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Clay pot cooking is a process of
cooking Cooking, also known as cookery or professionally as the culinary arts, is the art, science and craft of using heat to make food more palatable, digestible, nutritious, or Food safety, safe. Cooking techniques and ingredients vary widely, from ...
food Food is any substance consumed by an organism for Nutrient, nutritional support. Food is usually of plant, animal, or Fungus, fungal origin and contains essential nutrients such as carbohydrates, fats, protein (nutrient), proteins, vitamins, ...
in a pot made of unglazed or glazed
pottery Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other raw materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. The place where such wares are made by a ''potter'' is al ...
.


History

Cooking in unglazed clay pots which are first immersed in water dates at least to the
Etruscans The Etruscan civilization ( ) was an ancient civilization created by the Etruscans, a people who inhabited Etruria in List of ancient peoples of Italy, ancient Italy, with a common language and culture, and formed a federation of city-states. Af ...
in first century BC but likely dates to several centuries earlier. The Romans adapted the technique and the cooking vessel, which became known as the Roman pot, a cooking vessel similar to those made since April 1967 by the German company Römertopf. According to Paula Wolfert, "all Mediterranean food used to be cooked in clay." In the
Han dynasty The Han dynasty was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC9 AD, 25–220 AD) established by Liu Bang and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206 BC ...
, pots unglazed on the exterior known as '' fus'' (now called sandy pots) were used for wet clay cooking. In Japan clay pots are mentioned from the 8th century and originally referred to as nabe. As pots made from other materials entered use, the Japanese clay pots were distinguished by calling them ''donabe''; ''do'' means clay or earth. Cooking in clay pots became less popular once metal pots became available. Clay remained popular for those dishes that depended on the unique qualities of clay cooking; Food & Wine called out such dishes as
biryani Biryani () is a mixed rice dish originating in South Asia, made with rice, meat (chicken, goat, lamb, beef) or seafood (prawns or fish), and spices. To cater to vegetarians, the meat or seafood can be substituted with vegetables or pane ...
,
cassoulet Cassoulet (, also ,; ) is a rich stew originating in southern France. The food writer Elizabeth David described it as "that sumptuous amalgamation of haricot beans, sausage, pork, mutton and preserved goose, aromatically spiced with garlic and h ...
,
daube Daube (, or ) is a French slow-cooked stew, usually of beef, but other meat is sometimes used. The best-known is the , a Provençal stew made with cheaper cuts of beef braised in wine, with vegetables, garlic and herbs, and traditionally coo ...
,
tagine A tagine or tajine, also ''tajin'' or ''tagin'' () is a Maghrebi dish, and also the earthenware pot in which it is cooked. It is also called or . Etymology The Arabic () is derived from Ancient Greek () 'frying-pan, saucepan'. According to ...
,
jollof rice Jollof (), or jollof rice, is a rice dish from West Africa. The dish is typically made with long-grain rice, tomatoes, chilis, onions, spices, and sometimes other vegetables and/or meat in a single pot, although its ingredients and preparatio ...
, '' kedjenou'', ''
cazuela Cazuela ( or ) is the common name given to a variety of dishes, especially from South America. It receives its name from the ''cazuela'' (Spanish for cooking pot) – traditionally, an often shallow pot made of unglazed earthenware used for co ...
'', and
baked beans Baked beans is a Dish (food), dish traditionally containing white Phaseolus vulgaris, common beans that are parboiling, parboiled and then baking, baked in sauce at low temperature for a lengthy period. Canned baked beans are not baked, but ar ...
.


Properties

Clay cookers allow food to be cooked with minimal additional liquids or fats. Individual clay beds are considered to provide specific properties for cooking, and cooking vessels of a particular type often are valued for being made of the traditional type of clay. The
micaceous Micas ( ) are a group of silicate minerals whose outstanding physical characteristic is that individual mica crystals can easily be split into fragile elastic plates. This characteristic is described as ''perfect basal cleavage''. Mica is co ...
clay found at
Taos Pueblo Taos Pueblo (or Pueblo de Taos) is an ancient pueblo belonging to a Taos language, Taos-speaking (Tiwa languages, Tiwa) Native American tribe of Puebloan peoples, Puebloan people. It lies about north of the modern city of Taos, New Mexico. T ...
holds heat for a long time. The pots made from this clay are considered to contribute flavor to what is cooked within them. The clay from Lake Biwa contains tiny fossils which incinerate and produce small pockets of air, which also hold heat. The pots made from this clay are considered to contribute to flavor to what is cooked within them. ''
Food & Wine ''Food & Wine'' is an American monthly magazine published by Dotdash Meredith. It was founded in 1978 by Ariane and Michael Batterberry. It features recipes, cooking tips, travel information, restaurant reviews, chefs, wine pairings and sea ...
'' tested multiple dishes in multiple clay pots and said that "In test after test, we found that everything cooked in clay tasted better than the same recipes cooked in metal pans" and that the only drawback to using clay cooking vessels is that they were not indestructible.


