Molcajete questions

The friendliest place on the web for anyone that enjoys cooking.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.

oldrustycars

Senior Cook
Joined
Mar 7, 2009
Messages
160
Location
Naperville, Illinois
Got a new molcajete. I watched the videos on seasoning it, it took hours but I feel I did it correctly. The problem I have is when grinding salt or spices is the amount that gets lost on the porous rock. A tablespoon of Kosher salt becomes almost no Kosher salt. Is this just part of using a molcajete, the first item ground up is sacrificed to the volcanic rock? It all rinses out when cleaning it and I'm back to square one. Thank you for any input.
 
Something that I did with my molcajete when I first got it was I sealed it. First, I ground a bunch of rice in it, until the grit stopped showing in the rice. Then washed it out and let it dry a few days. Then I took some food grade polyurethane (water based, though not all water based are food grade), and brushed it, inside and out, and let it dry. Then I did this again, and the third time, the inside stopped soaking in, so it was totally permeated with it, and I wiped it out, and let it cure for several days, before using. I can actually wash these in the DW, as the polyurethane permeated the stone, and basically becomes a plastic layer, yet it is still coarse. I also put some silicone seal on the 3 feet - just a dab of it, then a flat piece of plexiglass, with a piece of waxed paper between them, to flatten it. Once cured, the waxed paper comes off, and that silicone keeps the feet from sliding around, and scratching the counter. That thing is well over 30 years old, and the seal is still good. You can sort of see the seal on it, in this photo.
Molcajete and granite mortar and pestle. by pepperhead212, on Flickr
 
Last edited:
Back
Top Bottom