Miracle Molcajete

Molcajete

Mercado Libertad, Guadalajara

Miracle Molcajete on Bench

A few years ago I went to Guadalajara, Mexico. A friend of mine, knowing I was going south, asked me to buy her a molcajete. I said I would. So on the first full day in Guadalajara we go directly to the Mercado Libertad. This market has everything. From cooking utensils to pork skin. EVERYTHING. But I am on a mission to find a deal on a molcajete. I didn't consider that it might be a wise thing to wait to the end of the day to buy one. No, my mission was to buy one so I went straight to the market to shop. I spy a stack of molcajetes and I ask for the price. They wanted about $250 pesos. We walked on and found another shop. This one had molcajetes stack upon stack. Small, Large, Big, pig faces, no pig faces. They asked about $125 pesos for a good size pig faced molcajete. I thought I had a deal (That was about $12 USD) so I bought it. This was a miracle molcajete. You might note that the molcajete is made out of lava. It is a rock. Not a pebble, but a big rock. As I walked around the market it got heavier and heavier. Until it weighed about 100 lbs. At that point I thought it would be a good idea to get a carriage ride around town. You can see the molcajete I bought in the plastic bag on the carriage seat. I carried that monster throughout the day. The next problem was putting it into my luggage and lugging it back to the US. I surrounded it with my dirty laundry to protect it and loaded it on the plane. It came through ok and my friend appreciated her molcajete. I have had the pleasure of eating many things made in it so it was the real thing. It has to be seasoned much like a cast iron pan. You don't ever ever clean it with soap. I haven't been back to Guadalajara since to get my own molcajete. You can buy a gourmet version at Williams-Sonoma for about $50 US. BUT, it isn't as much fun as going to the Mercado Libertad and buying a miracle molcajete that gets heavier by the minute.