If you've read The Kitchn for any length of time, you know that I am a big fan of beans. But not just any old beans — fresh, heirloom dried beans that have rich flavor and meaty texture. I like to keep a big pot of beans around in the winter for lunches and weeknight dinners. But I have been curious for a long time about clay pot cooking. Clay pots are supposed to be the very best vessel for cooking beans; supposedly they impart a smoky, richer flavor. So when I got a piece of black clay La Chamba cookware, I gave it a try! Here are the results.
La Chamba Cookware
We are pretty big fans of Chamba, here at The Kitchn. What is La Chamba cookware? It's a line of black clay pots, bowls, and other cookware made in Colombia using traditional methods. All the pottery is made in the village of La Chamba, and it is made from natural clay mined in the area. Each piece is handmade, and burnished with stones for a smooth finish. They are not glazed; the black color comes from the way they are fired in the kiln.
This clay construction may appear more delicate than traditional metal pots and pans, but it's quite resilient. It can be used on the stovetop and in the oven. The only caution is that you need to avoid rapid changes in temperature; don't heat a pot over the stove, then run it under cold water, for instance.
We love the organic, hand-crafted shape, and the beauty of the soft black color (after all, black is the new white, on the table!) and also the natural properties of clay. See, clay is much more porous than metal, so when you cook in unglazed clay cookware, heat and moisture circulate better, and the fired clay imparts a smoky flavor to the food.
I was especially curious about beans — were they really better cooked in a clay pot?
Cooking Beans in a Clay Pot
The short answer is: Yes! I made a big batch of adzuki and navy beans in my Chamba pot last week, and the flavor was richer, deeper, and better than my usual batches of beans.
First, though, before I could cook the beans, I had to season the cookware. This was quite easy: You fill the pot with water, and place it in the oven for half an hour. This helps the surface become truly nonstick.
Then I placed the newly-seasoned pot on my gas stove, and cooked a little onion and celery and bacon with the beans, then filled the pot with water and brought it to a boil. Then I put the lid on and put it in the oven. A couple hours later, tender meaty beans with so much flavor. Now, the bacon of course helped; they wouldn't have been so smoky without that! But I noticed a real difference from other times when I've used bacon in the beans; there was an earthy, lovely flavor that seemed to be from the pot.
Apart from that, it was also just such a lovely vessel to cook and serve beans from. My only criticism of these pots is that the handle on the lid is so small as to be non-functional; I actually burned myself when trying to remove the lid to check the beans in the oven. It's very hard to grasp the small, slippery knob, especially with a hot pad.
Other than that, I really can't recommend these lovely pots strongly enough. They are a rustic, practical multi-use style of cookware.
• Find La Chamba La Chamba cookware can be bought in many places, but perhaps the largest selection is at Toque Blanche. Prices range from $11 for small pieces to $170 for an extra-extra-large roaster.
More on Beans & Clay Pot Cooking
• A Pot of Beans: 10 Tasty Ways to Cook Beans
• How To Cook Beans: A Fast, Foolproof, No-Soak Method
• Heirloom Beans by Steve Sando of Rancho Gordo
• Recipe Basics: How to Cook Beans in the Slow Cooker
• Product Review: Chamba Cookware
Do you use Chamba or any other sorts of clay pots or cookware? What do you like to cook in them?
Related: Tabletop Trends: Is Black the New White?
Apartment Therapy Media makes every effort to test and review products fairly and transparently. The views expressed in this review are the personal views of the reviewer and this particular product review was not sponsored or paid for in any way by the manufacturer or an agent working on their behalf. However, the manufacturer did give us the product for testing and review purposes.
(Images: Faith Durand)
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I'm loving this idea, but find my brain fighting back with the energy consumption costs of 3 hours in an oven for beans as opposed to a less time-intensive, energy-consuming technique. Thoughts?
@Indy Jeffrey, well, cooking beans in the oven is probably going to still take less time than cooking on the stovetop. These took 3 hours because they were old beans (from bulk bin at co-op). Fresher beans take maybe 75 minutes.
I think that the least energy-intensive way is to use a pressure cooker; maybe that's the way to go?
we started using a clay pot last year and my only complaint is with the lid/handle as well. we have a different brand but i too have to be very careful not to burn myself.
BUT we love he flavor of the beans cooked in clay and we have them at least once a week year round. i felt like my regular pots gave beans a slightly metallic taste and it was ruining the dishes for me (although not everybody could taste it).
Love this blog but I object to the methodology described in this post. If you did not do a blind test, you do not know that the one pot makes beans taste better than the other.
My husband and I received a whole set of La Chambe cookware as a wedding gift 4 years ago. We have a 4qt pot a 2qt pot a little 1qt pot and a casserole dish. We use these all the time especially the 4qt pot. We will cook a full 2# of beans and freeze them to eat later. They are great for the holidays too. We can bake a casserole just before leaving to visit family and the thermal mass of the vessel keeps it warm until we arrive.
I agree with Indy Jeffrey, the oven uses a lot more energy than the stovetop. Unless you have one that's powered by gas. The pressure cooker would be the way to go, but I don't think the taste will be the same...
The beans sound really tasty. I recently tried some grown-up baked beans and I imagine they would taste even better in a clay pot. Thanks for the tip!
I know this is an older post, but could you tell me what size (and shape) La Chamba pot you would recommend for making 1 or 1-1/2 pounds of beans at a time? Thanks!!
I'm living in Korea and would like to know if the traditional Korean ddukbaegi would be as good to cook the beans as this clay pot?
Hi Faith, Have you used Miriams earthen Cookware?? I recently (9 months ago) bought they're set and I love it!!! These are multi-cooking pots that can be used on stovetop and oven. I've used them to cook lentils and all kinds of beans and they turn out fabulous!! I've even used them to cook rice and steam veggies, with awesome results... I own so many clay pots, but I like these the best, because their lids fit perfectly. Apparently you don't need to cure them before using, I happen to cure their medium size but didn't do the large and the x-large, I didn't see any difference. That's pretty time saving... most other clay pots I've used, I've had to cure them. Happy clay cooking to all of you ~ Ann