I can't stand the noise, and even just the idea, of a blender in my kitchen. I want to keep things more natural (less plastic) and waste free (less products).
So I was looking into getting a mortar and pestle instead. I stumbled onto a great looking olive wood one but after reading the answers to this question I'm not sure it's what I'm looking for. I did some more reserach about the different kinds but since I have no experience with any of them it just sounds like I would need a different one for every task. I can't imagine every chef as every kind.
In the best of worlds I want to crush spices and herbs, make sauces, grind seeds and nuts, pound garlic and ginder, and maybe even make some soups. Which kind of mortar and pestle would be most versatile in this case?
Best Answer
As usual, Serious Eats has an article for this, covering what type of M&P to buy. They recommend a large granite model for most purposes, but an olivewood or marble one for certain special foods, like pesto.
Your question is specifically "replacing a blender", though, and "even make some soups". An M&P will never replace a blender for pureeing liquids. First, you can't put much liquid in even the largest countertop M&P, no more than a liter. Second, M&Ps do not work for pureeing liquids, but rather for grinding dry ingredients. If you were to put a chunky soup in, and try to pound it, the soup would just splash all over the counter. And forget trying to make frozen drinks like daquiris in one.
All is not lost, though: you can pretty much handle almost all foods if you combine an M&P with a stick blender. Yes, it's still a blender, but it's smaller, quieter and more economical. The only thing you won't be able to do is the frozen drinks.