27 replies to this topic

[rancho_gordo]

I'm wondering what tools others think are essential for Mexican cooking. I wouldn't live without my handheld lime squeezer, my blender, my big round wooden spoons from Guadaljara + the tight weave seive (although I often think a chinois might be more handy), my bean masher (for guacamole mostly) and a comal.

I've heard that a copper pot is essential for making carnitas. Has anyone had experience in this? Do you have great sources in the US? I saw some in a market in Mexico but they were so cheap I was suspect that they might be plated rather than solid. I use a Cruset pot now but I love a new toy.

[Chris Cognac]

You need to score one of those cool stone mortar and pestal's that every Mexican family has!

[ludja]

A tortilla press is great for homemade corn tortillas...

(IMO, worth the effort, unless you have a good local factory)

[caroline]

Mexicans have a short, clear answer. Give us a blender and a pressure cooker and we can do everything.

The blender makes the cremas (pureed vegetable soups) that start so many meals, the base mix for sopas secas (rice and noodles), and all the salsas except guacamole. The pressure cooker does beans and meats and chicken to give broth and deshebrados (shredded meat to be cooked in a sauce or used in all the family of taco dishes). And it makes the best flan.

For me: the lime squeezer, the molcajate for all kinds of spices, and . . .the blender and the pressure cooker,

Rachel

[rancho_gordo]

I used to disdain the pressure cooker but lately I've been getting pretty good at it and actaully enjoying it. I find for beans, if you add unsoaked beans, sauteed onion and garlic, and water, cook under pressure for 20 minutes, release the pressure, then finish stovetop for another 20 minutes (when you might want to add some epazote), the beans are divine. And in less than an hour you have cooked beans after thinking about it.

I also find it's great for making stock and broth in a snap.

[HungryChris]

You need to score one of those cool stone mortar and pestal's that every Mexican family has!

Yeah, what he said. It's a molcajete.

[ExtraMSG]

* Immersion blender: easy to keep some texture in salsas and much easier than a molcajete (if you do get a molcajete, make sure it's a decent one; so many are too porous and brittle -- and remember you need to season them; you might be better off another type of stone mortar)

* Spice grinder: just a cheap coffee grinder with a tall lid, but warm your spices on the comal before grinding

* Comal: cast iron only! Lodge makes pre-seasoned ones for cheap. Essential for good tortillas and antojitos

* Dutch oven: either a Lodge pre-seasoned cast iron one for relatively cheap or a Le Creuset that's enameled for easy cleanup. Great for beans, frying, carnitas, etc.

* Tortilla press: the bigger and heavier, the better. So many are light and suck.

* Latex gloves: the unpowdered kind. I don't use them, but I think I've built up a resistence, though I still occasionally stick my finger in my eye after stripping seeds from rehydrated or fresh chiles and cry for the next half hour. Depending on your sensitivity and care, these can be a lifesaver. Even Mexicans will put a plastic bag around their hands often as they're going through and picking out chiles at the market

[caroline]

A new tool is just appearing in the markets reflecting the increasing use of sopes, huaraches and other molded masa snacks. It's a little wooden platform with a metal strip round the edge. You put your masa in this and then smooth it down with a little wooden mano. About $3 apiece. I'm not sure it's very necessary but it's a nice addition to odd ball specialist cooking tools,

Rachel

[rancho_gordo]

oooooo..... I have to find one of these!

[rancho_gordo]

The pressure cooker does beans and meats and chicken to give broth and deshebrados (shredded meat to be cooked in a sauce or used in all the family of taco dishes). And it makes the best flan.

I missed this one. Do you have a recipe for pressure cooker flan? You would make my life complete!

[caroline]

I'm just leaving for the US. Will post a pressure cooker flan once I arrive. And I'll have some of those little tools with me if you want. They're definitely rough folk art,

Rachel

[rancho_gordo]

I'm just leaving for the US. Will post a pressure cooker flan once I arrive.  And I'll have some of those little tools with me if you want.  They're definitely rough folk art,

Rachel

That would be great.

I'm a piece of "rough folk art" myself!

