Which is the pestle? Which is the mortar?
Questions often asked.
The pestle is usually a heavy tool with a rounded end. The mortar is the bowl in which you grind the spices or herbs with the pestle.
I have a bit of a “thing” about this most ancient of kitchen (or pharmaceutical) appliance. It started Christmas, 1976, when my brother-in-law and his late wife, gave Sheila and I an antique wooden pestle & mortar.
Neither of us have used this particular pestle & mortar, but it sparked an interest in collecting them.
The criteria from the start was none to be identical, go for as many different materials as possible, and perhaps to be a souvenir from a holiday.
At the last count there are 40 gracing various shelves, cupboards around the house.
Some are large and some ridiculously tiny, you can see them at the side of the terra – cotta one, in the photograph below. Many of them have been used, perhaps just the once, but we have our favorites for kitchen duties.
This granite one is great for almost all tasks, from grinding spices to dealing with herbs. It weighs an absolute ton!
The terra-cotta one above, that we bought in Rome, is perfect for herbs and garlic. Makes a cracking salsa verde.
When we came to live in Monkvalley a way of marking the arrival date was the acquisition of an antique French pestle & mortar – costing us 100€, the most we have paid – so far!
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