Vasconia 4-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 MOLCAJETES 1) 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.

This thing is massive! A tremendous bargain, IMO. Very solid, low CoG, and quality finish. Should handle just about any herb and spice duties you have, perhaps short of gently crushing ingredients for a Thai green papaya salad, but you can be careful and/or use a wooden dowel. Make sure you wash both pieces when they arrive, which is easy as long as you can lift it, as you can physically smell the “quarry dust” from them. Won’t kill you, but not great for the teeth or texture, especially if entertaining.

This is an excellent tool for making guacamole, or in my case, pesto! The surface in this bowl is moderately rough - I'd call it halfway between the volcanic material of a true molcajete and a smoother marble or porcelain mortar and pestle. A couple of points: 1) This product comes PRE-SEASONED. You can cure it a couple times a year to keep it up if you want, but you definitely don't have to spend hours grinding it down unless you're a masochist. I tested this out by grinding some white rice and salt in it; the result was pure white powder, without any gray residue or bits of rock as with an unseasoned molcajete. 2) This product is made in China, it says so on the bottom of the box. It's granite, but there's enough wiggle room in how things are worded that it could be a mix of granite and concrete. Either way, I doubt there's anything toxic in the mixture. It's also well-balanced and sturdy. I can't quibble about performance. It allowed me to mash pine nuts, garlic, and basil leaves to a perfect paste and create the best pesto I've ever had. There's a big difference in making pesto from fresh basil leaves compared to using a food processor. Taste-wise, the basil flavor is more intense. Best of all, the fauxcajete pesto is much creamier, likely from the smashing of the pine nuts into pine-butter paste! Instead of just topping the pasta with shreds of leaves and blobs of pesto like bits of glitter, it turned the linguine completely green like spinach pasta when I tossed it in. Check out my pictures comparing my two bowls of pesto-and-parm topped linguine, you'll see what I mean!

The Vasconia 4-Cup Granite Molcajete Mortar and Pestle is an excellent tool for preparing salsas, guacamole, and other traditional dishes. Made of durable granite, it provides a sturdy and heavy base for efficient grinding, ensuring even texture and flavor extraction. The 4-cup capacity is just right for smaller to medium-sized batches, making it versatile for home use. The rough surface of the molcajete helps grind ingredients easily, whether it’s spices, herbs, or seeds. It’s easy to clean and maintain, requiring only a quick rinse and drying after use. The gray color adds a rustic, authentic touch to any kitchen while blending in with a variety of decor. Overall, it’s a reliable, functional tool that’s perfect for anyone looking to add traditional cooking methods to their kitchen.

2025 Jan 03 So 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.

Mom loved it!

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 grew up watching my grandmother and mother use a molcajete. I used one for years too. I have been without one for about 10 years now and decided that it was time to purchase a new one. I looked at a lot of the options and was initially interested in purchasing the traditional volcanic lava style. I kept seeing the granite style ones and they grabbed my attention from a practical standpoint with it comes to curing the molcajete. I also watched several videos about the granite ones and decided to give this one a try. I am very happy and pleased with this molcajete in every respect. The bowl surface is smooth compared to the volcanic lava, but it still has plenty of texture and grip, as does the pestle. The lack of pitting in the granite makes for a far easier curing process. I took the time to grind rice into a powder in the bowl, but in the end, it probably would gave been just fine had I skipped the process as the surface is essentially ready to go right out of the box. I would recommend this product to anyone. I know that it will last for years and can easily become a family heirloom. Additionally, the box says it has a limited lifetime warranty. Enjoy!

It is very good food grinded in the mortor tastes very good natural taste makes like it very much full of flavours

I had to season it first. But works really well. I like the shape of the pestle. Good size for making larger batches of salsa

Great piece of kit, very heavy and robust , looks exceptional on the side board

Just loving this so much, it’s so perfect to grind your homemade spices, also perfect to make ginger & garlic paste. I made so many chutney’s on this Love the depth on this, perfect 👍

El corte de la piedra es bastante fino y le da una buena presentación al Producto; las dimensiones son adecuadas a lo que estaba buscando. Prepare una salsa y salio bastante bien. Logicamente que antes de esto hay que llevar un Proceso de curado con sal y ajo y lavarlo bastante bien para retirar todo el polvo y piedritas derivadas del corte pero no traía mucho por lo que fue fácil. Muy recomendable.