Gordon Ramsay Unlocks The Potential Of Spices With This Old-School Kitchen Tool

Celebrity chefs can be incredibly helpful when deciding which kitchen tools are worth buying and which ones to skip. Take Anthony Bourdain, for example, who hated garlic presses, or Ina Garten, who says that silver tasting spoons are a must-have utensil. Another celebrity chef whose endorsements carry serious weight is Gordon Ramsay. With eight Michelin stars to his name, he clearly knows a thing or two about kitchen essentials, and one tool he consistently swears by is the mortar and pestle.

The pestle and mortar is a two-part tool whose sole purpose is crushing and grinding substances into oblivion. The mortar refers to the bowl, and the pestle is the handheld, club-like stick. Together, they use friction and pressure to break down materials. It's a prime example of old-school kitchen tools that still hold up today, and according to Ramsay, it's perfect for grinding down whole spices into a fine powder. You'll find plenty of different materials available, but for breaking down whole spices, we recommend using natural, abrasive stones like granite. 

There are many reasons why you'd want to break down your whole spices. For starters, freshly ground spices trump pre-ground ones as they retain their essential oils, releasing their flavors and aromas upon being crushed. On top of that, the pestle and mortar allow you to create your own unique spice mixes, which you can use as a rub for meats or vegetables, in marinades, or even as a flavoring for salt and sugar.

In a world where convenience dominates decision-making, the mortar and pestle does involve a certain degree of elbow grease, and you might be tempted to skip the effort and use an automatic spice grinder instead. However, while a conventional spice grinder slices with a blade, a pestle and mortar works by crushing the spices, which releases more of their flavorful oils. It also enables far greater control over spice's texture, allowing you to decide exactly how coarse or fine you want your blend to be.

On top of that, an electric spice grinder serves a single purpose, but a pestle and mortar is extremely versatile. It's essentially an all-in-one grinder, blender, and crusher, and it works just as well for creating flavorful pastes. Take pesto alla Genovese, for example, which is traditionally made in a pestle and mortar, so you can achieve delicious results without a food processor. It's also perfect for crafting a delicious Thai green curry paste — just crush your toasted spice mix and then add your chilis, lemongrass, and galangal and grind into a paste that'll outshine any store-bought version. For softer ingredients, a porcelain material is generally recommended for a consistent texture. 

Also, if the power goes out, the mortar and pestle have you morning cup of java covered. An electric coffee grinder won't do you much good when the electricity is off, but with a mortar and pestle, you can grind your coffee beans to the exact consistency you need — whether that's coarse grinds for a cold brew, or an ultra-fine powder for a Turkish coffee.