I bear in mind seeing my mom’s molcajete sitting on show in my childhood kitchen, not allowed to make use of it as a result of it was so heavy that I used to be doomed to harm myself, granted I was a careless little one. The traditional Mexican software, nonetheless broadly utilized within the trendy kitchen, is basically a mortar and pestle on steroids, used to make salsas, guacamole, grind spices, or any sauce you wish to combine collectively by hand.
Given its distinct cultural significance — it’s primarily change into a image of Mexican culinary custom, with heirloom items handed down via generations — I used to be delighted to be taught that movie star chef and character Bobby Flay really collects them! The truth is, he owns a whopping eight molcajetes, as he revealed in his current Open Door with Architectural Digest.
He’s been a proponent of using volcanic stone molcajetes for years, noting that they’re “vital to [him],” as he makes use of them to make sauces and salsas in them. “They’re nice for grinding spices and making salsa and guacamole as a result of they provide every little thing a pleasant coarse and rustic really feel,” Flay tells Males’s Well being. “I’ve by no means collected something, however I feel I’d begin accumulating these as a result of every one is adorned in another way, from Aztec carvings to spectacular paint jobs.”
Flay hasn’t shared any of his favourite manufacturers of molcajetes, as lots of them are from small boutiques on his travels in Mexico — however fortunately, I did discover one he reveals off in his AD tour. Under, discover one of many molcajetes he has in his kitchen, in addition to a couple of others to think about on your subsequent taco night time.
The molcajete has lasted for 1000’s of years, prepping meals for the Aztecs and Mayans and now in so many kitchens throughout the globe. It all the time warms my Mexican coronary heart to see what Hispanic moms all the time knew to be a robust kitchen software acknowledged by a world-renowned chef like Flay. You don’t have to gather them, however possibly if Bobby Flay has eight, any chef ought to have a minimum of one!