[bjcohan]

<snip>
I've heard that a copper pot is essential for making carnitas. Has anyone had experience in this? Do you have great sources in the US? I saw some in a market in Mexico but they were so cheap I was suspect that they might be plated rather than solid. I use a Cruset pot now but I love a new toy.

I am oh-so-late coming to this thread, but I've been away from the forum for a while.

I bought my cazo de cobre (a deep solid copper pot with slightly flared sides and two big round brass handles) in a marketplace in Tonala, Jalisco, right outside Guadalajara. 15 years ago, it cost all of ten bucks. And it is, indeed, solid copper.

When I lived in Mexico, I was taught to use the cazo de cobre to maintain the bright green color while cooking vegetables. It does that beautifully. And, yes, it is the traditional pot for making carnitas, but to be honest, I prefer a large nonstick pot for that -- mainly because I don't want to lose one tiny bit of those wonderful little crunchies that end up at the bottom of the pot (can't remember what we called those in Spanish, but there is a specific name for them).

There is so much copper mined in Mexico, and labor is so cheap, that the inexpensive cazos really are made of solid copper.

God, I miss that place!

My husband, the chef, is there now visiting his mother. I have given him -- as always -- a long wish list of cooking equipment to bring back. Can't wait to see what goodies he'll bring -- besides my mameyes, maiz cacahuazintle (for masa), obleas, etc...

Barb

[Jay Francis]

For making tamales, a 4" plastic plastering tool. Has a handle and a wide flat area like a spatula. Pick them up in a hardware store for about $4. Will cut your tamal making time in half. Just make a large mound of tamal masa, and use the tool just like you were handling wall plaster, except you're spreading the masa on the tamal husk.

[bleudauvergne]

A new tool is just appearing in the markets reflecting the increasing use of sopes, huaraches and other molded masa snacks.  It's a little wooden platform with a metal strip round the edge.  You put your masa in this and then smooth it down with a little wooden mano.  About $3 apiece.  I'm not sure it's very necessary but it's a nice addition to odd ball specialist cooking tools,

Rachel

Thank you for this thread. Rachel, What is this tool called in Spanish?

[shelora]

I've got three molcajetes, collected over the years, now I use the biggest and deepest one.
My blender, that has replacement parts as needed - which I take to Mexico to get, because there is no such thing has blender replacements parts in Canada.
My cast iron griddles and pans have proven to be invaluable for toasting chilies or spices, making quesadillas, frying chiles rellenos or heating up tortillas.
Hand held lime squeezer in different sizes. The other thing I have purchased in Mexico are different sized sieves, ones I've never seen available here. They have worked magic for straining chile mixtures and juices. I do have a metal tortilla press, but desire a wooden one. Must make room next trip.
I could spend hours in the housewares section.
And now for a commercial break,
Oh, has anyone purchased, I guess it's pumice stone, used for scouring pots and pans? Wow, it is miraculous. No need to buy nasty chemical cleansers again. I watched a woman cleaning a pot in the market once with the stone and had to get some. And, it doesn't scratch! Grease and grim comes right off.

Jay Francis, - great post on the plastic plastering tool! That is creative thinking.

[Andrew Fenton]

Okay, by "plastering tool", y'all mean a putty knife, right? Great idea; I will pick one up for my next tamale go-round.

[esperanza]

Pumice stone! Yes indeed. It works miracles on the kinds of things you think will cause you to throw out the pot: burned rice, 'permanently' stuck food, etc. It also works miracles on skin, particularly on rough, dry heels. The stones cost centavitos and last forever.

The two stones that I have, one in the shower and the other in the kitchen, are about 5 cm across and 2.5 cm high. I might have paid 20 cents for the two--but it might have been less. I've had them for years.

Pumice stone weighs next to nothing, so have him bring at least a couple.

[andiesenji]

My neighbor goes to Mexico every other month, he has a ranch in Durango. He has brought back all kinds of things for me, including one of the big copper pots, which resembles a jam pot, it is unlined copper so can't safely be used for cooking many things. However I can get one for about $75.00, sometimes a bit less, sometimes a bit more, depending on the bargainning. He will be going down there week after next so if you want one let me know and I will figure a way to get it to you so you won't have to pay shipping costs.

