Choosing a Mortar

Mortars come in all shapes and sizes. A hard material such as granite takes the hard pounding best. Old, traditional mortars from Asia made of clay are used with a wood pestle. Those are used primarily for som tom, the fiery green papaya salad of northeast Thailand. Beware of Mexican and Central American mortars, called molecajetes, which are made of lava rock. Although the coarseness of this stone is ideal for mashing soft ingredients for guacamole, the brittle lava rock can chip when pounding seeds and hard spices for Asian pastes, resulting in gritty pastes and chipped teeth.