What would you do with a Mortar and Pestle?
December 29, 2008 10:27 PM Subscribe
I got a mortar and pestle for Christmas and I am looking for cool things to do with it. So far I've considered making homemade lip balm, but there must be more really cool things that I'm not thinking of. What would you do with a mortar and pestle?
I do use my mortar and pestle for herb/seed crushing when I cook, but it lives in my bathroom. I use it to crush uncoated aspirin and then mix raw honey to make a paste which I spread on my face, then rinse off. It's a fantastic exfoliant.
I do it every third day or so, which is much more often than I use it in the kitchen, so it sits next to my bathroom sink and I go get it if I need it to cook with.
posted by padraigin at 10:34 PM on December 29, 2008
I do it every third day or so, which is much more often than I use it in the kitchen, so it sits next to my bathroom sink and I go get it if I need it to cook with.
posted by padraigin at 10:34 PM on December 29, 2008
Best answer: The words "pesto" and "pestle" share a common root, or maybe "pesto" is just Italian for "pestle", I forget. Either way, "real" pesto is delicious, subtly different from the food processor variety. Though it might be hard to find so much basil this time of year, depending on where you live. It's fun to make at least once.
My wife uses it to make a face thing (scrub? mask?) out of Adzuki beans.
posted by scope the lobe at 10:37 PM on December 29, 2008
My wife uses it to make a face thing (scrub? mask?) out of Adzuki beans.
posted by scope the lobe at 10:37 PM on December 29, 2008
Best answer: Inside a room that is completely and totally dark, you crush and grind a wintergreen Lifesaver.
posted by Tube at 11:09 PM on December 29, 2008 [10 favorites]
posted by Tube at 11:09 PM on December 29, 2008 [10 favorites]
I'd make black powder and then fireworks/rockets.
posted by PowerCat at 11:38 PM on December 29, 2008
posted by PowerCat at 11:38 PM on December 29, 2008
Seconding pesto. There's an enormous difference in flavour and texture when it's all crushed together rather than whirred in a food processor.
Spice mixes--make your own curry blends.
posted by dirtynumbangelboy at 11:40 PM on December 29, 2008 [1 favorite]
Spice mixes--make your own curry blends.
posted by dirtynumbangelboy at 11:40 PM on December 29, 2008 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Make your own curry pastes.
posted by pompomtom at 11:44 PM on December 29, 2008 [1 favorite]
posted by pompomtom at 11:44 PM on December 29, 2008 [1 favorite]
Depending on what your kit is made of, I don't know that I'd go alternating between food and non-food products. Many of them have fine grooves in the mortar (to help in grinding) which are damn-near impossible to get clean.
Anyway, mine gets used most commonly for spices.
posted by Netzapper at 11:45 PM on December 29, 2008
Anyway, mine gets used most commonly for spices.
posted by Netzapper at 11:45 PM on December 29, 2008
You could always do a medieval version of Will It Blend? using only the mortar and pestle. More realistically, I've had fantastic results making curry blends from fresh spices.
posted by impluvium at 3:30 AM on December 30, 2008 [1 favorite]
posted by impluvium at 3:30 AM on December 30, 2008 [1 favorite]
I've made chalk from eggshells. The mortar and pestle is really the best way to grind the powder fine enough. Plus, I figure it's just calcium, so I don't have to obsess over cleaning it between that and real food.
posted by cobaltnine at 4:22 AM on December 30, 2008 [1 favorite]
posted by cobaltnine at 4:22 AM on December 30, 2008 [1 favorite]
Best answer: I frequently use mine to make chai. Freshly toasted, crushed sesame seeds are also nice. Grinding sugar with citrus zest, vanilla, cardamom, etc. will quickly absorb their flavor oils*. You can do the same with salt and savory flavors.