I will take a picture of the one I have so you can see how big it is.
Hey, I already have a picture of it in my public album, with a ruler alongside of it and even with the dog in the way you can guess the size.


I have one of the huge enamel pots with a double decker rack inside for cooking large batches of tamale.
also the molcajete and one of the bigger flat ones for grinding corn or cacoa beans.

[Becca Porter]

I just got Rick Bayless's Mexico One Plate at a Time. It has got me really excited about mexican cooking. I have a few questions.

1: I need a tortilla press. What is a good source for them in the states and what kind is best. I found an 18 dollar metal one at The CMC Company. Is that good?

2: Can I just use my cast iron skillet until I get a comal, or should I find one now.

3: Rick Bayless never mentions dry epazote. Is it not even worth using. If I order seeds or seedlings from a seed catalog, will it live year-round indoor?

4: Is there anything else a mexican food novice should know?

Thanks so much!

-Becca

[Becca Porter]

One more question. I'm rendering lard today, what is the best way to store it? I need it both for short-term use and long-term. Thank you!
-Becca

[shelora]

Lard needs to be stored in the refrigerator. It won't last forever though. I suggest making small batches.

In terms of equipment - cast iron will work just fine for heating tortillas or roasting and toasting chilies.
A blender is indispensible in the Mexican kitchen along with lots of wooden spoons. And yes, don't even bother with dried epazote. Its got to be the easiest thing to grow besides dandelions!

Hope you have as much fun as I do cooking one of the most fascinating cuisines of the world.

s

[Jaymes]

I've frozen lard. Seems to work just fine.

[shelora]

[QUOTE]I've frozen lard. Seems to work just fine.[QUOTE]

Wow, really? Besides ice cubes and ice cream, I so rarely freeze things.



Okay, now that I've actually thought about it, I have bought frozen caul fat in the past, so yeah, why not frozen lard.

You know, I have to say, the Mexican forum is so relaxing. I have told you lately that I love you?

Edited by shelora, 13 July 2005 - 04:40 PM.

[CookingFire]

The only other tool, besides the molcajete that I've really fallen in love with is this double-sided cast iron comal we have. It's sort of like a sandwich griller -- and it does amazing things for heating up a quick quesadilla, or warming tortillas for the meal. I used to always use a little metal comal, but once arriving here, we had this -- it's fabulous because you just flip the whole thing by the handle, to turn it around -- and it is thick enough that they won't burn.

This is a reply to an ancient post by Caroline -- You're totally right about the blender and pressure cooker! That's so funny. I thought that was just a quirk of my family. We have two or three of each. Often there are two pressure cookers like a freight train in the kitchen, one cooking up beans, the other working the meat. The blender chewing through some sauce or other. Before I came here, I was really afraid of the pressure cooker...

[Jaymes]

I've frozen lard. Seems to work just fine.

Wow, really? Besides ice cubes and ice cream, I so rarely freeze things.

Okay, now that I've actually thought about it, I have bought frozen caul fat in the past, so yeah, why not frozen lard.

You know, I have to say, the Mexican forum is so relaxing. I have told you lately that I love you?

We love you too, Shelora!

And my theory has always been that the freezer is your friend. I came from a big family that moved around a lot. Often we lived at least an hour from a grocery store. The men in my family hunted. And my dad raised cattle. We had a huge deep freezer and it was always full -- at least a side of beef, lots of 'mountain oysters' (since my mother wouldn't cook the things, they just gathered frost, smashed up against their frozen plastic bags), fresh fruits and veggies we bought from farm stands in the summers, freezer preserves, jellies and jams, deer roasts, etc.

Then I had a family of my own. I was a wife and mother of three. We also moved around a lot and, because of my husband's profession, we entertained constantly. I needed to have a ready supply of stuff that I could use to whip together dinner parties for 20, 30 and more. Often at the last minute. I couldn't have done it without my freezers.

For example, when we lived in Panama, the Panamanian beef was horrible. The "meat barge" came in once a month from New Orleans. We always ordered a side of beef to keep in the freezer.

