or remove oil. These surfaces need to be rough, clean and not sealed.

Absolutely not.

You need a mortar that is big enough to contain your sauce. You could try to get a 'molcajete' which is a traditional Mexican mortar and pestle made of volcanic stone, and is used to grind spices and make sauces. They have a coarse texture which makes it easier to grind soft ingredients. But a regular, big enough mortar would do. You can cut your soft ingredients into small chunks so it is easier to manage them.

Yes, you can. Just make sure you have followed the directions on the package for breaking it in and cleaning it. Keep it solely for use with the health products and don't use for food ingredients.

You can, but it is not recommended. Metal mortars and pistols are generally more for decoration than everyday use.

You could try using a spoon or the end of a chopstick or anything that you can find with a rounded end.

It doesn't make much of a difference if you use glass or ceramic, generally glass is preferred simply because the ceramic can sometimes leave a bit of powdery residue.

Yes, you most definitely would want to seal a wooden pair before use, otherwise they will absorb whatever you're grinding and contaminate the next product that you use it for.

Absolutely. That's just the sort of thing they were designed to do. They were originally an apothecary product used to grind up ingredients for medications.

A quick rub down with any sort of food safe oil should be fine.

You can use any but it all depends on what you want to use the spices for. You can grind up fresh herbs and use them in cooking or you can grind your own salt and pepper.

The mortar and pestle method is ideal for crushing up herbs like lavender and rosemary, as it crushes the leaves and buds with ease and gives you good control over the crushing. You can also crush these herbs with a rolling pin––place the herbs into a plastic bag, then roll over them with a rolling pin on a flat surface. Tip the crushed herbs out when done.