mortar & pestle

Hi

I just got an order for a mortar & pestle. My buyer wants the inside of the bowl to be unglazed. I fire to Cone 6. Is sanitation a concern?

Any experience with these and words of wisdom?

Thanks Betsy

Hi

I just got an order for a mortar & pestle. My buyer wants the inside of the bowl to be unglazed. I fire to Cone 6. Is sanitation a concern?

Any experience with these and words of wisdom?

Thanks Betsy

Hi

I just got an order for a mortar & pestle. My buyer wants the inside of the bowl to be unglazed. I fire to Cone 6. Is sanitation a concern?

Any experience with these and words of wisdom?

Thanks Betsy

The commercial ones are made of highfire porcelain unglazed. I use stoneware clay, which is sandy enough that it would not make a good surface. I glaze it with a matte glaze. Then each set I break in by rubbing the pestle around in it pretty hard to wear off any projecting bits. You could probably do the same with unglazed cone 6 clay--smooth it by rubbing... Since they're used with dry materials only, it's probably not a problem of sanitation (i.e. bacterial growth), but possibly some herbal smell lingering in the pestle. Brad Sondahl

Really you need a clay that is completely vitrified for this application. Even fully mature glazes will wear away with constant us as I have found to my cost.

Sorry to say I don't think Cone 6 clays will do the job. I now fire these items unglazed to cone 10 using a clay containing no grog or sand, on the (now) rare occasions I'm asked to make one.

Steve Bath UK

In article , richard writes

Only dry materials? You don't cook using fresh herbs?

Our mortar and pestal are only used to crush fresh herbs and then we add oil, vinegar, lemon juice, etc to make a glaze for grilling or a marinade. Pretty wet materials, imho ;-)

Marianne

I agree. My stoneware clay has a very fine grog that would probably just enhance the tooth. BUT, if you don't have tooth in the mortar itself - such as those marble ones you can buy - you can add tooth by adding sea salt crystals. That's what Jamie Oliver does, so I guess it is smart! Hehe!

Marianne