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Typhoon Cast Iron Pestle and Mortar |  | Brand: Typhoon
Category: Kitchen
Buy New: $37.99
as of 9/10/2010 11:26 CDT details
Seller: Superior_Kitchen_Gadgets
Rating:  7 reviews
Sales Rank: 73087
Color: Black
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 7.3 x 6.7 x 4.6
MPN: 39900
Model: 39900
UPC: 881448399006
EAN: 0881448399006
ASIN: B0009XHDP8
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Features:
| • | Typhoon pestle and mortar | | • | Includes 26-1/4-ounce mortar and 7-inch pestle | | • | Made of heavy black cast iron with a matte finish | | • | Stainless steel top attached to pestle handle | | • | Do not place in the dishwasher |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
This matte black mortar and pestle from Typhoon is perfect for grinding herbs, seeds, pills, and more. Made from heavy cast iron, it features a textured interior and pestle end for superior crushing and grinding. The mortar has been pre-seasoned for maximum performance and has a large, 25.5 ounce capacity. Hand washing recommended.
Amazon.com Review
Combining form, function, and style, Typhoon has created a unique line of cookware tools, kitchen gadgets, and dinnerware items that coordinate with a variety of home decors and occasions. Designed with a contemporary flair, many of the housewares products blend a sophisticated sensibility with a retro edginess. What better way to smash garlic, grind spices, or make guacamole than with a traditional pestle and mortar. Made from heavy matte finish cast iron, that won't move when being used, the set includes a large 26-1/4-ounce mortar that sits on a non-skid rubber foot and has a spout for pouring. The accompanying 7-inch pestle, also crafted from cast iron, contains a stainless steel top attached to the handle. Typhoon recommends washing by hand and not soaking in water. --Lea Werbel
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 7
 Heavy Duty, but Quirky Sub-Optimal Design August 24, 2010
Darby
Product: Typhoon Cast Iron Mortar and Pestle
Rating: 3 of 5 stars
I first saw this product mentioned in a glowing review in Cooks Illustrated, and since the price was right, I bought one (from the manufacturer, not Amazon). I've owned my share of different M&Ps, and all of them have their quirks, and this one is no different in that regard. I really wanted to give it 5 stars, but I could only give it 3, and I'll explain why.
ADVANTAGES:
* Large Mortar: This has a nice roomy bowl, holding 20+ ounces, which is nice for making things like Guacamole.
* Large Pestle: I like the heft and sturdiness of the pestle, which helps to crush/grind hard spices. It's large enough that you can grasp it with with your whole hand, instead of just a few fingers.
* Stable Base: This has a nice stable no-slip base.
DISADVANTAGES:
* SUB-OPTIMAL SIZE RATIO: The upper sides of the mortar bowl are too steep, and too tall, and the otherwise good pestle size is rendered too short. The result is frequently rapping one's knuckles on the lip, and an inability to use the sides of the work bowl for grinding. The overall impression is that the person who designed it wanted to make a truly stellar product, but wasn't very experienced at actually using M&Ps on a regular basis.
* NO-SLIP BASE TOO NARROW: The cushioned no-slip base was a good design idea, as it protects your work surface, and prevents clunking and chipping when moved. However, the base is a bit too narrow, and because the sides of the bowl are a bit too tall and steep, it tends to be a bit tippy if you grind anywhere near as aggressively as the designers wanted this bowl to be able to handle. A mortar that was least 1/3 wider, 1/3 shorter, and less steep-sided, would have been wonderful.
* SKID MARKS: The material they used for the no-slip base (some sort of black no-slip rubberized compound) is annoyingly staining ... it left black skid marks all over my cutting boards and counter the first few times I used it, and as a result I've had to put a plastic tupperware lid underneath it.
* LACKS TRANSVERSE HANDLE: Because of the overly steep-sides of the mortar bowl, stability becomes an issue if you really want to put some muscle into whatever you're grinding. Because the sides are so steep, everything concentrates in the center bottom of the bowl, if you're grinding anything other than a trivial amount of whatever, you have to use the sides of the bowl ... and because the base is a bit too narrow for that (as compared to a good lava-rock mortar), it tends to tip when using non-trivial force. A transverse handle (like the ones on a soup crock) would have been a helpful solution ... if only they'd thought of it.
* EXCESSIVE COATING: In trying to prevent rust, the designers heavily overdid the coating, and also used the wrong material. The specs advertise a "matte finish", which is an annoying half-truth. It was a matte finish *BEFORE* they put the protective coating on. The actual finish is HIGH GLOSS, and the result is overly slippery, which makes it hard to gain purchase when grinding spices. The result is an annoying tendency to simply move spices around, instead of being able to grind them ... in a good mortar, you're supposed to be able to GRIND against a slightly coarse uncoated surface with fine pores and iregularities, and putting a high-gloss coating on it ruins that. For example, in order to grind peppercorns in this thing, you have to pound the pestle up and down, instead of using a proper grinding motion. The coating is slowly wearing off, but only from the tips of the irregularities, so even the wear pattern is of no use. Rather than the high-gloss coating, they probably should have just electroplated it with something food-grade and rust-resistant, or just left it uncoated. I'd much rather have a little rust (which is easily managed by those with a smidge of experience and/or intelligence) than the over-glossy coating that significantly undermines the ginding effectiveness.
Bottom line: Don't believe all the overly effusive reviews, most of them clearly written by people who don't have a lot of experience with regularly grinding their own spices, multiple times per week ... this unit, due to it's too-tall & too-steep sides, and ill-advised high-gloss coating, is not nearly as ergonomic as I'd hoped. I give the designers an A for ambition, but only a B- for results.
 America's Test Kitchen says yes to this item. July 26, 2010
R. Swango (Brownsville, Texas)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
In America's Text Kitchen product testing, this is the mortar and pestle that they concluded was the best to have if you only have one. Small ones bust your knuckles and the pebbled surface in this one holds slippery grains for crushing.
 Hi, my name is rust. November 18, 2009
Bob (Philadelphia, PA)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
I liked this a lot. Until it started to rust. Constantly. No matter what I tried to use to keep it (from food-grade wax to mineral oils) it still developed rust spots.
It is very heavy, works great for grinding up just about anything, just expect a little extra iron in your diet after a couple months unless perhaps you live in a desert.
I gave up on it and started using coffee grinder as a spice mill instead.
Good for spices August 5, 2009
Inventor (Triad, NC)
0 out of 3 found this review helpful
This is perfect for quickly dispatching a load of spices.
Talia, I use my blender to powder salt and other dry items. If you have a glass-container blender you can powder a handful of rice in a few seconds. A plastic container might abrade or fog when "grinding" hard stuff.
Good quality, a little difficult to clean! September 24, 2008
toemaas (Seattle, WA)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
This is a great product and just what I was looking for after searching for ages for a decent sized pestle and mortar. You can make a good sized batch of guacamole in here and you can serve it straight from the mortar as the bowl is nice enough to put on the table. The one problem with it though is that it is fairly difficult to wash if you are using it for wet stuff, like guacamole. Other than that though, a great item at a good price.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 7
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