Question
Roy L. Cox
I noticed that you have several mortar and pestle on your desk. Do you find these to have a benefit over a spice grinder?
Answer
This one, the big one, I got a couple of large sized ones made of different types of stone. This one is from Thailand. I have one from Mexico. It's a different type of stone than what you see here, but I use the larger ones most often. And I'll tell you, the flavor that you get is a little bit different than when using an electric, very fast spinning, high RPM grinder like a spice grinder. And this is going to be noticeable with pastes, like curry paste, like a Thai curry paste, as well as spices that you grind. And that fast rotating blade, it does a couple of things. It generates some heat, which can be enough to alter the flavor outcome of those delicate aroma components, right, of the food that we're talking about. And also the fast spinning blade of an electric appliance will break down, I'll say, the cellular structure and beyond to a very, very small state that releases flavor and these aroma chemicals in different ways than you experience with the slower speed of hand grinding. So the results are different. And you might do a comparison and just see how you notice the similarities and differences of these different approaches. Another thing that a mortar and pestle will provide is a little bit more, I'll call it exercise, right, as you use certain parts of your body more. And so just in terms of overall health through the daily use of our body, it can be a good thing.
