I'm struggling with this one. $30 at my local Mexican/Hispanic market, and it doesn't look like concrete, but most of what I've read say it shouldn't smell like anything, or faintly of sulfur if anything at all. Well, it does smell a bit – not quite like concrete, but not like sulfur. I rinsed the whole thing off and it's holding water, but I'm just not 100% sure yet.
Fwiw, it's a rad darker than in the first pic – lighting & camera made it look a really light gray. Shape is irregular and definitely carved, not like it was poured into a mold. A serrated knife didn't do a damned thing to it, and it hasn't lost a mm of water in the last 45-50 minutes. That much leads me to believe it's authentic; it's just the wet smell that has me questioning.
Thoughts?
by Chocko23
6 Comments
I mean it looks legit to me.
I don’t understand the idea with “faking” these by making them out of concrete anyway. It’s not like real basalt ones are super expensive or anything.
Did you try the “seasoning” grind with rice yet?
Lgtm
I think it’s real. The pores and color look right. When you rinsed it did a lot of dust come off? Could have just looked really light because it hadn’t been cleaned after being carved/ground.
This one is real. You can also tell because concrete will never stop shedding grit no matter how much rice you grind in it.
What is this magic? Why would you use this for salsa?
noooooo, we were doing so good!!!
I saw the question asking about a brand yesterday/ this morning(?) and hoped it wouldn’t lead to this, alas here we are 😭