Cookaholics Bulletin Board

Porcelain, ceramic, granite?

My favorite type is the rough basalt used in the molcajete. The one drawback is the porosity of the material, which I sealed using a food-grade polyurethane. The rough surface grinds up most things much faster than smoother materials. I also keep a small wooden mortar & pestle for "bruising" spices, to release the flavors, though it is not good for fine grinding.

I prefer unglazed porcelain -- particularly, my 1950's Emile Henri 1.5-qt capacity M&P. While some of the stone ones may be slightly better for grinding, porcelain is much easier to clean.

The important part is to get a BIG one if you're planning on doing serious Thai or Mexican cooking. The little ones are pretty much just good for peppercorns and garlic; if you want to make a serious adobo or curry paste, you need something which holds at least 2 cups, and preferably a quart.

Also ... marble and glass are terrible materials for an M&P.

I like them to be heavy. Solid enough to work a Thai curry paste without my wondering if it will break.

I really love my molcajete. I've had a few, and that is my favorite by far. I embraced the idea and didn't seal it; instead, on dishes flavours bleed into the next. Realistically though, I mostly make guac and salsa in it.

I had a molcajete at one time but can't remember what I did with it. I saw some very nice ones last week and would like another. How do you clean yours?

fitzie

from a previous discussion
http://cookaholics.org/search.php?st=0&sk=t&sd=d&sr=posts&keywords=mortar+and+pestle&fid%5B%5D=15

It's still going strong though the grinding has created a lovely rough surface at the bottom...

I used a dremel with a wire brush (well, went through two wire brushes actually...), then pressure washed it to drive everything out of the pores. No transfer at all of dust after that.

We have a couple of Dremels. Have to see what we have in the way of attachments. Thanks.

fitzie