HIC KitchenMortar and Pestle Set, Fine-White Porcelain, Set of 3 Different Sizes

What a great little kitchen addition. It's beautiful and looks far more expensive.

I constantly use this mortar and pestal. It's perfect for grinding herbs for cooking. This size is much better than a smaller one.

Smaller than pictured.

I would probably say this should be a 4.5 rating; but I don't get that option. I have a dog that needs Glucosamine-Chondroitin (G-C). She also needs some Ibuprofen, all on account of arthritis in her right (wrist) paw. I bought some "doggie" Ibuprofen that costs about 20 times as much as the normal stuff, from the Vet. Now, that Doggie G-C cost about 6 times as much as the human form of it that I buy for myself. But the main stuff I buy for myself has MSM in it. I called the supplier of that stuff I take, and they wouldn't tell me how much MSM is in it. They said it was a proprietary secret.I looked up all the other people who sell the same strength medication, and ALL of them put 400mg of MSM in every pill and capsule they sell that contains the exact same amounts of G-C. For Dogs, one must regulate MSM very closely. It is guestimated that they can take up to about 2mg of MSM/kilogram body weight/per day with no problem. If dogs get too much MSM, they can develop cataracts in their eyes. But MSM is a very important thing when it comes to arthritis, because it stimulates the secretion of joint lubricants, in dogs and humans.G-C provides the materials for the rebuilding of degraded (ground-down) bones in joints. MSM provides the lubricant to minimize the grinding and degradation. Ibuprofen takes away the inflammation that puts extra pressure on the joint in question. Such inflammation promotes the grinding and degradation. This is why I bought these mortars and pastels.Now, I must say that veterinarians advise strongly against giving dogs human ibuprofen. Human ibuprofen focuses mostly on some type of inflammation designated as "Type 1." Arthritis in dogs occurs mainly with a type of inflammation designated as "Type 2." And there is NO doubt that giving too much human ibuprofen to a dog can lead to kidney and liver damage, even failure of one or both of these organs. But the research is there. Type 1, and Type 2, are not all that different. Doggie Ibuprofen focuses better on Type 2 than on Type 1, but it does both, as does human Ibuprofen.So what I did was to maximize the G-C, keep the MSM (by combining other sources of G-C with more organic sources of pain relief with small doses of MSM), and I did that for a few months. I had to travel out of town recently. My dogs had plenty of food and water for 4 days. I came back, and my dog with the arthritis (Jynx) had hardly a limp at all. That was why I bought these things, along with a milligram scale to make sure I got the amounts right, at safe levels.She gets the ground up powder in some soup I make for her, and for me. Whatever sort of Ibuprofen you give a dog should always be provided with food, so I dissolve it in the soup. She loves it, and she has nearly no limp at all, anymore. How ru going to force a dog to eat after you give it a pill? You have to give the medication in food, to start with.These things work perfectly. I've never needed the biggest one, yet. Who knows?

Use this whenever we make pesto. Great purchase

After recieving my 4.5" mortar/pestle, I wrote JN Homegoods through the messaging system on the Amazon website July 29th, and again August 3rd and haven't heard back. I hope to still hear from the seller. Here is approximately what I said on 7/29 message:I am wanting to use my mortar and pestel to grind eggshells into fine powder for human consumption as calcium powder, but I have two concerns...One is that I can see there are a few small bits of the clear glaze have (dripped? during manufacturing application?) below where one puts their hand on the pestel down where it may come in contact with the mortar bowl and whatever you are grinding. I don't know anything about either porcelain, qualities of porcelain or the glaze used. But I am wondering if that bit of glaze may come off on the food (egg shells) when the pestel is being ground against the unglazed rough mortarsurface and eggshells. Would that glaze be ground off by the pestle's grinding? and if so, is it toxic to consume this glaze? Second question...Is the calcium of eggshells harder than what the mortar and pestel are designed for? It occurred to me that perhaps the product was not designed for eggshells? That is - will the calcium in eggshells scratch the porcelain or the glaze and will a person end up consuming porcelain or glaze? I don't know anything about porcelain or glaze so I need to know if it is ok to use with grinding eggshells. Hope this is clear. I would love to keep the product if you feel it is safe to use for my use but would like to hear back from you. Thank you!!!

I am very happy with this purchase.I wanted something to grind my Vit C tabs with, as the tabs were not easy to swallow, and given how important Vit C has become in the treatment of Covid-19, and having dug into the research myself, taking a fair amount daily preventively seems to be a no brainer.Some ground breaking, interesting and very recent research has demonstrated there is a rapid transport system for Vit C directly from the stomach (if doses and stomach acidity are high enough), and the redox activity of ascorbic acid (vs none seen with the buffered form sodium ascorbate). It demonstrated very high doses being rapidly absorbed from the stomach on par with IV Iv adminustration of Vit C. So mixing the ground up Vit C tabs with something to take or drink seemed like the a smart plan of action.I decided, after much looking, that a ceramic motar and pestle was the best way to go since steel can rust, and more porous materials can absorb odors and stains. I decided on this set due to added value of the various sizes included. I am quite happy with the quality and ease of use.To initially break up the Vit C caplets I use the small mortar with the large pestle. They work very well together and make short work of it. Then, after getting it into a fairly fine-to-medium powder, I use the smaller pestle to finish getting the powder to a fine and uniform consistancy. This is all done very quickly. I then combine the powdered Vit C with something else to ingest it. I've been using a high quality extra virgin olive oil with a 'press date' (something hard to find, but tells you how fresh it really is), and when you add Vit C, wow the flavor pops! This has become part of my nutritional regime for staying well in these troubled times.I've seen no staining or wearing to any pieces, and they are easy to clean. I am very pleased with this purchase. For around $15, this seems to be a very good value.

I use it to crush medicine to make it easier to take.