Elevating Your Culinary Arts With a Mortar and Pestle

Give your drinks and dishes a new layer of flavour when you start preparing your culinary offerings with a mortar and pestle. This traditional cook's tool harkens back centuries and relies on an ancient concept of food or drink prep. Now called muddling, it's as simple as crushing ingredients to make them tastier. With so many high-design styles from which to choose, finding the one that's right for you is a matter of personal taste and decor. Start browsing the fine selections available at Williams Sonoma now and see how a mortar and pestle can elevate your cuisine and cocktails with just a few twists of the wrist.

What is a Mortar and Pestle?

A mortar and pestle is an essential kitchen tool that raises the bar for taste and texture. The concentrated flavours that arise from its use mark your meals or drinks as superlative among your family and friends. Let them know how you did it -- or pick up two and gift them one for an upcoming birthday or holiday.

• The mortar is a bowl with a smooth, rounded interior and a flat bottom that allows it to rest on a surface. The opening of the bowl may be somewhat wide to allow for use of the pestle.
• A pestle is a baton, wand or stick that is used in conjunction with the mortar to crush various ingredients. The best pestles are ergonomically contoured for an easy grip and quick crushing or muddling.
• The two elements go together in the preparation of ingredients. The cook or bartender places spices, herbs, fruit or other produce in the mortar and then crushes them with the pestle.
• You can use a spoon to remove the muddle from the bottom or sides of the mortar and top dishes, mix it into recipes or stir and shake it into cocktails.

How to Enhance Your Meals with Ground Spices

A satisfying way to use your mortar and pestle is to grind fresh spices for the ultimate in flavour and aroma when cooking and dining at home with family or friends.

• Try herbs for an easy beginner's introduction to the techniques. By crushing the herbs, you'll quickly bring their aroma to the surface of the leaves as the oil darkens your herb choice and breaks down the greenery. This is similar to the idea behind a garlic press. Use the whole herb muddle.
• With spices, you can crush cinnamon sticks or whole nutmeg for an incredible warmth and zing to your dishes. These harder spices may take a little more strength to fully crush, so you could run them through a food mill first, but your high-quality pestle can handle it.

How to Make The Best Drinks With Muddling

The mortar and pestle has become more popular as more people realize its potential to enliven drinks. Muddle strawberries, basil, cucumber and more for complex drinks that delight and surprise. You may want to have one mortar and pestle in the kitchen and one by your bar to match your barware, like bar tools and drinking glasses.