Mortar and pestle

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Mortar and pestle

Mortar used to pulverise plant material with liquid nitrogen

A mortar and pestle are a pair of tools used in conjunction with each other to grind and mix substances. The pestle is an instrument used for pounding and grinding. The substance is ground between the pestle and the mortar, which is in the shape of a bowl, to contain the substance. The English "pestle" derives from classical Latin "pistillum", meaning "pounder". The classical Latin "mortarium" led to the English "mortar", meaning, among several other usages, "receptacle for pounding" and "product of grinding or pounding". The Roman poet Juvenal applied both "mortarium" and "pistillum" to articles used in the preparation of drugs, reflecting the early use of the mortar & pestle as a pharmacist's or apothecary's symbol as described below. ^[1]

Mortars and pestles were traditionally used in pharmacies to crush various ingredients prior to preparing an extemporaneous prescription. The mortar and pestle is the most common icon associated with pharmacies. For pharmaceutical use, the mortar and the head of the pestle are usually made of porcelain, while the handle of the pestle is made of wood. This is known as a Wedgwood mortar and pestle and originated in 1779.

Mortars are also used in cooking to prepare ingredients such as guacamole and pesto (which derives its name from the pestle pounding), as well as grinding spices into a powder form. Native American tribes used mortars carved into the bedrock to grind acorns and other nuts. Many of the depressions can be found in their former territories. Very large mortars are used with wooden mallets to prepare mochi. A regular sized Japanese mortar and pestle is called suribachi and surikogi. Granite mortars and pestles are used in Southeast Asia and India. Traditional Mexican mortar and pestles, made of basalt, are known as molcajetes. Large stone mortars, with long (2-3 feet) wood pestles were also used in the Middle East to grind meat in order to prepare a type of meatloaf, or kibbeh. Mortars and pestles are also used as drug paraphernalia by some in order to grind up pills to speed up absorption when they are ingested or in preparation for insufflation (snorting).

Good mortar and pestle making materials are hard so that they crush the substance rather than the other way around. However, they should not be overly brittle or they will break during the pounding and grinding. The material should also be cohesive, so that small bits of the mortar or pestle do not get mixed in with the food. This is always undesirable, but it is especially bad when the substance will be eaten. In ancient times, abrasive dust and small rock fragments left by the grinding stones used to mill grain caused severe tooth damage. Finally, an ideal material is relatively smooth and non-porous so that it will not absorb or trap the substances being ground. When dealing with food, a rough or absorbent material may cause the strong flavor of a past ingredient to be tasted in food prepared later. Also, the food particles left in the mortar and on the pestle may support the growth of microorganisms. When dealing with medications, the different drugs may interact or the patient may be allergic to the contaminating drug.