# Molcajete: How to clean a guacamole bowl?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/molcajete-how-to-clean-a-guacamole-bowl/731613>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [September 17, 2015, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/molcajete-how-to-clean-a-guacamole-bowl/731613 "2015-09-17T23:44:01Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\
**Post date:** [September 17, 2015, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/molcajete-how-to-clean-a-guacamole-bowl/731613/1 "2015-09-17T23:44:01Z")

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My niece got a guacamole bowl as a wedding present. She’d use it more often, but cleaning it is a bit of a chore. Is there some step she should be aware of, like coating it with olive oil or something before crushing avacados in it?

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**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\
**Post date:** [September 18, 2015, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/molcajete-how-to-clean-a-guacamole-bowl/731613/2 "2015-09-18T14:39:02Z")

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If you put “cleaning molcajete” into Google, you’ll get a bunch of hits. Here’s info on how to work with a molcajete from Melissa Guerra, a somewhat well-known (locally) Texas cook:  
[https://www.melissaguerra.com/blog/how-to-cure-a-molcajete](https://www.melissaguerra.com/blog/how-to-cure-a-molcajete)

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**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\
**Post date:** [September 18, 2015, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/molcajete-how-to-clean-a-guacamole-bowl/731613/3 "2015-09-18T16:01:43Z")

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Molcajetes tend to be one of those things that’s great in theory, but a PITA in practice.

My wife came into our marriage with a humongous heavy one, and we almost never use it- it’s heavy and can easily mess up countertops and cabinets unless a lot of care is taken. And then it’s really hard to get clean with the porous surface.

I kind of wonder if this was a gringo molcajete, and there are ones made from relatively non-porous basalt in Mexico that you can wash like a regular dish, without having to deal with a pressure washer or wire brush.

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**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\
**Post date:** [September 18, 2015, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/molcajete-how-to-clean-a-guacamole-bowl/731613/4 "2015-09-18T17:05:19Z")

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Thanks, I sent my niece that link.

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**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\
**Post date:** [September 21, 2015, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/molcajete-how-to-clean-a-guacamole-bowl/731613/5 "2015-09-21T01:43:32Z")

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Work the molcajete; they smooth out over time.