Description Small White Marble Mortar and Pestle This Small White Marble Mortar and Pestle is a bit smaller than many. It is perfect for the cook who needs a second, smaller mortar and pestle when grinding and crushing smaller batches of spices, herbs and other items. The 5 ½” pestle gives you good control over your task. The Mortar and Pestle has been used to crush, pound and grind grains, seeds and other objects for longer than recorded history. Archeologists have found them going back over 40,000 years. Probably the oldest kitchen implement, they are still widely used throughout the world in all cultures in some form. They are also used in the field of medicine by pharmacists to grind ingredients into powders when compounding prescriptions. The Mortar is the bowl. Made from stone, wood, or other hard substance, they are made in various sizes to suit the need. From a couple inches to over a foot in diameter, they must be large enough to hold whatever is being ground or crushed. The Pestle is the club-like object use to grind, crush or pound the seed, grain or other item, in the bowl. They can be made from stone, wood, bone or other hard substance. These days, you find most made from marble. In Mexican and South American kitchens, volcanic rock is used to make the Molcajete, used to pound and grind corn, seeds and other grains to make the masa for tortillas, as well as to make guacamole. Together, the Mortar and Pestle is still one of the most used kitchen tools. No kitchen should be without several of different sizes and materials. 4 ½” diameter 2 ½” tall 6 oz. capacity Hand washing recommended