Cooking techniques

Different cultures have different techniques of cooking food in clay pots. Some use pots that are fully finished by burnishing and therefore do not require the pot to be soaked each time before use. Some are unfinished and must be soaked in water for 30–45 minutes before each use to avoid cracking. The design and shape of the pot differ slightly from one culture to another to suit their style of cooking. Seasoning is important to prevent cracking of the vessel when exposed to high heat. Clay pots are initially seasoned with oil and hot water but may be fully seasoned only after the first several uses, during which food may take longer to cook. It is also essential to avoid sudden temperature changes, which may cause the pot to crack. Heat should be started low and increased gradually both on the stovetop and in the oven. The food inside the pot loses little to no
moisture Moisture is the presence of a liquid, especially water, often in trace amounts. Moisture is defined as water in the adsorbed or absorbed phase. Small amounts of water may be found, for example, in the air (humidity), in foods, and in some comme ...
because it is surrounded by steam, creating a tender, flavorful dish. Water absorbed within the walls of the pot prevents burning so long as the pot is not allowed to dry completely. Because no oil needs to be added with this cooking technique, food cooked in clay is often lower in fat than food prepared by other methods.


Wet clay cooking

The Chinese sandy pot and the Romertopf are both soaked before being filled with food and covered with the lid, which has also been soaked. Both pots go into a cold oven. The sandy pot can also be started on the stove on a burner set very low.


Characteristics

Food cooked in clay is widely considered to acquire an "earthy" taste from the pot. Pots used for many years are believed to acquire a seasoning that contributes to the dish, and cooks often hope to acquire the pots used by their predecessors.


In Asian cuisines


Balkans

In the Balkans multiple cuisines use a clay pot, often called a ''
güveç Güveç () is a family of earthenware pots used in Balkan, Persian, Turkish, and Levantine cuisine; various casserole or stew dishes cooked in them are called ghivetch. The pot is wide and medium-tall, can be glazed or unglazed, and the dish ...
'', to cook ''
ghivetch Ghivetch (, , , , , / , , ) is a traditional Balkan cuisine, Balkan autumn vegetable stew most closely associated with Moldovan cuisine, Moldova, where it is a national dish. It is traditionally cooked in an earthenware pot called a güveç. It ...
'' and other related dishes. The '' comleks'' is a Turkish bean pot.


South Asia

In the southern states of Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana in
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
, the traditional pot used for cooking is called ''chatti''. There are many different types of pots used in the different cultures of North India, Pakistan, Bangladesh.


India

In northern states, including Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, the cooking pots are called ''handi''. Traditionally, Indian chefs could cook many dishes simultaneously by stacking handi while cooking.


Sri Lanka

People in
Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...
use clay pots to make many dishes including ''pahi'' fish curry, called ''abul thiyal; accharu'', a chutney; as well as some meats, rice, and several types of freshwater fish called ''Lula, Hunga, Magura and Kawaiya''.


Greater China

In China, the pot used for such cooking is generally known as ''shaguo'' () or ''boujai'' (), a Cantonese word for 'little pot'. Clay pot dishes are sometimes labeled as 'hot pot' or 'hotpot' dishes on the menus of Chinese restaurants in English-speaking areas of the world, but they should not be confused with
hot pot Hot pot ( zh, c=, s=wikt:火锅, 火锅, t=wikt:火鍋, 火鍋, p=huǒguō, l=fire pot, first=t) or hotpot, also known as steamboat, is a dish (food), dish of soup/stock (food), stock kept simmering in a cooking pot, pot by a heat source on ...
dishes that are served in a large metal bowl and cooked at the table. In Taiwan, the chicken dish '' sanbeiji'' is prepared in a clay pot. Another common Chinese clay pot is the sandpot or sandy pot, a round pot with a lid, glazed on the inside and unglazed on the outside, which allows them to be soaked before cooking but not add liquid to the ingredients. After soaking the pots are filled with food and placed in a cold oven or started over a very low burner. As of 1996 sandy pots were made in various sizes from individual serving sizes to 5 quart sizes. They are made from a specific clay which is mixed with sand before a very high-temperature firing. The sandy pot evolved from the ''fu'', which was used in the Han dynasty to cook a dish called '' weng''. Common dishes are claypot rice and little pot rice.


