How you clean your mortar and pestle depends on the material it is made of. To clean stone mortar and pestles made from marble, granite or lava stone, use warm water and rice.

Rinse the mortar and pestle with water. Hold your mortar and pestle under warm running water. Use your hand to remove food debris from both the mortar and pestle.

Once you have thoroughly rinsed them, set them aside on a drying rack or towel to air dry.

Pour two tablespoons (30 ml) of rice into the mortar. Use uncooked, white rice. Using your pestle, roughly grind the rice until it becomes a dark color. Discard the colored rice. Pour in another two tablespoons (30 ml) of rice. Grind the rice until it remains white.

You may need to repeat this process one or two more times.

Make sure your mortar and pestle are completely dry before grinding it with rice.

Rinse with warm water. Once the rice remains white, thoroughly rinse the mortar and pestle with warm water until all debris is removed. Then set the mortar and pestle on a drying rack to air dry.

Make sure your mortar and pestle are dried completely before putting them away.