Which Mortar and Pestle

[Luca Brazzi]

For home use and an Xmas gift.

Do I want a smooth inside, or rough to help mash the ingredients? Some reviews say that a rough inside means you are grinding grit into your food.
How heavy should I go for?
What diameter is optimal?
Dishwasher safe or just rinse clean immediately?

Any advice and links to your preferences would be great.

Cheers :-)

[LeadFarmer]

I went for a really heavy one thats rough inside on the assumption that a smooth one means that when your crushing seeds etc they will shoot all over the place?
I just wipe mine out with a damp cloth.

[Luca Brazzi]

Excellent. Really helpful. Thanks fore that.

[Lynchie999]

yeh, i've got a cast iron one set in a wooden block (Rick Stein branded) and its great... it has a rough surface...

[Luca Brazzi]

What inside diameter did you go for?

[Shaw Tarse]

I've got something similar to ^^^ it was only a few pounds from TKMaxx?

[ambuletz]

this video whilst a little long goes into great depth trying out all the different types, on different things, to figure out which is best.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_CHzKXzGko

[dontlookdown]

A big heavy stone one as pictured above. They don't move and the weight of the pestle does most of the work for you. Pain to store but much the best in use.

[LeadFarmer]

Mine looks identical to the one pictured above, its got an internal diameter of 11cm and external 14cm. It's heavy, which is good when using as it doesn't move about.