Need Help Seasoning a Molcajete, Please....

[becca da bakkah]

....I just got it last week. Do I pound it with dry rice, or wet? Soak for several hours, or no? Scrub with wire brush to remove grit, or just power wash?? I'm a well experienced cook, in a variety of food cultures. But this is VERY confusing! I'd appreciate any suggestions. Thanks.

[Achilleaze]

1. Molcajete - Bueno!

Treat with respect and appreciation, as with all kitchen tools. Know you will get some good advice here.
Enjoy!

[becca da bakkah]

3. Thank You. It's in a Place of honor.....

...in my kitchen. Impressed the hell out of my Mexican-American boyfriend, that I even knew what it was for! Once I get it seasoned I'm going to make the molcajete meal, in the spicy red sauce.

[elleng]

2. From wiki:

'Molcajetes are used to crush and grind spices, and to prepare salsas and guacamole. The rough surface of the basalt stone creates a superb grinding surface that maintains itself over time as tiny bubbles in the basalt are ground down, replenishing the textured surface.

A new basalt molcajete needs to be "broken in" because small grains of basalt can be loosened from the surface when it is first used and this will give an unpleasant gritty texture to the first few items prepared in it. A simple way to do the initial "seasoning" is to grind uncooked white rice in the molcajete, a handful at a time. When the white rice flour has no visible grains of basalt in it, the molcajete is ready to use. Some rice flour may remain ground into the surface of the molcajete, but this causes no problems.

As the porous basalt is impossible to fully clean and sanitize, molcajetes are known to "season" (much like cast iron skillets), carrying over flavors from one preparation to another. Salsas and guacamole prepared in molcajetes are known to have a distinctive texture, and some also carry a subtle difference in flavor, from those prepared in blenders. Molcajetes can also be used as a cooking tool, where it is heated to a high temperature using an open fire or hot coals, and then used to heat its food contents. Although true molcajetes are made of basalt, imitations are sometimes made of a mixture of pressed concrete and volcanic rock particles.'

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molcajete

[becca da bakkah]

4. Thanks. A Lot of Useful Information.....

.....I'm sure will put me on the right track. I suspect that this one is not a "true" molcajete. It looks like it could be made from volcanic rock, but the inside surface is smooth. I've seasoned a lot of cast iron in my day, so this may be the same principle.

[Kali]

5. start making salsas in it

give the first few batches away to people you maybe don't care that much about?

[becca da bakkah]

6. You Mean Those On The Broken Tooth List! n/t