Cookware Skeppshult Contemporary Cast Iron & Walnut Pestle & Mortar

Skeppshult’s contemporary cast iron and walnut pestle and mortar puts a modern spin on a classic piece of kitchen equipment. The sleek, square design slots neatly into your kitchen, while the pestle’s walnut handle is tactile and easy to grip.

Use this cast iron grinder to pound fragrant herbs for curry pastes, crush whole cardamom pods for squidgy spiced buns, or bash nuts for homemade pesto.

Swedish company Skeppshult (pronounced ‘hep-salt’) has been making cast iron products by hand since 1906. The process starts with raw iron, which is heated to a searing 1,500°C in a furnace. Then the molten metal is cast into special moulds made from sand, which can withstand the extreme temperatures.

Sand moulds can only be used once, and therefore each product is unique – no two items are the same. Each sand mould is recycled and used for another product. Skeppshult seasons its cast iron with rapeseed oil (also called canola oil) from Österlen to protect it from damage. This also gives the cast iron its natural non-stick properties.

Skeppshult’s cast iron is an environmentally friendly alternative to plastic-coated aluminium pans.

Read our guide to cleaning and seasoning cast iron here.