What type of finish for mortar/pestle?

[Tim Leiter]

I am attempting to make a small mortar and pestle for LOML's nephew. He will be using it in the kitchen, grinding up seeds, spices and such for cooking. I need something, of course food safe and I would imagine very hard. Hard enough to be able to withstand the force of grinding.

I do not even know if I will be able to finish it as I have not been able to make a bowl in a number of tries, one thing after another. :confused:

I am thinking maybe Mahoney's Walnut Oil, Salad Bowl Finish, or maybe poly.

Please let me know your ideas,
Thanks a bunch,
Tim.

[Jeff Nicol]

Tim, I have made mortar and pestles before and I just use food safe mineral oil/beeswax mix that I make myself. If the wood is hard like sugar maple, hop hornbeam, cherry or any other tight grained wood it should be fine. No matter what you put on it after using in on seeds and spices it will wear off and will have to be replenished once in a while so a butcher block oil or walnut oil or what I use, you can get some that is comercially sold too. Like anything that is turned for use will need some attention as it is used so the easier it is for the owner to apply the better.

Jeff

[Scott Conners]

Definitely not a film finish like polyurethane or (I believe) salad bowl finish. An oil finish like walnut oil or danish oil or mineral (butcher block) oil that soaks in would serve best and be easily maintained.

[Brian McInturff]

Oh Yeah! Jeff mentioned the best wood for it - the Hornbeam would be perfect. As for finish I'd recommend a walnut oil or Pure Tung Oil. For the Pure Tung Oil use several coats and let each coat cure somewhere between 24-48hrs between coats. I've also heard Almond oil is really good but I've never experimented with it. If you use the Tung Oil make sure it's Pure Tung Oil.

[Don Orr]

The best finish for this particular type of item is no finish at all on the inside of the mortar or on the pestle. Cleanly cut wood is all you want in there. Do not sand much either-you need some "grab" so the material being crushed does not just slide around. If you have ever seen a Pilon (Puerto Rican mortar & pestle) there is no finish on them. The herbs and spices often get ground with a little olive oil which gets into the wood over time. Definitely no film type finishes as they will get ground off and end up in the food material.

More often than not the best food safe finish is no finish at all. People have been doing this for centuries. As long as the wood is not toxic itself this is the safest way.

An M & P is a fun and useful project and they make nice gifts.

[Brian McInturff]

Don,
There really needs to be some type of finish. The oil from like tung oil or a nut oil fills the wood pores and repels food particles from getting trapped in the pores. If it was going to be used for the same spice, seed, or whatever that would be one thing but when it will be used for various items then it really needs it. It can also help repel any contaminant from being trapped in the bare wood.

[Don Orr]

Brian,

You should absolutely not use a porous wood for the exact reason you describe. A fine grain wood like maple, cherry, birch, beach, sycamore is more appropriate, or the hornbeam mentioned. Nothing like oak or ash. Wood has its own antiseptic properties which was proven in a famous study of wood vs plastic cutting boards at the UC Davis. some years ago. http://faculty.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/faculty/docliver/Research/cuttingboard.htm
You can put some kind of finish on if you want to but does not need it. It's really not necessary. Many generations of Puerto Rican cooks substantiate my claim. In reality, the same goes for salad bowls-a finish is not necessary at all. The oils form the salad are more than enough. As long as they are properly cared for. I'm not trying to be offensive, so please don't take it that way. I'll do what I think is best and you can do the same. If you feel it necessary to use any finish then a penetrating curing oil is probably best as you describe. Emphasis here on the "curing". You don't want these things leaching out into your food.

Sorry, the original work on bacterial contamination of cutting boards was done at the Univ. Wisconsin @ Madison by the same person in 1993. The above article is a summary of the results.

[Brian McInturff]

Don,
I didn't take it as being offensive. We just happen to slightly disagree on this issue. No big deal. I remember reading an article about that study. It was several years ago when I was having to do some research on a project for work and I was having to reference CFR 21 175 I know there have been several studies done since then especially once the FDA changed the regulations on certain finishes. Only thing I would add, if you are not going to use a finish, would be to use some bleach occasionally when you wash it. As for pores, I wasn't talking about open pored woods. I was talking more along the lines of microscopic bacteria that gets trapped even in the pores of some of the tightest grained woods.
I think the industry will debate the cutting board "wood vs plastics" way past both of our lifetimes. Thanks for reminding me about the 1993 study.

[Tim Leiter]

Thanks everyone for your ideas and suggestions on a finish for my mortar and pestle. It was made out of Maple, by the way.

I decided to go with the Mahoney's Walnut Oil. It is so good to have people who know a lot more than me to give me expert advice on turning related questions. :cool:

Tim.

[Don Orr]

I think the industry will debate the cutting board "wood vs plastics" way past both of our lifetimes. Thanks for reminding me about the 1993 study.


You got that right Brian ! Kind of like art vs craft:eek:. Ooooh, don't go there:D