''Suribachi'' () and ''Surikogi'' () are a
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
ese
mortar and pestle. These mortars are used in
Japanese cooking to crush different ingredients such as
sesame seeds.
The ''suribachi'' is a
pottery bowl, glazed on the outside and with a rough pattern called ''kushi-no-me'' on the unglazed inside. This surface is somewhat similar to the surface of the ''
oroshigane
, also known as , are graters used in Japanese cooking.
differ significantly from Western-style graters, as they produce a much finer grating. Traditionally, these graters were tin-coated copper plates with many small spikes gouged out of th ...
'' (grater). The ''surikogi'' pestle is made from wood to avoid excessive wear on the ''suribachi''. Traditionally, the wood from the
sanshō tree (Japanese prickly ash) was used, which adds a slight flavor to the
food
Food is any substance consumed by an organism for nutritional support. Food is usually of plant, animal, or fungal origin, and contains essential nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or minerals. The substance is inge ...
, although nowadays other woods are more common. The bowls have a diameter from 10 cm to 30 cm. To use the ''suribachi'' the bowl is set on a non-slip surface, such as a rubber mat or a damp towel, and the ''surikogi'' is used to grind the material. Recently, plastic versions of the ''suribachi'' have also become popular, but they have a much shorter lifespan. The ''suribachi'' and ''surikogi'' arrived in Japan from
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
around 1000 AD. The mortar was first used for medicine, and only later for food products. A larger sized Japanese mortar used to pound
rice is an ''
usu'' with a pestle called ''kine.''
The highest mountain on
Iwo Jima
Iwo Jima (, also ), known in Japan as , is one of the Japanese Volcano Islands and lies south of the Bonin Islands. Together with other islands, they form the Ogasawara Archipelago. The highest point of Iwo Jima is Mount Suribachi at high.
...
,
Mount Suribachi
is a -high mountain on the southwest end of Iwo Jima in the northwest Pacific Ocean under the administration of Ogasawara Subprefecture, Tokyo Metropolis, Japan.
The mountain's name derives from its shape, resembling a ''suribachi'' or grindin ...
, was named after this
kitchen device.
See also
*
List of Japanese cooking utensils
References
External links
{{Japanese food and drink
Food grinding tools
Japanese food preparation utensils
Japanese pottery