In Alaska, the freezers were full of salmon and halibut and a few moose roasts.

Then, one day, I found myself alone. Kids all grown and gone. Husband got dumped somewhere along the way (okay, so it was Austin). And now that freezer is still absolutely invaluable. I can't go through an entire pack of much of anything by myself, so I shop at Costco for stuff that freezes. I still cook for a family of five (and five or more impromptu guests, just in case), but now I carefully spoon it into single or double proportions and into the freezer it goes, carefully labeled as to what it is, and date I froze it.

So many recipes don't work, or wouldn't be worth the time and trouble, to make just for one. And I sure can't eat a big pot of, say, chili all by myself. But I've got plastic ziplock bags of the stuff just waiting for me to heat up when I get home on a cold, blustery day.

Right now, in my freezer I have individual servings of: pork roast, chuck roast, spaghetti &meat sauce, sauerkraut and ribs, a Moroccan lamb dish, chiles rellenos casserole, chili, vegetable soup, cochinita pibil -- among other things -- like a couple of chicken carcasses waiting for me to turn them into stock.

Not to mention that packages of a great many things go rancid before I could eat them -- bacon, butter, lard, bagels, cream cheese, loaves of bread, corn tortillas, cheeses, pound cake, pies, wieners, wurst or sausages -- so I keep them in the freezer.

Like I said, the freezer's your friend.

It's mine, anyway.

Edited by Jaymes, 14 July 2005 - 09:31 AM.

[caroline]

Thanks will. And Jaymes, since I am beginning to compile the thousand things I never experienced as a counterweight to all those I am supposed to have, a party at your house is high on the list. You sound like you knocked them off with ease (ha, I bet not) but better that you loved them too.

And I agree about the freezer friend: beans, bolognaise sauce, cooked beef cubes, toasted almonds, tomato sauce, mexican sauces, breadcrumbs, etc etc. My friends in need.

Rachel

[bjcohan]

In addition to all the equipment described in this thread, I also couldn't live without my molinillo, or my big tamalero with the spout on the bottom for adding water, the sturdy rack to hold the tamales, and that deep, tight lid. And, of course, the moneda in the bottom.

I've also grown inordinately fond of the two-sided, round, multi-bladed cutter thing to press designs in conchas and other types of pan dulce.

My poor DH gets a shopping list every time he goes home to see his family.

And since my own trips to México have turned into cookware-and-food shopping trips, I have purchased a wonderful insulated bag that fits nicely into my suitcase and is guaranteed to maintain temperature for 48 hours. I bring that, two boxes of zip-lock bags (quart and gallon size), and an extra suitcase. I remove all the stems and seeds from my dried chiles, pack them into the zip-lock bags, sit on them to squeeze out all the air, and pack them flat among clothing. Same with flor de jamaica, chile piquin, chicharrón from Jojutla, etc. Other zip-lock bags are filled with fruit pureés (especially pitahaya when I can get it, and mamey) and frozen flat. I freeze my favorite mole paste from a little village in Morelos that makes the best I've ever tasted (10 kilos last trip!), a couple of kilos of carnitas from El Doc in Cuernavaca, chorizo toluqueño, longaniza, my mother-in-law's tinga, some fresh epazote, masa, etc. etc. You get the idea. I declare EVERYTHING (the sin is not in bringing, but in failing to declare). If I'm bringing something that *might* cause problems, I still declare it but I write it in Spanish ("silly me, I forgot what it's called in English!" - yeah, right.) The inspectors look at my list, shake their heads, and tell me to just GO. The only problems I ever had were overweight charges on the luggage. Must have been the queso oaxaca my mother-in-law sent!

I read this thread envying those of you who live driving distance from México. I dream of flying to Texas and then renting a truck to fill with everything I want to buy, including one of those gorgeous fountains from Xochimilco. One of these days I may do it!

And, Jaymes, you are so right about the freezer. Mine holds all of the goodies described above, as well as Mexican butter (makes U.S. butter taste like wax) and other delights. If I didn't have my freezers, we'd have to eat all the stuff I bring back ... too quickly!

Barb

Edited by bjcohan, 23 September 2005 - 11:29 PM.