I have a beautiful antique tiger wood mortar and pestle that I use to crush hard berries or seeds such as in my recipe Juniper and Jalapeno Jelly-Glazed Lamb Chops.

There are many choices for mortars and pestles made out of materials such as porcelain, marble, granite or soapstone.  Some are very reasonably priced and others can be quite expensive – a lot to choose from.  It is said that wood is not a good choice but I just happen to own an antique one made out of beautiful wood – what can I say…

I forgot – I do have a small marble mortar and pestle.