Clay pot cooking seems to be all the rage these days. Earthenware pots are relatively inexpensive and beautiful to look at, as evidenced by the lovely products featured at clay pot specialty shop Bram. There are also reviews all over the web attesting to their superior cooking abilities. After Faith's own enthusiastic review of her Chamba clay pot, we really got to wondering: what's the big deal with these pots anyway? Well, it turns out that the unique properties of clay lead to two unexpected benefits in the kitchen.
What we've discovered makes us all the more curious to try cooking in one of these pots for ourselves. Two things make clay pots unique, both having to do with the fact that they are made from clay.
• 1 The first is that clay is somewhat porous. Heat and moisture circulate through the pot during cooking, unlike with metal or enamel-lined pots. Chef Charles Phan from The Slanted Door in San Francisco describes the cooking as "slow, even, delicate" in his ode to Bram Cookware in the latest Saveur 100. Most pots are also made with micaceous clay (clay containing mica flecks), and mica acts as a natural insulator.
• 2 The second thing that that makes these pots special is that the clay is alkaline. In a recent interview on KCRW's Good Food, clay pot maker Felipe Ortega explained that the clay will interact with acidity in the food, neutralizing the pH balance. Something that is naturally very acidic, like a tomato sauce, will take on some natural sweetness when cooked in a clay pot. (Ortega even said that he will only drink coffee out of a clay mug because it tastes more robust and he hardly has to add sweetener!)
What strikes us as most significant is that all of these unique properties of clay pots are completely canceled out if the pot has been glazed (except for its ability to absorb heat and cook food evenly). Our natural instinct is to think of a glaze as preserving the clay pot, but in this case, it sounds like a glaze would be a disservice.
Do you have a clay pot? Have you noticed a difference when cooking with it?
More Information on Clay Pots:
• Chef Phan's and Bram Cookware from Saveur Magazine
• The Clay Way from Saveur Magazine
• Clay Pot Cooking with Felipe Ortega on KCRW's Good Food
• Bram Claypot Cookware: Store Profile
• A Guide to Clay Cookware: Best Sources
• Cooking in a Clay Pot: A Review of La Chambra
Related: Word of Mouth: Tagine
(Image: Faith Durand)
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Interesting about the alkaline. I'll have to check that out.
How easy is it to clean the inside of an unglazed pot? I would worry that the flavor of something like pot roast or spagetti sauce would end up in my next dish.
untrue about the unique effects of clay being canceled out if the pot is glazed. Glazed clay cookware, that is earthenware that is designed for high heat oven cooking or direct heat stovetop cooking, has small cracks in the glaze (crazing) that is a result of the glaze and clay body expanding and contracting at different rates during the firing process. Moisture and cooking flavors enter the clay body through these cracks. Albeit at a lower and slower rate than an unglazed pot, but they enter just the same. If you put water in a new, glazed clay cooking pot it will suck it like a sponge. You will also smell the cooked in food smell of a used clay pot from glazed as well as unglazed clay cookware..just FYI
I carried an unglazed clay pot back from Indian which I only use for Keralan fish curries. Traditionalists swear the curry must be made in a clay pot, as it affects the taste. What can I say - it does make a mean "meen" curry.
My mom gave me a la chamba for Christmas. I think it's the neatest thing. I haven't cooked with it yet though, but was planning using it this weekend. I haven't found a particular site with good recipes though. I was wanting to make chili in the oven. Hope it goes well!
@shelly - Thanks for the more accurate info on glazed vs. unglazed pots! That's very good to know.
Do they use clay pots for bim bim bop? Because if so, it's worth it for making that dish alone!
amycywang - no the bee-bop bowls are stone [preferred] or some special heat-resistant synthetic stone-like produce. I would fear getting regular a regular clay pot that hot and putting things in it at temperature - very well might shatter!
Where can I get a coffee cup?
Hi, We hand make the exact kind of unglazed, non-toxic, healthy earthenware clay cookware you are talking about right here in the USA, you can find out more about our company and all the numerous health and environmental benefits of clay cooking on our website here: www.miriamsearthencookware.com. Our pots can be used both on the stovetop and oven. Do visit us when you get a chance...its fascinating to learn and benefit from the bounty of nature...