Everything about Mortar Bowl totally explained
A
mortar and pestle is a
tool used to crush, grind, and mix substances. The pestle is a heavy stick whose end is used for pounding and grinding, and the mortar is a bowl. The substance is ground between the pestle and the mortar.
Etymology
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. The antiquity of these tools is well documented in some early literature, such as the Egyptian "Papyrus Ebers" of c. 1550 B.C.E. (the oldest preserved medical literature piece) and the Old Testament (Numbers 11:8 and Proverbs 27:22).
Medical use
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. Today the act of mixing ingredients or reducing the particle size is known as
trituration. Mortars and pestles are also used as
drug paraphernalia in order to grind up pills to speed up absorption when they're
ingested or in preparation for
insufflation (snorting).
Food preparation
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 powder.
Native American tribes used mortars carved into the
bedrock to grind
acorns and other nuts. Many such 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. In
Malay, it's known as
lesung. 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, as well as the
hummus variety known as
masabcha.
Material
Good mortar and pestle-making materials must be hard enough to crush the substance rather than be worn away by it. They can't be too
brittle either, or that'll break during the pounding and grinding. The material should also be cohesive, so that small bits of the mortar or pestle don't get mixed in with the ingredients. Smooth and non-porous materials are chosen that won't absorb or trap the substances being ground. In food preparation, 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 previous prepared drugs may interact or mix, contaminating the currently used ingredients.
Rough ceramic mortar and pestle sets can be used to reduce substances to very fine powders, but stain easily and are brittle. Porcelain mortars are sometimes conditioned for use by grinding some sand to give them a rougher surface which helps to reduce the particle size. Glass mortars and pestles are fragile, but stain-resistant and suitable for use with liquids. However, like the porcelain type, they don't grind as finely as the ceramic type. Other materials used include marble, stone, wood (highly absorbent), bamboo, iron, steel, brass, and
basalt. Uncooked rice is sometimes ground in mortars to clean them. This process must be repeated until the rice comes out completely white. Some stones, such as molcajete, need to be seasoned first before use. Metal mortars are kept lightly oiled.
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