If you are someone who likes to stick to traditional food preparation and cooking methods, you must be aware of the molcajete. It is a Mexican form of our regular mortar and pestle that’s made from volcanic rock. It has been around for multiple centuries but they are still common in Mexican households. For the most part, it is used to make salsa and crush whole spices in granular or powdered form. However, the real flavor of the spices comes from proper seasoning and curing of the molcajete. So, if you don’t know how to cure a molcajete with rice, we are sharing the instructions for you!
How To Cure A Molcajete With Rice?
To begin with, this is ancient cookware which cannot be found in the stores anymore. However, if you were lucky enough to get it passed down by your previous generations, it’s important that you season the molcajete properly. Sure, it has already been seasoned for years which means it must have picked up the flavors, promising enhanced flavor of the food.
On the other hand, if your molcajete is like new, you need to season it first. We do want to add that it will take at least 24 hours for seasoning it, so it’s best that you wait before making salsa. The seasoning process is important because it includes sanding the interior side and also reduces the amount of grit that’s released from the rock (who likes grit in food, right?). So, in the section below, we are sharing instructions to season it with rice;
- First of all, you need to understand which material is used to make molcajete. Most of them are made from basalt rock or volcanic rock but some of them are also made from other materials that don’t need seasoning. So, if your molcajete can take up the seasoning, you can follow the next few steps
- Begin the process by rinsing it with water and make sure you don’t use soap. This is because the rock has a porous surface that will trap the soap and soap flavor will be released in the food ingredients. So, if the debris is hard to remove, just rinse it several times
- In the next step, you need to add a handful of white rice into the molcajete along with one tbsp. of water. Then, start grinding the rice in a circular motion and it will pull away from the small debris and dirt particles that have been trapped in the holes. For this reason, you need to keep grinding until the rice paste turns grey
- When the first grinding cycle is complete, you need to rinse it water again and repeat the process. You need to keep grinding the white rice until it stops giving the grey color. In some cases, you might have to grind the rice over six times, so keep your patience and don’t forget to take some breaks
- Once done, you can use the molcajete and it will be ready to use and don’t forget to make fresh guacamole