If you’re buying a set as a gift and need it by Thursday, and don’t want to stray too far from the West side, your best bet might be Sur La Table. You can get a very nice porcelain or wood one for around $30-40.
But for personal use, I would follow @MaladyNelson’s advice.
I like to cook, so people keep giving me those things. And then I have to wrack my brains for who to re-gift it to.
Which brings up, for to me is an important point, is this something the recipient wants?
Who can really say? It’s a “secret santa” thing, so asking is not really possible. We talk food all the time. We both are very enthusiastic cooks. I don’t think he’s mentioned having a suribachi/surikogi so I think I’ll risk it. We’ve all given and received worse at these things.
Anyways, I know I want one now and thanks to @MaladyNelson I know where to get a nice set.
Basalt…
Why do you say that?
He probably prefers basalt. Basalt is commonly used for a molcajete, a Mexican mortar and pestle set, while granite is common for Thai mortar and pestles.
Who can say?
Ended up getting a meh set at Mitsuwa, but I didn’t have a ton of time and the agreed upon budget was modest. Paired it with a package of white sesame seeds, a package of black sesame seeds, and a small bottle of smoked soy sauce that caught my eye.
It was very well received, so I appreciate all the guidance. Thanks!
Of course. I have a wooden one I’ve used for about 40 years and a ceramic one too. I use them for grinding herbs. I cannot imagine making chili without freshly toasted and ground cumin seed. The pre-ground stuff has very little flavor. I can’t see being without one. I have a Krups coffee mill, the inexpensive oval shaped one that I use for some herbs and spices but the mortar and pestle gets more of a work out…we don’t drink coffee so there are no coffee oils blending with the herbs in the coffee grinder. I specify the oval grinder because the shapes throws the material back into the center for more even grinding.
I usually do my spices in a blade so-called coffee grinder (really a chopper). We have two, one for sweets and one for savories.
Those are terrible for coffee. I have a burr grinder for that.
catholiver: A few days after I posted this I happened to be talking to my daughter-in-law and admitted my wimping out on the molcahete … whereupon she 'fessed up to some similar ducking out on her part, and we wound up having a fairly hilarious conversation. And long – thank goodness for cell phones!
And, of course, MY daughters love “your” pork shoulder!
You know, I’m gonna have to have some kind of meat-centric gathering here PDQ or I’m in real danger of losing “my” touch on that! I want to do it in that Westinghouse electric cooker I have out back, since I do believe it provides the kind of temperature control a crock-pot won’t give me, but with a smaller cooking space than even my undersized oven has. I am kind of over the charm of that water smoker I rescued, and had a local artisan make a new base for. For one thing you have to take it apart to add charcoal, a major PITA when the main section has five or six pounds of actively cooking meat in it! All I have to do with R2D2 (when I post photos you’ll see why we call it that) is put the prepared meat in and make sure the electric bill has been paid.
I’ve only ever done it in a DO, starting on the stovetop and then to the oven. Our SFBA trip got cancelled due to snow so I have a small’ish pork shoulder in the freezer. Hopefully the kiddos can may it here before much longer.