Vasconia4-Cup Granite Molcajete Mortar and Pestle, Gray

Ok, I bought this due to reviews and the size. Very happy I did pick this one. The smaller ones are not practical for anything more than grinding spices. This one so far I've made (actual recipe names) Salsa Verde de Molcajete, Guacamole de Molcajete, and another guacamole using avocados and tomatillos. The size is nice as the ingredients don't come out. It holds enough for a group, and is kind of fun to make in front of people. The quality is great, very sturdy. Some key points, if you just got one and don't know, read all of the following. NEVER wash with soap!Molcajete Cure Recipe Instructions:1.-Thoroughly clean the Mexican Molcajete with soap and water.2.-With your pestle, grind some garlic up to a paste and spread all over the inside of the mortar.3.-Leave it to rest, through a whole night.4.-The next day rinse away the garlic from the mortar and presto! your on your way to prepare your delicious Mexican salsas and guacamoles.5.- This Mexican recipe also can be used to prepare(cure) you cast iron plate or comal, where you can warm up your tortillas, quesadillas, sopes and Mexican tamales.2 MORE RECIPES TO CURE MOLCAJETES1) Baking the Molcajete:Inside the molcajete itself, create a paste using onion, garlic, and cooking oil as the base. Spread the paste and be sure to cover all the pores on the inner part of the molcajete. Then place it inside the oven and bake it for 30 minutes at 300 degrees so that the paste thoroughly permeates the stone. Once the molcajete has cooled off, wash it thoroughly with soap and water.2) Boiling the Molcajete:Place the molcajete on the stove grill and fill it with water and a lot of grain salt and vinegar. Allow the water to boil and let it be thoroughly consumed. Now let it cool off and cover any left over pores with uncooked rice, using the tejolote (pestle) to grind.Finally, as a test:Before using a Molcajete for your first salsa: grind up some sea salt (thick) then some crushed corn until they come out clean and free of debris. Finally, clean the molcajete with a scrub and water and the molcajete is ready for use.Try one of the two curing methods and do a test. This should take care of the shedding problem and you will be ready to make your salsas.Alternate info:You must season your molcajete before you use it. Otherwise whatever you prepare in it will just taste like dirt/rock. Place a handful of rice in the molcajete and grind until it is gray. Throw this rice out and repeat until the ground rice is still white. This may take quite some time. Best to do it over a few hours or a few days, otherwise you will end up with a sore wrist and shaved knuckles. Happy Cooking!Rock Salt is the key to seasoning a brand new " molcajete ". Using the "pestle" that came with the bowl, put in some rock salt and " grind " it into all surfaces of the molcajete. When the rock salt becomes table salt rinse the bowl. Repeat this procedure until the inside of the bowl is smooth to the touch. This will take at least one-two hours of " work " to make the surface smooth, depending on the size of the molcajete. This may seem tedious, but it is well worth it.Here is another tip about the preparation and care of your newly acquired molcajete. First, soak the molcajete for 8-12 hours in lukewarm water to fill the porous surface and allow the flavors you will soon add to soak in. Then, take some of your favorite spices (we recommend a few cloves of garlic, a tablespoon of comino (cumin), salt and pepper) and grind vigorously until they are mostly absorbed by the surface.Lastly, you should not use dish soap to clean your molcajete, nor should you put it in the dishwasher. A thorough rinse with hot (very hot) water shortly after using is all the cleaning your molcajete will ever need. Just like your trusty cast iron skillets, it only gets better with age.

I ordered this knowing it wasn’t volcanic rock, but got it because it was granite. Overall it is large, like the description says, and I think it is perfect for grinding of spices and avocado and herbs for whatever you may need, I would recommend looking up how to season most recommendations are to grind a price a few times and then just rinse it out with water. It will see it first that it has a fair amount of gray powder which is just kind of the looser stone but after going through with about two rounds of rice, it should be pretty clean and good to use for food, I can’t wait to use this. I smoke food and use a lot of spices and it will make grinding them up a lot easier. I wish I love making guacamole in and have a little herb garden so I’ll be able to make pesto and other things in it overall it seems very durable. It looks great, but just be aware that it is pretty heavy.

I was worried a product made to mash avocados would not be able to withstand harder materials like dry clay, hematite, magnesium, conglomerates, etc. The mortar is large enough to comfortable work a good bit of materials into a fine powder without making a mess, and the pestle is perfectly rounded to fit the corner curves. I was worried the legs would be a weak spot but they have not cracked off yet. I would not try and crush hard rocks in this thing, but I have never had an easier time processing minerals and clay. A task I used to hate on my old pestle is now enjoyable, considerably easier, and much faster. Can not recommend enough and it’s not too expensive for what you are getting

Nice heavy duty set for herbs, avocados, kitchen stuff. It’s easy to clean and it fully functional

2025 Jan 03So first, I’ve had this product for about 2 weeks so this is an early review and I will provide an update in several months.The packaging was quite adequate; the heavy mortar was perfectly protected. Construction was very good and I’m in the process of seasoning the mortar (as described in a previous review). I eat a diet that is primarily Mediterranean and Sichuan/Hunan vegetarian & fish cuisine so this mortar will be getting a workout, probably 2-3 times/week.I usually cook for myself so even when I do a meal + leftovers, I could have used a 2cup capacity mortar, but I do enough guest dinners and potlucks that this 4cup mortar is the perfect size. I routinely use ground garlic, ginger, onion, coriander, cumin, peppers. herbs and seeds so I can tell you the pestle shape and size work well to give me a quick and uniform grind texture. Overall, I’m a very happy camper with the quality and performance of the set.I only have one negative remark: this product is made in China (see photo). Normally, I preface all of my searches with “made in USA“ or “not made in China“, but this time I didn’t, because many of the mortars and pestles I’ve seen have been made in Mexico or elsewhere in Latin America. My fault, lesson learned.

Looks nice, its a quality product!

It is amazing and great quality looks great and works very smoothly!!

I wanted a Molcajete but have never really loved the porous surface of the lava. Decided to try this one and see how it worked. FIrst, it's a solid chunk of granite. Since it's granite, it's much smoother than a traditional lava unit and it cleans easy. Heats up well and holds plenty of salsa/chicken/beef/shrimp for the two of us with a lot left over. Great piece for the price.