Mortars & Pestles

Mortar and Pestles

Since ancient times, people have used mortar and pestles to prepare spices and ingredients for recipes. A mortar is a bowl with a matching club-shaped pestle that crushes and grinds food into small pieces or a fine paste. Pestling has advantages over using a food processor or spice grinder because there's no machinery to heat up the ingredients, making it a great option to keep herbs from wilting and spices from losing flavor.

Mortar and pestles come in a variety of materials that offer advantages and disadvantages. A good mortar and pestle set needs to be hard enough to crush the ingredients and not be worn away or break from usage. Wooden and granite mortar and pestles offer great durability, but are porous and can hold onto the strong flavors of past ingredients and spices. Rough ceramic mortar and pestles are great for grinding spices into fine powders, but they can be brittle and stain easily. Some stone mortar and pestles need to be seasoned before use to prevent food from sticking, while metal ones should be kept lightly oiled.

Mortar and pestles also come in a variety of different sizes, perfect to suit all of your cooking needs. Small and medium size mortar and pestles are great for everything from grinding spices to muddling herbs for cocktails. Large mortar and pestles are great for mashing food or making sauces.

From stone mortar and pestles to herb and spice grinders, Walmart.com has everything you need for your kitchen at Every Day Low Prices.