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5 Best Pestle and Mortars For Grinding Your Way To The Perfect Paste, Sauce or Dressing of 2024

best-pestle-and-mortar

What Is The UK’s Best Pestle and Mortar?

In this guide we’ll look at the best pestle and mortars.
We’ve compared size, ease of cleaning, material and cost
to give you our top recommendations.

Pestle and Mortar Reviews

B00QAP6BMA
5055898676924

H&S has carved out the best pestle and mortar for the UK market with this 16cm wide-mouthed pestle and mortar. Made from solid granite, in a sleek and stylish polished black exterior, this pestle and mortar will provide you with a lifetime of grinding and pounding capabilities for personalised flavours. Whether you’re crushing whole spices, blending curry pastes, or making a delicate herbal infusion, this pestle and mortar will clean up perfectly each and every time.

Material: Granite
Size: 16cm
Dishwasher safe: Yes, also hand wash safe
Ease of cleaning: Easy, Wipe clean

H&S has carved out the best pestle and mortar for the UK market with this 16cm wide-mouthed pestle and mortar. Made from solid granite, in a sleek and stylish polished black exterior, this pestle and mortar will provide you with a lifetime of grinding and pounding capabilities for personalised flavours. Whether you’re crushing whole spices, blending curry pastes, or making a delicate herbal infusion, this pestle and mortar will clean up perfectly each and every time.

Material: Granite
Size: 16cm
Dishwasher safe: Yes, also hand wash safe
Ease of cleaning: Easy, Wipe clean

Our Score:
4.9
Check Price
B004B24BDU
0793842228724,5011268904653,5055840695782,0727264730862,0054067051017,5054809166783,0787269451087,0735343403057,5011268918391,7318076510211,0781147926629

The Jamie Oliver pestle and mortar is the best pestle and mortar for any aspiring chef or culinary TV presenter. With a wide 14cm diameter, grinding spices, or pounding pastes won’t be a challenge at all. This unit is also ideal for spice rubs, sauces and dressings, making marinades, and even some exotic drinks. Best of all, when it comes to cleaning, just give it a quick scrub and a rinse, then leave to air dry. Preparing herbs and spices couldn’t be easier when using this Jamie Oliver pestle and mortar.

Material: Granite
Size: 14cm diameter
Dishwasher safe: Yes, hand wash recommended
Ease of cleaning: Easy, Wipe clean

The Jamie Oliver pestle and mortar is the best pestle and mortar for any aspiring chef or culinary TV presenter. With a wide 14cm diameter, grinding spices, or pounding pastes won’t be a challenge at all. This unit is also ideal for spice rubs, sauces and dressings, making marinades, and even some exotic drinks. Best of all, when it comes to cleaning, just give it a quick scrub and a rinse, then leave to air dry. Preparing herbs and spices couldn’t be easier when using this Jamie Oliver pestle and mortar.

Material: Granite
Size: 14cm diameter
Dishwasher safe: Yes, hand wash recommended
Ease of cleaning: Easy, Wipe clean

Our Score:
4.85
Check Price
B07J4WD8BC
5055884519921

This Maison & White pestle and mortar set has a detachable non-slip silicone base and handle, making its lighter construction safer to use for those with dexterity issues. It has a 9cm inner mortar bowl, which is more than enough to make a curry paste or spice rub mix, without permanently adopting any flavours, colours, or odours.

Material: Ceramic
Size: 11.5cm diameter, 9cm inner bowl
Dishwasher safe: Undisclosed, hand wash recommended
Ease of cleaning: Moderate, hand wash, removable silicone handle and base

This Maison & White pestle and mortar set has a detachable non-slip silicone base and handle, making its lighter construction safer to use for those with dexterity issues. It has a 9cm inner mortar bowl, which is more than enough to make a curry paste or spice rub mix, without permanently adopting any flavours, colours, or odours.

Material: Ceramic
Size: 11.5cm diameter, 9cm inner bowl
Dishwasher safe: Undisclosed, hand wash recommended
Ease of cleaning: Moderate, hand wash, removable silicone handle and base

Our Score:
4.8
Check Price
B0017RPHLM
5010763001256,0787269304680,5055115551492

This Judge white stone pestle and mortar is the best pestle and mortar for herbs, due to its delicate balance of size and material. Made from marble, this gentler stone material will bruise herbs, rather than shredding them, which aids in extracting essential oils and aromatics. This pestle and mortar is dishwasher safe, but can also be washed by hand.

