I was out doing some Christmas shopping today. Was in Cost Plus World
Market. They had a stainless steel mortar and pestle; the label says
"made in India" and the little cardboard label inside the mortar said it
was a fixture of Indian cuisine for centuries.

It's not rounded on the bottom; more squared off like a pot. The pestle
is heavy stainless and has a conical end that fits in the square of the
bottom edge.

I did a web search--all the metal mortars I found are rounded, just like
my existing stone one.

Does anyone know about this Indian style and what special uses it would
be used for?

Yes, before anyone asks, I bought it (only $10). Can always use another
kitchen gadget! And I've got a collection of other stainless steel
kitchen tools/toys. But I am curious what I can use it for. I'm assuming
for just about anything I'd use the normal stone one for, but are there
any special uses?

"PastaLover" > wrote in message
news:dr2pf.213$Cw5.106@fed1read05...
>I was out doing some Christmas shopping today. Was in Cost Plus World
>Market. They had a stainless steel mortar and pestle; the label says "made
>in India" and the little cardboard label inside the mortar said it was a
>fixture of Indian cuisine for centuries.
>
> It's not rounded on the bottom; more squared off like a pot. The pestle is
> heavy stainless and has a conical end that fits in the square of the
> bottom edge.
>
> I did a web search--all the metal mortars I found are rounded, just like
> my existing stone one.
>
> Does anyone know about this Indian style and what special uses it would be
> used for?
>
> Yes, before anyone asks, I bought it (only $10). Can always use another
> kitchen gadget! And I've got a collection of other stainless steel kitchen
> tools/toys. But I am curious what I can use it for. I'm assuming for just
> about anything I'd use the normal stone one for, but are there any special
> uses?

I didn't know stainless steel was a common material centuries ago. But
anyway.....isn't a mortar supposed to have an interior surface with a matte
(not-glossy) surface, so whatever you're grinding doesn't slip away from the
pestle?

Doug Kanter wrote:
> "PastaLover" > wrote in message
> news:dr2pf.213$Cw5.106@fed1read05...
>
>>I was out doing some Christmas shopping today. Was in Cost Plus World
>>Market. They had a stainless steel mortar and pestle; the label says "made
>>in India" and the little cardboard label inside the mortar said it was a
>>fixture of Indian cuisine for centuries.
>>
>>It's not rounded on the bottom; more squared off like a pot. The pestle is
>>heavy stainless and has a conical end that fits in the square of the
>>bottom edge.
>>
>>I did a web search--all the metal mortars I found are rounded, just like
>>my existing stone one.
>>
>>Does anyone know about this Indian style and what special uses it would be
>>used for?
>>
>>Yes, before anyone asks, I bought it (only $10). Can always use another
>>kitchen gadget! And I've got a collection of other stainless steel kitchen
>>tools/toys. But I am curious what I can use it for. I'm assuming for just
>>about anything I'd use the normal stone one for, but are there any special
>>uses?
>
>
> I didn't know stainless steel was a common material centuries ago. But
> anyway.....isn't a mortar supposed to have an interior surface with a matte
> (not-glossy) surface, so whatever you're grinding doesn't slip away from the
> pestle?

All I said was what was written on the tag, not that it was correct...

Granted, stainless steel probably hasn't been a common matieral for
centuries. And I wondered the same thing about the glossy surface--hence
my question. I wondered if it was traditionally used for something that
didn't need to be ground too fine, or maybe something sticky, like a
paste or something.

If nothing else, it looks damn cool!

"PastaLover" > wrote in message
news:uC4pf.219$Cw5.209@fed1read05...
> Doug Kanter wrote:
>> "PastaLover" > wrote in message
>> news:dr2pf.213$Cw5.106@fed1read05...
>>
>>>I was out doing some Christmas shopping today. Was in Cost Plus World
>>>Market. They had a stainless steel mortar and pestle; the label says
>>>"made in India" and the little cardboard label inside the mortar said it
>>>was a fixture of Indian cuisine for centuries.
>>>
>>>It's not rounded on the bottom; more squared off like a pot. The pestle
>>>is heavy stainless and has a conical end that fits in the square of the
>>>bottom edge.
>>>
>>>I did a web search--all the metal mortars I found are rounded, just like
>>>my existing stone one.
>>>
>>>Does anyone know about this Indian style and what special uses it would
>>>be used for?
>>>
>>>Yes, before anyone asks, I bought it (only $10). Can always use another
>>>kitchen gadget! And I've got a collection of other stainless steel
>>>kitchen tools/toys. But I am curious what I can use it for. I'm assuming
>>>for just about anything I'd use the normal stone one for, but are there
>>>any special uses?
>>
>>
>> I didn't know stainless steel was a common material centuries ago. But
>> anyway.....isn't a mortar supposed to have an interior surface with a
>> matte (not-glossy) surface, so whatever you're grinding doesn't slip away
>> from the pestle?
>
> All I said was what was written on the tag, not that it was correct...
>
> Granted, stainless steel probably hasn't been a common matieral for
> centuries. And I wondered the same thing about the glossy surface--hence
> my question. I wondered if it was traditionally used for something that
> didn't need to be ground too fine, or maybe something sticky, like a paste
> or something.
>
> If nothing else, it looks damn cool!
>
>

Sorry if it sounded critical, but I'm accustomed to being able to evaluate
things by looking at them. Perhaps this is not a universal skill.

