395533 Wed Apr 25 18:58:53 -0700 2007 8 31 Home Cooking 0 2515889 Hello Chowhounders, I've been grinding spices in my little mortar and pestle, and with every grinding motion I feel as though my wrist is popping out of its socket or something. I don't imagine that that's what I should be feeling. What's the proper method for grinding stuff in the mortar and pestle? Wed Apr 25 18:58:53 -0700 2007 94226 pizzahunks 1 2515995 I had the same problem, and always felt like it took a lot of effort to grind. Then I got a nice big mortar and pestle. If it's big, you can let the weight of the pestle do most of the work for you, and you can get a good grip on it, grinding with your arm instead of your wrist. I still haven't figured out how to make the small one a pleasure to use. I am thinking maybe it is mainly meant to sit on the kitchen windowsill and look cool. Wed Apr 25 19:40:39 -0700 2007 2515889 19743 noahbirnel 2 2516340 Avoid pushing with your wrist as much as you can. Push with your elbow and shoulder instead. (I learned this scooping incredibly dense ice cream for two summers. Definitely go easy on the wrist) Wed Apr 25 22:50:52 -0700 2007 2515995 87701 Lemon Curry 2 2516494 Yes, I wish I could have one of those big mortar and pestles. But I'm just a teenaged parasite in a kitchen full of big appliances that my parents don't use, so there's no room for something as wonderful as a good-sized mortar and pestle. There's barely room for the baby version I have now. Lemon Curry: I'll definitely try to mitigate my situation by using my elbow and shoulder. Thank you for your help! Thu Apr 26 04:25:13 -0700 2007 2515995 94226 pizzahunks 1 2516019 My wooden mortar and pestle for spices is from Cajamarca, Peru. They have an important characteristic--the mortar head is quite large--and rounded--compared to the mortar bowl. Grinding is a relaxed matter of applying some pressure and rotating the handle of the pestle in circular fashion. I can't grind anything when using friends' m&ps with thin, stick-like pestles. Wed Apr 25 19:55:45 -0700 2007 2515889 36661 Sam Fujisaka 1 2516034 I have a smallish (4 inches across the interior) mortar and pestle that I use rather frequently. I usually start whole spices by giving them a few hard blows with the pestle to break them up, then I start with the circular grinding motion. I don't use much downward pressure; I let the abrasive qualities of the stone and the spices work against each other. For really hard spices this might take a while, but it really doesn't take much power, just time. Maybe you're just pushing down too hard. Hope that helps. Wed Apr 25 19:59:55 -0700 2007 2515889 32172 lingmao 1 2516548 I find that grinding spices with a little kosher salt (or sugar if you can't use salt) helps to get the grinding started. I prefer a very small marble mortar and pestle. Thu Apr 26 05:32:52 -0700 2007 2515889 10661 butterfly 1 2517621 Also it's a matter of how you hold the pestle. Do you hold it with your thumb & index finger toward the fat end, or your pinkie? Go with the pinkie. When grinding, don't necessarily just press down, use a circular scraping motion against the sides of the bowl. Your wrist would be almost motionless, try to move with your elbow and shoulder. Thu Apr 26 10:53:11 -0700 2007 2515889 13445 Louise 1 2518546 yes, folks are right ... the small marble one works fine if you use a rapid circular motion after breaking up the spices (pressure aiming outwards as well as down) ... shouldn't have to bend the wrist at all for that. I heard once that they make pesto with a mortar and pestle in Italy but that turned out weird for me, tho' it works fine for the dry stuff. Thu Apr 26 14:32:30 -0700 2007 2515889 10958 mstrimel