Material: Marble
Size: 10.5cm
Dishwasher safe: Yes, also hand wash safe
Ease of cleaning: Moderate, Wipe clean

This Judge white stone pestle and mortar is the best pestle and mortar for herbs, due to its delicate balance of size and material. Made from marble, this gentler stone material will bruise herbs, rather than shredding them, which aids in extracting essential oils and aromatics. This pestle and mortar is dishwasher safe, but can also be washed by hand.

Material: Marble
Size: 10.5cm
Dishwasher safe: Yes, also hand wash safe
Ease of cleaning: Moderate, Wipe clean

Our Score:
4.75
Check Price
B00QAP6BMA
5055898676924

The Savisto solid granite pestle and mortar is the best pestle and mortar for grinding spices with its generous 15.5cm diameter body, and 12cm wide-mouth bowl. With these dimensions you’ll be able to grind the perfect blend of herbs and spices, whilst avoiding your creation from overflowing on to your worktop. Both the pestle and the mortar are easily cleaned, with soapy water for stubborn pastes, or simply brushed and wiped out for powders.

Material: Granite
Size: 15.5cm diameter
Dishwasher safe: Yes, also hand wash safe
Ease of cleaning: Easy, Wipe clean

The Savisto solid granite pestle and mortar is the best pestle and mortar for grinding spices with its generous 15.5cm diameter body, and 12cm wide-mouth bowl. With these dimensions you’ll be able to grind the perfect blend of herbs and spices, whilst avoiding your creation from overflowing on to your worktop. Both the pestle and the mortar are easily cleaned, with soapy water for stubborn pastes, or simply brushed and wiped out for powders.

Material: Granite
Size: 15.5cm diameter
Dishwasher safe: Yes, also hand wash safe
Ease of cleaning: Easy, Wipe clean

Our Score:
4.7
Check Price

Pestle and Mortar Buyer’s Guide

If you’re a fan of curries, spice rubs, herbal infusions, or just prefer freshly ground spices, then having a pestle and mortar is essential! But, with the array of pestle and mortar on the market, which one is best? Here’s how to choose:

Material

You’ll find pestle and mortar’s come in a range of materials; wood, granite, marble, ceramic, cast iron, even-tempered glass. Whilst many of these will get the job done, they won’t survive years of pounding and grinding. Instead, look for a pestle and mortar made from granite, or marble, for longevity and consistent results.

Size

It really does matter where pounding and grinding of herbs and spices are concerned. Too small, and you’ll find you don’t have enough room to grind everything you need to, and too large and it’ll be too heavy to lift! Look for the average size of around 16cm diameter, and around 6-10cm deep, so there’s plenty of room.

Dishwasher safe

Most pestle and mortars do not need to be cleaned in a dishwasher. Some ceramic sets may be washed in a dishwasher, though this is unnecessary, just wash as per below.

Ease of cleaning

Cleaning a pestle and mortar could not be easier, as all models will be similar in cleaning practices: where possible, remove as much of your tasty herbs and spices, wipe out with kitchen paper, then wash in hot and soapy water, rinse, and allow to air-dry.

FAQs

Pestle and mortar: Which is which?!

The pestle is the handle, and the mortar is the bowl. There’s an easy way to remember this; the pestle will nestle into the mortar. Or, if you’re into carpentry, then the mortar is like a mortar joint, with the pestle slotting into it.

How to use a pestle and mortar?

Place your mortar on a level worktop, place your whole herbs or spices into the bottom, then ‘stir’ the pestle around in a circular fashion to grind the ingredients against the walls of the mortar. For harder or larger ingredients, carefully ‘pound’ the pestle into the mortar to break the spices/nuts etc into smaller pieces. Then, ‘stir’ the pestle to grind into desired consistency.

Conclusion

If you love fresh spice mixes for your curries, or to rub into meat for a BBQ, or to scatter over your yoghurt, then having a reliable pestle and mortar is a great addition to your kitchen. That’s why we’d recommend the H&S Premium Pestle and Mortar set, made from granite, and with its ideal size, it’s the perfect companion to your herb and spice recipes.

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