Mortar and Pestle

B

Bonnie Scott

Active member
EricC said:
Do you plan to use it, or just display?
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Eric, after I clean it I intend to display it and use it in my kitchen. I was also thinking when I get to old to swallow pills my kids can use it to crush my meds and feed them to me in pudding. :chuckle:

Donna, I actually preferred the black and white photos. I scrolled through them and zoomed in to see if I could find my Mortar sitting on one of the shelves but I didn't see it. It was interesting having a glimpse inside the foundry.
 
I have a marble mortar and pestle. I use it for mashing stuff into a paste, like pine nuts, macadamia, garlic, etc. I'm not really pleased with its performance; the end of the pestle has texture but the inside of the mortar is too smooth.

I'm willing to bet the texture left from sand casting CI would work better.
 
Nice piece Bonnie. It is for sure American made. See a lot of these on eBay that are Asian/European made. I couldn't find a lot more information than what you have already posted. Interesting that these were used in the mining industry along with Pharmacy Apothecary and the common kitchen. Since you are in Arizona could it be that your piece was once used by miners? Better check it for gold/silver content.
 
I have one, too. Pretty decent size. 7" tall by 7" wide. No markings at all on it that I can see to determine who made it. Ground/polished on the inside. 16 oz Sprite for size reference.

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Kevin....I'm thinking your piece was more designed for pharmaceutical use due to the grinding marks which makes sense. It would need to be as smooth as possible in order to get a consistent grit. More than likely the smooth surface would also indicate usage for herbal/spice use.
Since Bonnies piece leads back to a foundry that made a lot of mining equipment and it has the foundry information labeled upon it I wonder if her piece was more designed for an Essayer's use. I couldn't tell if her pic showed any grind marks. Maybe she will weigh in with an additional clue.
In any case the usage is certainly something I had never given much thought about. Both are very interesting. I may just have to find one to see how it's made unless you or Bonnie want to give them to me???? I didn't think so.
 
Certainly could've been for pharmaceutical/apothecary use, MDF. I have no clue. For now it's only use is "decor."
 
Kevin, that is a really nice one, mine is not polished on the inside. It is actually pretty rough and you can see the gate marks on the inside of it.
Sorry Michael, as much as I would like to give this one to you it was a gift from a dear friend and I won't be parting with it. I think you are probably correct about the different uses, this one would not be suitable for grinding meds as most of the meds would remain stuck in the rough casting when you tried to take it out.
 
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Bonnie, that is certainly an unusual and nice mortar and pestle. Since it was made for use in industry, I would suspect possible heavy metal contamination. I think if it's been used in food prep. by your friend, probably no problem, but my feeling is that there might be. Possibly I'm just having mortar envy...:chuckle:
 
Sharon Shuman said:
Bonnie, that is certainly an unusual and nice mortar and pestle. Since it was made for use in industry, I would suspect possible heavy metal contamination. I think if it's been used in food prep. by your friend, probably no problem, but my feeling is that there might be. Possibly I'm just having mortar envy...:chuckle:
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Sharon, I started having a little mortar envy myself after seeing Kevin's. I got a hold of one that looks like it has the mill marks in it like his. I spent a good part of yesterday scrubbing the rust out of the inside and last night I put it in the lye tank which is pretty icy at the moment. Mine looks like it was painted black with oil base paint but I am thinking it was nickel plated under the paint. Time will tell.

Here is a before pic. We found that Le Creuset trivet for $2.
http://imgur.com/a/QwTU1
 
Bonnie I suspect that may be a Cousances trivet (i.e. made before LeCreuset purchased them). I have always liked the older Cousances trivets. LeCreuset added a rectangular piece with their name which, IMHO, disrupts the beauty and flow of the design.
 
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