/ck/ - Food & Cooking

Marble.

Get one of the ones with rough walls inside so it's easier to paste vegetables.

I bought a granite one like this at an international market and really like it. I think I paid @ $15 for it.

>>9930834
What are these even for

>>9931039
cooking

>>9930834
I had a marble one and liked it very much. get the bigger one than you think you need. I wished I would have but mine was a christmas gift so I didn't choose it, but was still happy with it

>>9930950
I have that exact one, it has been a nice companion for the last 4 years now

what do you guys crush in these?

>>9930834
marble is the gold standard, but ceramic works fine for me

>>9931691
cloves, black pepper, white pepper, and whatever else that might need crushed

>>9930950
I have a granite one almost exactly like that and it works great.

>>9931150
>get the bigger one than you think you need.
This is very good advice

>>9931691
spices and vegetables. I'm going to get called a faggot for this but you can taste the fresh difference between ground up seeds, like cumin or mustard, and just premade powder.

>>9931691
Black pepper, cumin seed, coriander seed, mustard seed, etc. The nice thing is it lets you buy whole spices which will stay fresher longer. My wife has a separate one she uses to grind green tea leaves. I made a thai curry paste in mine which was more work than a blender, but felt like a real accomplishment. They will last forever unlike an electric grinder with their built in obsolesence designed to fail in a year or two.

>>9931759
Even people very casually into cooking will know there's a huge difference in fresh ground pepper and preground, if nothing else.

>>9931717
This, I would buy a ceramic for myself, but ask for a marble one as a gift.

>>9931691
Uncut cocaine. That's it.

>>9931691
I buy whole spices because they keep their flavors longer and use a mortar to crush them as needed. I also use it to make various pastes and to crush shit for sauces, like pesto, curry, etc...

They aren't as convenient as a spice grinder, but are a great option when you don't want to bust out the blender or food processor.

Love having one around. Mine's marble, though granite or others would likely be fine. I use it to paste garlic and crush whole spices mainly.

>>9931039
pills
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YHQXBAjkmOQ

>>9931691
Dried cayenne + salt = cayennw salt. Good times

>>9930834
I have both Marble and Ceramic, and, if you do as much cooking as me, will recommend that you acquire both as well. The marble is far superior for pasting and wet ingredients, and I would recommend buying one far larger than you think you will need, as I often find myself wishing I had a much bigger one. The Ceramic is infinitely better for grinding dry and toasted spices into a fine powder.

>>9933176
What is the texture interior like on each? I'm tempted to believe any crushing performance differences between them are more due to finish than material.

i mean.. it just works.

>>9933217
Ceramic is roughly twice as hard as marble.

>>9933311
Anon asked about surface texture, and I'm curious too. Think of different grits of sand paper. Does a rough/coarse surface have any benefits over a smooth/polished surface?

How does one grind/mash ginger root into a fine powder? Or is ginger paste considered to be better than powder?

>>9933347
Not him but I imagine the ceramic one would have to be smooth. As for marble, I dunno.

>>9931691
Puss

>>9933347
>How does one grind/mash ginger root into a fine powder?
Dry it, then mash it.

>>9933496
Is dry ginger stale ginger?

>>9933503
Nah, it's just dried. Ginger goes bad after awhile if you don't use it, so it's dried and made into powder to conserve it over time.

I never use the dried stuff anymore.

>>9933526
Cheers.

So basically it goes from good to bad then good enough. And that's the best time to smash it.?

>>9933503
>Is dry ginger stale ginger?
yes.
There is a fresh citrusy and floral nature to ginger that is lost when not fresh. Gingerol has health benefits and is lessened when dry. But, from a foodie perspective, fresh is simply amazing.

>>9933590
The best time to make powder would be while it's still fresh. Just grate it or chop it up real fine, then let it dry completely in front of a fan or on low heat in the oven. Then you'd smash and powder it.

>>9930834
what are those two green leaf things?

>>9933293
this helps me live life to its kekest. thank you anon

you can make a very nice Chimichurri sauce directly in mortar/pestle.
its how they do it in south america i believe. goes well with steak.

>>9934237
Left looks like a basil variety (maybe Thai) and the right could be watercress. Not 100% sure.

>>9934243
that ain't thai basil tho

>>9934329
It may surprise you to learn there is more than one variety of Thai basil. Some have smooth edges and some jagged, some have a muted finish and some are glossier.

If you've got proof it's something else then feel free to post it.

>>9930834
ok this picture is just fucked up.
it's ginger which you could peel and make into a pulp. then watercress? but why? pepper corns; yay i was tired of those pesky pepper grinders :D cloves, nutmeg, allspice(?) and peeled dried turmeric? You need a sledgehammer for all of those. then there's that lime. you do the math. and finally i'm convinced that those two things on the right are from some random tree