Every kitchen needs a mortar & pestle, to grind those dried herbs and spices, crush garlic and basil and other firm or semi-dry ingredients for pesto and other sauce bases, or grind dry ingredients - even salt and pepper - into fine powders to add to any dish. We use it to grind pink peppercorns to add to the recipe for Guilt-free Panna Cotta for an interesting variation.
The Kitchn included a mortar & pestle in it's 2015 article " 7 Things You Should Have in the Kitchen by Age 30", saying this:
Cuisines from around the world - from South America to South Asia - rely on variations of this ancient tool for many recipes.
Cooking reaches deeper flavor levels when you start using whole spices, and to do that you need a mortar and pestle or an electric spice grinder. As Faith [Durand] wrote..., a mortar and pestle is "perhaps the kitchen tool that blends utility and beauty better than anything else." It's just right for crushing herbs or cracking spices, particularly when you're working with tiny amounts, but it sits pretty on a shelf when you don't need it.
This beauty from Nuance - designed by Marcus Vagnby - features an extremely well-balanced and nicely weighted pestle - that very sensuous curved piece of stainless steel shown above - combined with a mortar of artfully-shaped Danish beechwood. This is simply a pleasure to hold and work with! And it will look great on your counter or sideboard!
Limited Quantity now in stock.
The mortar is particularly well-finished and shaped to be held comfortably for stability while applying the pestle. Although wood is absorbent, and therefore thorough cleaning is required after exposure to liquids or oils, beech is a very tough wood, grown in the northern deciduous forests in Scandinavia, and commonly used there for plates and other household food implements.
In our experience, the size of this mortar & pestle is very utilitarian: neither too small nor too large. For almost whatever you’re processing, this product performs its task very well.
Quality materials, in a beautifully designed, highly functional package … one of the original Cool Tools! This work of art will find its own special place in your kitchen!
Facts:
Mortar: Danish Beechwood - 3.5”H x 4.375” x 4.375”
Pestle: Stainless Steel - 8.375”L x 1.6” at the widest part
Hand wash and dry
