Perfect size. and a beautiful porous stone. The seasoning is key. I mashed onions, garlic, salt and olive oil and rubbed it all over inside and out. Baked it at 300 for 45 min. turned from light gray to gorgeous black charcoal. We used besitos recipe for the guac and it was perfection. hand wash with mild soap and water to clean. making the paste of jalapeno, salt, cilantro and onion is so effortless in this bowl. it grinds down so easily. very attractive for presentation. This will last for a long time.

Now I can make guacamole like our friends south of the border.
Used oven method to prep surface with olive oil, garlic, and onion....I think it works best, makes surface appear darker (make sure to do top edge)
MUST clean using a hard bristle brush to get bits left in the pours.
Make and serve guacamole in the Molcajete....looks great on table just be careful that the legs don't scratch surface.
Largest batch....3 avocados with lime, onion, peppers, cilantro will fill the thing. (the size of this one is the largest at 81/2 inch I could find...perfect)

It is a workout to season it, I used rice. Took 3 of us taking turns to work through the process.
Salsa never tasted so good! Search the web for seasoning with rice, and recipes!

After reading LOTS of information about purchasing the perfect molcajete, reading reviews all over Amazon and elsewhere, I decided to give this one a try. I purchased it from Amazon, so I can't speak to what other sellers are providing.

I am, by no means, an expert on molcajetes, but based on what I have read and after looking over this one carefully, I believe it to be an authientic molcajete. Both the bowl and the mano, or pestle, are of the same color, very dark gray, and have what appear to be marks from carving them in to shape. There are uneven sized pores throughout the surfaces of both, which are from the volcanic rock from which they are made.

I initially thought I might have purchased an "imposter" because my seasoning with rice only took one try before the rice was clean. I have since decided that the inside of this is just very nicely finished and there simply isn't a lot of residue from the manufacture.

I have used it many times since purchasing and am very pleased with the balance and the size of this molcajete. A little bit of practice has me using this to make guacamole and salsa like a pro, and I can't imagine using anything else!

Absolutely thrilled with this. Great size and weight. Big enough capacity for everything we wanted to use it for. Very solid and durable. Great quality. Took a little effort to season and prepare for initial use, but will with the time and effort. This has worked great for guacamole, seafood, etc. Very authentic. Great addition to any kitchen.