Someone explained to me that I could increase the surface area of my herbs significantly when grinding them in a mortar with a bit of salt. It is indeed quite easy to grind them down to a powder. I do have the impression though that my sauces get more bitter when using powdered oregano. Is there any basis to this? Am I just using to much oregano given its increased "aromatising efficiency"? Or am I indeed releasing some substance that would otherwise be locked in the leaves?
Flavor – Is it a good idea to grind dried oregano with a mortar and pestle
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Related Solutions
Neither.
The traditional instrument for making guacamole, and other Mexican mashed and ground preparations, is the mocaljete, which is similar to a mortar & pestle, but made with a shorter pestle and out of black basalt, a rough volcanic stone:
A regular mortar and pestle out of ceramic or granite will not work for a fat, squishy fruit like avocado; it will just squish around and out of the bowl. You need the rough, pitted texture of the volcanic stone to "grab" the avocado pulp.
Personally, I find that the ideal tool for making guacamole or avocado salsas is actually a regular mixing bowl and a heavy pastry blender:
... but even a large metal serving fork will work fairly well. Better than a regular mortar and pestle will.
That sort of grinding only works with seeds and such. Chiles are too fibrous. I use a cuisinart mini mate chopper/grinder for all my spice milling needs. There's a dull side to the blade for grinding stuff like peppercorns, and a sharp side for stuff like chiles. About the only thing my mortar and pestle ever gets used for is grinding kosher salt to a more useful grain size.
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Best Answer
By grinding it, you are also increasing the surface are of the herb when it reaches the tongue, and you are exposing the raw/inner (bitter) flavors of the herb to the mouth. When cooking with it "un-ground", the cooking process extracts just the oils from the herb, and leaves the leaf in tact which does not taste unpleasant to the senses.
I would certainly use less of a ground herb, but my preference would be to leave it in it's natural dried state, and if you want more taste just increase the quantity. The only exception I have for this is when making rubs, where the fat of the meat (or oil for a bread dip) typically complements the bitter flavor of the ground herb.