Molcajete in Mexican means pestle and mortar. They are made from a block of basalt and are usually round with three legs. Three legs are meant to provide it with support as force is applied to it during grinding. Decorations are usually animal heads painted on to give it the look of a stout animal. Pigs are the most common animals used in the decorations. In the early days, they held sentimental values, but pigs on modern day molcajetes are simply used for decoration. The earliest use of the Molcajete was in a place called tehuacan, a valley of some sort found in modern day Mexico (Peyton, 2014). Molcajete is derived from the words molcaxitl, a combination of words that gives the meaning seasoning box.
Maya and Aztec people were the creators and the earliest group of people to use the Molcajete, an estimated six thousand years ago. It is primarily used for crushing and grinding. The volcanic rock that is used to shape the Molcajete is of a specific nature and requires excellent craftsmanship to be carved precisely into shape. It has a rough and porous surface with the most common color being dark gray (Geddes, 2000). A machine is used to carve the Molcajete. This is a hand stone whose sole purpose is to grind. The design and materials used to make the Molcajete are so perfectly crafted so it is very difficult for one to get out of shape or break. Imitations of Molcajete are nowadays made of pieces of basalt rock with a little bit of concrete, but these are easy to identify. A newly crafted Molcajete has to be broken in before being put to serious use (Peyton, 2014). This is because it has a very uneven surface and, therefore, small particles are bound to break off which if left will give a terrible taste to whatever is being ground or even choke a person. One way of doing this is by grinding uncooked rice in the Molcajete repeatedly. Once the rice is able to keep a pure white color, the Molcajete is now ready for use.
Molcajete were created with the purpose of grinding spices for culinary. However, as culinary experimentation continued, more uses were discovered. Mexican people believe that a kitchen is never complete if it does not contain a Molcajete. They also believe that food prepared in a Molcajete tastes far better than that which is cooked using other means, a fact that can be attributed to the spicy inner coating of the device. There is no special technique of cooking a meal using the Molcajete; you only need to put the food you intend to prepare, heat it using a strong fire (Adams, Kendrick, Blue, & Gentes, 2003). What comes out of this is a meal that tastes distinctly different from meals cooked by ordinary means. Mexicans are a proud people who take great pleasure in exhibiting their culture. A Molcajete in your kitchen is more of an ornament that identifies one as a Mexican. It shows that the person still appreciates some aspects of their culture and also applies them. A woman who has a Molcajete in her kitchen shows that the meals that she prepares for her family are a cut above thus emphasizing that she is a cultured woman. Molcajete is a beautiful ornament and just by having one in a Mexican-American's kitchen helps the family to feel connected to their ancestral land. They are therefore, sentimental items in this context.
Apart from cooking, molcajete was used to obtain extracts from flowers and herbs. Medicine men in olden day Mexico needed medicines to treat people's ailments. Some of these extracts needed the plants to be ground then boiled in order to get them. The Molcajete effectively served this purpose. Force would be applied to the pestle and it would press the plant placed inside it against the mortar repeatedly until the item was ground to the required degree (Peyton, 2014). The resulting product would then be collected and applied to the required use. Molcajete were thus not limited to the catering sector of the Mexican society.
The way to use a Molcajete was different for different items. Some required rotating of the item placed inside against the mortar. A rough inner surface helped to achieve success with the item getting pieces of it chipped away. Others required constant hitting of the item against the mortar. All in all, the design was made in such a way as to ensure the expected results were got. Its concave shape meant that there was little chance of what was being ground spilling outside the Molcajete. It also ensured that particles from outside could not get inside, thus tampering with the mixture. Its three legs gave it stability as the grinding was being done reducing the risk of spillovers (Geddes, 2000). The pestles large front end provided for a greater surface area ensuring the items inside didn't move over as a person tried to grind them. Its rough surface also helped the grinder to maintain a good grip on it.
References
Adams, D., Kendrick, T. A., Blue, K., & Gentes, W. (2003). Head for Mexico: The renegade guide. Victoria, B.C: Trafford.
Geddes, B. (2000). Mexico. Hawthorn, Vic: Lonely Planet.
Peyton, J. W. (2014). Naturally healthy Mexican cooking: Authentic recipes for dieters, diabetics, & all food lovers.
