so I bought this for $25 on a whim after going to my local mexican supermarket. It looked legit when I was in the store but after taking it home I’m not so sure. I’ve tried a couple of tests with inconsistent results. It retains water pretty well (it does drip out of the bottom a bit but I chalked that up to it not being seasoned) scratched the surface with a coin and a knife and it did not leave any white chalky residue, a bit of black residue came off on the coin though. However when I wet it, it does not smell like sulfur. It kind of has a perfumed smell, with a bit of wet sidewalk undertonesIts also uneven on the bottom which I assume is a good sign
by SaturationWon
4 Comments
I have several & judging by the color and the different sizes of the pours I would say that this is definitely a real lava rock material. Counterfeit concrete will be lighter in color with smaller pours also counterfeit Molcajete typically comes from tourists spots in Mexico and not from local grocery stores….usually.
Take vinegar and put it in the microwave until it’s hot. Then pour it on the molcajete. If it’s real volcanic rock vinager will just sit there, if it’s fake the vinegar will start bubbling/ fizz from a chemical reaction with the concrete.
Same one in this thread: [https://www.reddit.com/r/SalsaSnobs/comments/1aof8kh/is_my_molcajete_real_or_fake/](https://www.reddit.com/r/SalsaSnobs/comments/1aof8kh/is_my_molcajete_real_or_fake/)
The coin and knife scratch test is a good start for checking if a molcajete is legit. The fact that no white chalky residue came off when you scratched it is a positive sign since concrete usually leaves a very obvious white line. Real volcanic basite is porous and will absorb some water which might explain the dripping before it is fully seasoned. For 25 dollars at a Mexican supermarket I would lean toward it being legitimate. Have you tried the smell test where you grind some rice and check if it smells like cement?