Mortar and pestle
Mortar used to pulverise plant material with liquid nitrogen
Uses	Grinding Mixing
Related items	Mill
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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. Image File history File links MortarPlantmaterial. ... A tank of liquid nitrogen, used to supply a cryogenic freezer (for storing laboratory samples at a temperature of about -150 Celsius). ... An ancient Chinese tomb model of a foot-powered mill, Eastern Han Dynasty (25 - 220 AD), Freer Gallery of Art. ... This article is about the instrument. ...

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.^[1] 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).^[2] Woodcut of Juvenal from the Nuremberg Chronicle Decimus Iunius Iuvenalis, Anglicized as Juvenal, was a Roman satiric poet of the late 1st century and early 2nd century. ...

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 by some in order to grind up pills to speed up absorption when they are ingested or in preparation for insufflation (snorting). For other uses, see Pharmacy (disambiguation). ... A medical prescription ) is an order (often in written form) by a qualified health care professional to a pharmacist or other therapist for a treatment to be provided to their patient. ... Look up icon in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... “Fine China” redirects here. ... For other uses, see Wood (disambiguation). ... Kutani Crane by Wedgwood Kutani Crane by Wedgwood (back) Wedgwood is a British pottery firm, originally founded in 1759 by Josiah Wedgwood, which in 1987 merged with Waterford Crystal, creating Waterford Wedgwood, the Ireland-based luxury brands group. ... Trituration is the grinding of powders in a mortar with a pestle. ... This does not cite its references or sources. ... // For eat or EAT as an abbreviation or acronym, see EAT. In general terms, eating (formally, ingestion) is the process of consuming nutrition, i. ... Insufflation (Latin insufflatio blowing on or into) is the practice of inhaling substances into a body cavity. ...

Food preparation

A Lao-style mortar and pestle.

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 is 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. ImageMetadata File history File links Download high resolution version (960x997, 601 KB) Licensing I, the creator of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ... ImageMetadata File history File links Download high resolution version (960x997, 601 KB) Licensing I, the creator of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ... Guacamole // Guacamole is an avocado-based relish or dip from the time of the Aztecs. ... Pesto (italian pron. ... For other uses, see Native Americans (disambiguation). ... Bedrock is the native consolidated rock underlying the Earths surface. ... For other uses, see Acorn (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Mallet (disambiguation). ... Rice Cake Pounding mochi in an usu Making mochi with a modern piece of equipment Mochi (Japanese: ; Chinese: ) is a Japanese rice cake made of glutinous rice pounded into paste and molded into shape. ... Suribachi (small) and surikogi (medium) with black sesame seeds Suribachi (すり鉢　or 擂鉢, literally: grinding-bowl) and surikogi (すりこぎ or 擂粉木, literally: Grind-Powder-Wood) are a Japanese mortar and pestle. ... Suribachi (small) and surikogi (medium) with black sesame seeds Suribachi (すり鉢　or 擂鉢, literally: grinding-bowl) and surikogi (すりこぎ or 擂粉木, literally: Grind-Powder-Wood) are a Japanese mortar and pestle. ... For other uses, see granite (disambiguation). ... Location of Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is a subregion of Asia. ... Not to be confused with the Malayalam language, spoken in India. ... For the cities, see Basalt, Colorado and Basalt, Idaho. ... A molcajete and tejolote A molcajete (Mexican Spanish, from Nahuatl mulcazitl) is a stone tool, the traditional Mexican version of the mortar and pestle tool, similar to the south american batan (stone) used for grinding various food products. ... This article is about the geological substance. ... A map showing countries commonly considered to be part of the Middle East The Middle East is a region comprising the lands around the southern and eastern parts of the Mediterranean Sea, a territory that extends from the eastern Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf. ... This article is about the meat dish. ... Kibbeh with mint as decoration Wikibooks Cookbook has an article on Kibbeh Kibbeh or kubbah, Arabic: كبة; Turkish içli kuftah), is a dish of minced meat with bulgur and spices with many variants, both raw and cooked. ... Hummus or hummus bi tahini (Arabic: ; ‎; Armenian Õ°Õ¡Õ´Õ¸Õ½) also spelled hamos, houmous, hommos, hommus, hummos, hummous or humus) is a dip or spread made of ground chickpeas, sesame tahini, lemon juice, and garlic. ...

Material

Good mortar and pestle-making materials must be hard enough to crush the substance rather than be worn away by it. They cannot be too brittle either, 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 ingredients. Smooth and non-porous materials are chosen that will not 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. A material is brittle if it is subject to fracture when subjected to stress i. ... This article is about flavor as a sensory impression. ... A cluster of Escherichia coli bacteria magnified 10,000 times. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

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 do not 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. A molcajete and tejolote A molcajete (Mexican Spanish, from Nahuatl mulcazitl) is a stone tool, the traditional Mexican version of the mortar and pestle tool, similar to the south american batan (stone) used for grinding various food products. ...

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Mortars

• Millstone
• Muddler
• Pharmacy
• Molcajete

Image File history File links Commons-logo. ... The interior of a functional water mill The basic anatomy of a millstone. ... This article is about the bartenders tool. ... For other uses, see Pharmacy (disambiguation). ... A molcajete and tejolote A molcajete (Mexican Spanish, from Nahuatl mulcazitl) is a stone tool, the traditional Mexican version of the mortar and pestle tool, similar to the south american batan (stone) used for grinding various food products. ...

References