Metate and Mano for Grinding Flour

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Today's culinary technology makes it hard to imagine a time when you had to prepare all your food, not just the basic ingredients, by hand.

This early 20th century metate (grinding slab) and mano (grinding stone) were used by Berclair residents Anita and Marcelino Barrientes to grind corn and other grains into flour. These simple tools were vital to the Barrientes family and many other families who lived in the early Texas adobe-style houses called jacals (ha-cahls). Reminders of the early days of Texas, the metate and mano can still be found in many kitchens across the southwest.