* You can also age them together in a jar for a while, of course, but a mortar and pestle is good for small amounts quickly.
posted by silentbicycle at 5:15 AM on December 30, 2008
* You can also age them together in a jar for a while, of course, but a mortar and pestle is good for small amounts quickly.
posted by silentbicycle at 5:15 AM on December 30, 2008
Best answer: I used mine to grind cheap and nasty cannabis (soapbar), rather than heating it up and losing some of the active ingredient.
Seconding do not mix food/non-food/smoking products. Highly-spiced curries did tend to get my non-smoking friends rather giggly and sleepy!
They're also good for mixing (powdered) paint pigments
posted by meosl at 5:48 AM on December 30, 2008
Seconding do not mix food/non-food/smoking products. Highly-spiced curries did tend to get my non-smoking friends rather giggly and sleepy!
They're also good for mixing (powdered) paint pigments
posted by meosl at 5:48 AM on December 30, 2008
Best answer: Grinding your own powders from seedy spices is the way to go. Toasting them lightly in a dry pan and adding a little salt will make the process easier and tastier.
posted by davemee at 6:06 AM on December 30, 2008
posted by davemee at 6:06 AM on December 30, 2008
Pesto, guacamole...a lot of things you can do with a food processor, you can do with a mortar and pestle and a bit more time and elbow grease.
There are those who say that a mortar-and-pestle pesto is better than the food-processor kind, even (personally, I'm too impatient and have always used my food processor).
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:20 AM on December 30, 2008
There are those who say that a mortar-and-pestle pesto is better than the food-processor kind, even (personally, I'm too impatient and have always used my food processor).
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:20 AM on December 30, 2008
Though it might be hard to find so much basil this time of year, depending on where you live.
I live in arctic Chicago, and still find plenty of basil (cheap, too!) at a local Asian supermarket. If there's a Vietnamese or other south Asian community near your area, try shopping in the markets there for fragrant and surprisingly cheap basil (among other potentially interesting things).
posted by applemeat at 7:39 AM on December 30, 2008
I live in arctic Chicago, and still find plenty of basil (cheap, too!) at a local Asian supermarket. If there's a Vietnamese or other south Asian community near your area, try shopping in the markets there for fragrant and surprisingly cheap basil (among other potentially interesting things).
posted by applemeat at 7:39 AM on December 30, 2008
Best answer: Do NOT use it to make lip balm - sticky, messy, hard to clean. Also, if you use it to crush things, stay away from resins like frankincense, myrrh and dragon's blood - you'll just drive yourself mad. I like using mine for crushing coriander, and I WILL use it for bath salts by grinding herbs into salt so that they're all the same consistency.
posted by medea42 at 8:58 AM on December 30, 2008
posted by medea42 at 8:58 AM on December 30, 2008
If you do take up the pesto thing and you're in a place with a Trader Joe's, check out their deals on basil plants in the summer-- they're giant, and you get about as much on one of those plants as you do in a package of harvested basil.
posted by NoraReed at 5:24 PM on December 30, 2008
posted by NoraReed at 5:24 PM on December 30, 2008
Best answer: Curry powders really pop when the spices are fresh and freshly ground. We buy most of our spices in whole form and grind when needed. Mustard, cumin, coriander, you get the idea. M&P sits right up there with the spices.
Cooking Thai food from scratch requires several different compounds that are combined in various proportions. M&P perfect for muddling them together.
posted by pointilist at 9:15 PM on December 30, 2008
Cooking Thai food from scratch requires several different compounds that are combined in various proportions. M&P perfect for muddling them together.
posted by pointilist at 9:15 PM on December 30, 2008
Best answer: This may seem odd, but I use mine to grind my vitamin pills. All those stories about undigested pills in the porta poties makes me want to be sure I'm digesting as much stuff as I'm paying for
posted by Redhush at 3:03 PM on December 31, 2008
posted by Redhush at 3:03 PM on December 31, 2008
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by fenriq at 10:29 PM on December 29, 2008 [1 favorite]