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The Mortar & Pestle
The mortar & pestle is practicality mashed with romance. Its design, said to have originated more than 5,000 years ago when people perceived that grain could be separated from chaff to procure digestible food, still does the job and does so in a romantic way. Accordingly, the mortar & pestle has become a basic cooking tool that commonly adorns kitchens throughout the world.

The mortar & pestle pulverizes, crushes, and amalgamates ingredients, and reduces herbs, spices, and even nuts to powders and pastes. It enables the chef to easily meld ingredients into dishes, suffusing them with unique tastes.

The interior's rough surface "grabs" ingredients, thereby giving the user the traction necessary for cracking and crushing them with the pestle.

The beauty of the mortar & pestle is that it releases the ingredients' flavors and aromas. Therefore, it is perfect for preparing pesto — after all, pounding is the meaning of the word pesto, which most likely was Anglicized to the English word pestle.

When multiple ingredients are ground together in a mortar & pestle, the flavors build upon each other, creating an even higher-quality culinary conclusion.

Sure, a food processor can replace a mortar & pestle, but as those who use one know, the electric version eliminates the sensual aspect of cooking. The mortar & pestle empowers the chef with immediate, hands-on control. It gives him/her flexibility, especially with smaller quantities that would literally get lost in a food processor, regardless of its capacity. Plus, it is far easier to remove the processed ingredients from a mortar & pestle than from the sharp blades of a food processor.

Since a mortar & pestle produces minimal friction compared to that of a food processor or an electric grinder, the ingredients' aromas won't burn off while they are being processed.

Suggest to your customers that they purchase sturdy, well-balanced mortar & pestles so that they may endure the application of pressure while in use.

The shape of a mortar & pestle is also important. The mortar should be deep enough to keep the ingredients that are being ground inside the "bowl" so that they do not "splash" out onto the counter. The pestle's shape should be ergonomic — have a comfortable grip — and have a wide bottom that maximizes its ability to grind.

A flat rock, stone, or maybe even a tree stump served as the base upon which people originally ground their grains. Through the ages, the implement evolved and was adapted by peoples around the world. Numerous versions of today's mortar & pestle are clearly reminiscent of the originals used eons ago.



Marble
A sturdy choice for a mortar & pestle, marble is often considered the best choice of all the materials employed in the construction of this kitchen tool. Because of its heft, marble is a good choice for ingredients that might require a bit of extra muscle. Be sure the marble mortar has a matte interior (one that is unpolished) so resistance will be present on the grinding surface. Likewise, the pestle's tip should be matte; otherwise, the mortar & pestle's surfaces will slip and slide against each other instead of working together to provide friction. Marble stays cool while you work and is easy to clean. Many say that marble mortar & pestles are the best, albeit the most expensive, because they are hard, nonporous, and fairly smooth.

Ceramic
Ceramic's hard, nonporous surface won't stain or absorb flavors, so flavorful, moisture-rich foods won't taint any future ingredients ground in the mortar.

Ceramic mortar & pestles have basically the same properties as marble ones, but since they lack the same weight also lack comparable performance.



Lava Stone
The traditional Mexican mortar & pestle, also referred to as the molcajete or tejolote, is composed of lava stone. The lava stone mortar & pestle still remains the preferred choice for Mexican cooks for grinding and blending together ingredients, including chilies, garlic, onions, and nuts, for sauces. The porous, dark gray stone's rough texture allows ingredients to be crushed but not pulverized, which happens in a blender or processor. Lava stone mortar & pestles must be cured before use.

Brass
Brass mortar & pestles are traditionally used in India to freshly grind spices for a masala, or any spice dish. The heavy brass lends good control and the mortar's shape can vary from a tall, more upright mortar to the more traditional shape of a flat stone tablet with a grinding stone.



Suribacho
A Japanese-style earthenware mortar is utilized for mashing tofu, working miso to a smooth consistency, crushing sesame seeds, and grinding chopped shrimp or chicken into a coarse paste. The inside has ridges in a wedge-shaped pattern that help hold seeds and grains in place while grinding occurs. The pestle, called a suricogi, has a cylindrical shape and is made of unfinished wood so that it will not break the ridges on the suribacho's interior.

Grapeseed Oil
Grapeseed oil's healthfulness, nongreasiness, high heating point, and slight, unassuming flavor make it an extremely versatile cooking lubricant and medium.

Around for centuries, grapeseed oil is a culinary tradition that dates as far back as the First Testament, yet is one that hasn't staked a strong foothold in American households. While professional chefs have prized the oil for years, home chefs remain unaware of its true versatility, instead relying on mainstay oils to perform the job.

Italy and France are the world's leading grapeseed oil-producing countries simply because they are also the leading wine producers. Grapeseed oil is made from a by-product of the winemaking process called pomace. Since it is made from the seeds of grapes after they have been pressed during the winemaking process, grapeseed oil production is ecologically sound and therefore, sustainable. It doesn't require more farmland, crops, or even water to produce.

Pomace consists of grapeseeds, grape stems, and grapeskins. The size of grapeseeds is deceiving — they are extremely hard and contain only about 8—12 percent oil, making oil production extremely difficult. However, the oil resulting from processing grapeseeds is fabulous.

Perhaps one of grapeseed oil's best-selling points is its health-promoting properties. Grapeseed oil offers a high level of vitamin E, a strong antioxidant; has one of the lowest contents of saturated fat; and offers one of the highest contents of linoleic acid, an essential fatty acid that the body needs but does not produce.

Numerous research studies have revealed how grapeseed oil contributes to the health of its consumers. Among the findings is one that states that consuming one ounce daily of grapeseed oil for two weeks may result in a 14 percent increase in HDL, beneficial high-density lipoproteins or good cholesterol. Many other studies support the benefits of consuming grapeseed oil, whose fatty acids are often cited for their reduction of LDL, low-density lipoproteins (bad cholesterol), and the concurrent increase of HDL.

But its health benefits aren't grapeseed oil's only desirable attribute. This all-purpose cooking oil has a light, nutty flavor that aids in evoking foods' flavors, not masking them as other oils may do. Because of its mild, relatively neutral flavor, grapeseed oil is the perfect choice for a multitude of cooking applications. Grapeseed oil has good emulsification properties that prevent it from clouding up when chilled so it can be used directly from the refrigerator, works well in salad dressings, is a delightful addition to marinades, and is ideal for whipping up mayonnaise. Grapeseed oil has a high heat tolerance. Its ability to be heated upwards of 485 degrees F without smoking, splattering, or having a burnt taste renders it useful for sautéing, frying, and baking. Additionally, when it is used for frying, it lasts twice as long as common frying fats, while producing crisp foods without a greasy aftertaste, even with high-moisture and high-sodium foods.

A growing number of grapeseed oil varieties are available on the market. When flavored with ingredients like basil, roasted garlic, chili, or lemon, grapeseed oil's versatility expands. Flavored grapeseed oil adds a slightly different touch to salad dressings and marinades. These flavored grapeseed oils also work well as a tasty dipping oil. Further, grapeseed oils are promoted according to the grape variety they are produced from — Chardonnay, for example.

Not insignificant among its amenities is grapeseed oil's long shelf life. If stored properly, grapeseed oil can be kept for nearly 30 months. Similar to olive oil, grapeseed oil should not be exposed to heat and light during storage. Recommend grapeseed oil that is packaged in dark glass bottles or tins so that ultraviolet light will be filtered out.cious fondue.