It might be useful for mixing things that are already a paste, like blending
chopped chives into cream cheese. But, for tasks like crushing seeds/spices,
the glossy
surface will probably work against you.

Pasta,
I think its cool that you have a new gadget. I use my stone M&P for
grinding pepper corns and other seeds. Garlic and dried peppers too.
Dont they drink a lot of tea in India? Perhaps it a combination tea
crusher or coffee grinder that you just pour your boiling water into
after you have mashed what ever you were mashing. Will it hold a quart
of water, does it appeare that it would be placed over a flame? It will
look nice displayed in your kitchen.

Good Luck
Happy shopping
Jim
PastaLover wrote:
> I was out doing some Christmas shopping today. Was in Cost Plus World
> Market. They had a stainless steel mortar and pestle; the label says
> "made in India" and the little cardboard label inside the mortar said it
> was a fixture of Indian cuisine for centuries.
>
> It's not rounded on the bottom; more squared off like a pot. The pestle
> is heavy stainless and has a conical end that fits in the square of the
> bottom edge.
>
> I did a web search--all the metal mortars I found are rounded, just like
> my existing stone one.
>
> Does anyone know about this Indian style and what special uses it would
> be used for?
>
> Yes, before anyone asks, I bought it (only $10). Can always use another
> kitchen gadget! And I've got a collection of other stainless steel
> kitchen tools/toys. But I am curious what I can use it for. I'm assuming
> for just about anything I'd use the normal stone one for, but are there
> any special uses?

jim wrote:
> Pasta,
> I think its cool that you have a new gadget. I use my stone M&P for
> grinding pepper corns and other seeds. Garlic and dried peppers too.
> Dont they drink a lot of tea in India? Perhaps it a combination tea
> crusher or coffee grinder that you just pour your boiling water into
> after you have mashed what ever you were mashing. Will it hold a quart
> of water, does it appeare that it would be placed over a flame? It will
> look nice displayed in your kitchen.

It's only big enough to hold about 4 ounces. :-(

>
> Good Luck
> Happy shopping
> Jim
> PastaLover wrote:
>
>>I was out doing some Christmas shopping today. Was in Cost Plus World
>>Market. They had a stainless steel mortar and pestle; the label says
>>"made in India" and the little cardboard label inside the mortar said it
>>was a fixture of Indian cuisine for centuries.
>>
>>It's not rounded on the bottom; more squared off like a pot. The pestle
>>is heavy stainless and has a conical end that fits in the square of the
>>bottom edge.
>>
>>I did a web search--all the metal mortars I found are rounded, just like
>>my existing stone one.
>>
>>Does anyone know about this Indian style and what special uses it would
>>be used for?
>>
>>Yes, before anyone asks, I bought it (only $10). Can always use another
>>kitchen gadget! And I've got a collection of other stainless steel
>>kitchen tools/toys. But I am curious what I can use it for. I'm assuming
>>for just about anything I'd use the normal stone one for, but are there
>>any special uses?
>
>

"Doug Kanter" > wrote in message
...
>
>
> I didn't know stainless steel was a common material centuries ago. But
> anyway.....isn't a mortar supposed to have an interior surface with a
matte
> (not-glossy) surface, so whatever you're grinding doesn't slip away from
the
> pestle?
>
>

It depends. I have used a set in a laboratory that was some kind of hard,
highly polished mineral, the aim was to grind up small samples of crystaline
material very finely and to be able to clean it out effectvely in between
uses to prevent one sample contaminating another. It worked OK but you
wouldn't want to use it to make a curry.

David

"David Hare-Scott" > wrote in message
...
>
> "Doug Kanter" > wrote in message
> ...
>>
>>
>> I didn't know stainless steel was a common material centuries ago. But
>> anyway.....isn't a mortar supposed to have an interior surface with a
> matte
>> (not-glossy) surface, so whatever you're grinding doesn't slip away from
> the
>> pestle?
>>
>>
>
> It depends. I have used a set in a laboratory that was some kind of hard,
> highly polished mineral, the aim was to grind up small samples of
> crystaline
> material very finely and to be able to clean it out effectvely in between
> uses to prevent one sample contaminating another. It worked OK but you
> wouldn't want to use it to make a curry.
>
> David
>
>

The stuff didn't fly out from under the pestle? Did the pestle have a
flatter grinding surface than some others?