Advantages and disadvantages of mortar and pestle materials

[CosmicVoyager]

Greetings,

I am trying to decide what kind of mortar an pestle to buy. I see they come made of ceramic, glass, granite, marble, and stainless steel.

I have eliminated stainless steel because I read metal mortal and pestle can spark and ignite flammable chemicals.

Which of the others is the hardest? That is, which can grind the hardest materials and not be ground by the materials.

Which is least affected by corrosives, acids and bases?

Which is easiest to clean? Does not stain? Is least porous?

Any other properties to consider?

Thanks

 

[SteamKing]

I don't think you will find a 'best' M&P from the list of materials in the OP. I would go with glass or ceramic, since they are the least affected/non reactive materials on your list. I think granite/marble pieces would be more decorative than functional and subject to attack by corrosives.

If you are trying to grind materials which are really hard, the M&P probably wouldn't be the way to go anyway, unless you used some exotic materials, like diamond. A diamond M&P, that would be a conversation piece.