Tools

Mortar and pestle

A bowl and a weight: salsa, pesto, and spice pastes that still taste of the stone they were born in.

Tortilla press

Two plates and a lever: nixtamal dough becomes a round you can cook on the comal in one motion.

Molinillo

A carved wooden whisk you spin between your palms: chocolate that foams instead of sitting in the pot.

Mezzaluna

A crescent blade with two handles: herbs and soffritto chopped the way an Italian board still wants.

Spätzle maker

A hopper or press over boiling water: the little dumplings a German Sunday still expects.

Suribachi

A ridged ceramic bowl and a wooden pestle: sesame, miso, and dressings that still taste of the grooves.

Batán

A heavy stone slab and a rocker: ají, herbs, and peanuts ground the Peruvian way.

Asanka

A ridged earthenware bowl: pepper sauce and fufu accompaniments ground the Ghanaian way.

Cobek

A stone mortar and a pestle: sambal that is bruised, not pureed.

Makitra

A ridged clay bowl: poppy seed, garlic, and holiday pastes ground for an Eastern European table.