this post was submitted on 04 Apr 2024
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A few years ago I got a Gorilla brand granite mortar and pestle. I seasoned it as directed and got quite a bit of use out of it, then I stopped cooking for a while and it got kind of...well, gross. It's possible that I spilled something on it, but portions of the bowl and exterior are a darker color now. I guess I'm afraid with the relatively porous granite that it's full of rancid garlic effluvium. Does anyone know how to clean this thing? Should I just pitch it?

Before: https://imgur.com/a/lWyQNGH

After: See Google album link (I tried again to use imgur and my phone crashed πŸ˜†)

Alt share because imgur is being a pain: https://photos.app.goo.gl/LzXZoxnhdEvmQHug7

Edit: Edited to include links to "before" images. Edit #2: Added a backup Google album Edit #3: Added after images to Google album

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[–] [email protected] 11 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (2 children)

Grinding uncooked white rice is the vintage method for cleaning granite mortar and pestles, but it isn't terribly effective at getting them clean. These days, that method is mostly for "seasoning", preparing a mortar for use by grinding off any leftover bits of unpolished stone so that they don't get incorporated into any of the food you want to grind.

Since we stopped putting lye in soap, the modern cleaning method is hand-washing with warm water, a mild detergent, and a stiff-bristled brush before towel-drying thoroughly. Granite and marble actually have a relatively low porosity, so washing the soap out with water isn't as much of a challenge as it would be with highly porous volcanic stones like pumice, but it's still best to use an unscented soap so there's no fragrance to be left behind.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

Lye would only be used in the soponification of oil in hard or bar soap. Sodium hydroxide is used for soft soap. So if that's something you're looking for, I'd recommend Dr. Bronzer's Sal Suds. It's specially made for dishes and laundry as the reaction is 1:1. This is in contrast to bath products (ie bar soap or liquid soap, not like dove but like ones you could get at the farmer's market, etc), which do something called super fatting. Super fatting is an out of balance reaction, leaving some unsuponified left over oil for moisturizing. Sometimes, laundry bars and KOH soft soap can even have a reaction that would leave a very small bit of lye or Sodium hydroxide unreacted for cleaning purposes, only sometimes. That's why it's not recommended to use them in the shower as they can be drying on the skin.

I realize you're referring to detergents in your post, but I thought I'd clear that up. I make soap. Lol.

Dr. Bronzer's Sal Suds is pretty great and it has a very subtle pine smell that doesn't stick around.

edit: clarification

[–] [email protected] 7 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (1 children)

If your problem is specifically a rancid garlic smell you want to neutralize, then try the following:

Use 1/4 cup of baking soda and 5 drops of dish soap, then add just enough water to make a paste. Grind with the pestle and be sure to coat the sides completely. Then add 1/2 cup of vinegar and stir until the sides are coated in foam. Let sit about 5 minutes, then rinse with hot water and dry thoroughly.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (1 children)

*takes notes* ty ty

Edit: I learned how to escape in markdown or whatever this system is. πŸ‘πŸΌ

[–] [email protected] 2 points 7 months ago (2 children)

No problem!

Did you have any luck getting that mortar and pestle cleaned?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Added links to "before" images. Will update after it dries to include "after".

I'm a day late. Sorry about that.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 6 months ago (2 children)

No worries! Looks like you really had your work cut out for you there!

[–] [email protected] 2 points 6 months ago (1 children)

The m&p was totally dry this morning so I took "after" photos and added them to the Google album. Still some darker spots but better than it was before.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Looks pretty usable to me!

[–] [email protected] 2 points 6 months ago

My sniffer isn't 100% today but it seems not to be malodorous after the bath. I may try seasoning it tonight. Thanks again for the advice! ✌️

[–] [email protected] 2 points 6 months ago

Yes, it was pretty gross. It all started when we went through a phase where all the fresh garlic we were buying had mold in it. After a few weeks we gave up and went back to powdered garlic, so our m&p sat around and occasionally got various soups slopped on it. That last part miiight be my fault.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 7 months ago

Not yet. What a lazy butt I am. I'll probably try it tomorrow. I will add some before & after pictures.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 7 months ago (1 children)

You might try grinding salt or dry white rice in it. The abrasive should help.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 7 months ago

Ah that's probably a good idea. I'll try that tonight. Maybe rice would also soak up some of whatever is in the granite.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 7 months ago (1 children)

We may be heathens but we always just hand washed ours with a good grease cutting liquid detergent to get the rancid oils and spices out.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 7 months ago (2 children)

I sort of feel like that's what it needs, but I worry that there's no way to get all the soap back out.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Baking it won’t eliminate the oils or old spices, more would give you your cast iron frying pan effect.

We use a super neutral dish detergent that washes or at least soaks out in rinse water. Not one of the national name brands.

Even were this cast iron, sometimes you get to the point that you have to clean and restart to build the finish.

But others may feel differently.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 7 months ago (1 children)

I'm sorry but what does cast iron have to do with a mortar and pestle? Am I your AI hallucination? (If you are human or English is not your first language, please disregard.)

[–] [email protected] 6 points 7 months ago (1 children)

You misread. They mean a thicker layer of polymerized oils building up would produce a "cast iron pan" effect on the granite. A layer reminiscent of what people try to achieve on well seasoned cast iron.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 7 months ago (1 children)

I mean, maybe. That seems unlikely with granite. It's like a big, dense sponge.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 7 months ago

I was thinking through what would happen should the OP follow the advice by another user which recommended baking the mortar and pestle.

Since it has a heavy film of fats,my thought is that baking at a low temp would create a finish similar to that on seasoned cast iron. I’m not thinking that would be a plus but others might think otherwise.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 7 months ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 3 points 7 months ago

No way! Learned my lesson with a pizza stone. It was like Aslan came back to life. πŸ˜†

No, my wife didn't laugh at that either.