How do you wash a granite mortar and pestle?
How do you wash a granite mortar and pestle?
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 😆)
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
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
You might try grinding salt or dry white rice in it. The abrasive should help.
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.