A kitchen favourite, the mortar and pestle works faster than a knife to crush nuts, pound garlic into a paste, smash ginger or chiles to infuse flavour, or grind whole spices into powders. 6 1/2 x 1 3/4 in.

Mortar is microwave and dishwasher safe. Variation in glazing is to be expected.

How to use: Rock and smashing your ingredients. To rock, go around the pestle with the mortar to gather any ingredients that have climbed up the sides, then push them into the middle and bear down

Curator's notes: Instantly make tea by bruising mint leaves with a knob of ginger. Trimmed, smashed lemongrass is also another natural, herbal tea.