Japan

In
Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
, the ''
donabe ''Donabe'' (Japanese: 土鍋, literally "earthenware pot") are pots made out of a special clay for use over an open flame in Japanese cuisine, and in the case of semi-stoneware Banko ware of high petalite content. Often, the food is cooked at t ...
'' is a traditional cooking vessel. It is made from a clay that is porous and coarse. In the area around Iga, '' Iga-yaki'' (Iga-style) ''donabe'', have been made since 1832; ''Iga-yaki'' pottery in general dates back to the 7th century and is highly valued. It became particularly popular for ''donabe'' during the
Edo period The , also known as the , is the period between 1600 or 1603 and 1868 in the history of Japan, when the country was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and some 300 regional ''daimyo'', or feudal lords. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengok ...
. The highest-quality ''donabe'' can take two weeks to make. There are multiple styles of ''donabe'' made for the preparation of different dishes. ''Donabe'' can be used over an open flame, and food is often served out of the ''donabe''. A culture surrounding ''donabe'' developed called ''nabe o kakomu'', which means 'surrounding the pot' or a communal meal. The concept has been featured repeatedly in the media and in ''donabe'' cookbooks. According to Naoko Takei Moore, ''donabe'' culture "teaches the concept of ''ichigo-ichie'', or "every moment is a once-in-a-lifetime treasure". With use, ''donabe'' develop a patina of crackling of the interior glaze called '' kannyu''. This patina is valued as a sign of character.


Korea

In Korea, the earthenware pot is called ''ddukbaegi'', often used for soups as seen in Korean restaurants. The stone pot is called ''
dolsot A ''dolsot'' () or ''gopdolsot'' () is a small-sized piece of cookware or serveware made of agalmatolite, suitable for one to two servings of ''bap (food), bap'' (cooked rice). In Korean cuisine, various hot rice dishes such as bibimbap or ''gulb ...
'', which is heavier and has a more marbled appearance, used to cook ''dolsot bibimbap''.


Vietnam

The
stew A stew is a combination of solid food ingredients that have been Cooking, cooked in Soup, liquid and served in the resultant gravy. Ingredients can include any combination of vegetables and may include meat, especially tougher meats suitable for ...
-like dish '' kho'' is cooked in a pot. The pot is most often called ''nồi đất'' in
Vietnamese Vietnamese may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Vietnam, a country in Southeast Asia * Vietnamese people, or Kinh people, a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to Vietnam ** Overseas Vietnamese, Vietnamese people living outside Vietna ...
, although, depending on its size and use, it may also be called ''nồi kho cá'', ''nồi kho thịt'', ''nồi kho tiêu'', or ''nồi kho tộ''.


Philippines

The traditional pot used for cooking is the '' palayok''.


Indonesia

The traditional pot used for cooking is called ''kuali'' or ''gentong''. The famous cuisine is ''
empal gentong Empal gentong is a spicy Indonesian curry-like beef soup originating in Cirebon, West Java. It is a variety of the Soto cuisine and is similar to gulai which is usually cooked with firewood in a ''gentong'' stove ( Javanese for clay pot). The in ...
'' (beef with coconut milk soup).
Chinese Indonesian Chinese Indonesians (), or simply ''Orang Tionghoa'' or ''Tionghoa'', are Indonesians whose ancestors arrived from China at some stage in the last eight centuries. Chinese Indonesians are the fourth largest community of Overseas Chinese in th ...
''
sapo tahu Sapo tahu () is a Chinese Indonesian tofu dish traditionally cooked and served in claypot. Sapo tahu may be served as a vegetarian dish, or with chicken, seafood (especially shrimp), minced beef or pork. It is a popular tofu dish in Indonesia, wi ...
'' is
tofu or bean curd is a food prepared by Coagulation (milk), coagulating soy milk and then pressing the resulting curds into solid white blocks of varying softness: ''silken'', ''soft'', ''firm'', and ''extra (or super) firm''. It originated in Chin ...
and vegetables cooked in claypot.


In African cuisines


Ethiopia

Traditionally, all food was cooked in specialized clay pots. Some traditional dishes are still cooked in clay pots as the same flavor cannot be achieved with metal cookware.


Morocco

The
tajine A tagine or tajine, also ''tajin'' or ''tagin'' () is a Maghrebi dish, and also the earthenware pot in which it is cooked. It is also called or . Etymology The Arabic () is derived from Ancient Greek () 'frying-pan, saucepan'. According to ...
is a North African, two-piece pot used in Moroccan cuisine. The bottom part is a broad, shallow bowl, while the top is tall and conical, or sometimes domed. The tall lid acts to condense rising steam and allow the moisture to roll back down into the dish. The tajine lends its name to the meat stew that is typically cooked in this pot. Another Moroccan clay pot is the '' tagra'', which is used to bake fish. A Moroccan bean pot is the '' gedra''.


In European cuisines


France

In French cuisine the '' daubiere'' is used to cook daubes. A '' tripiere'' is a specialized earthenware pot for cooking
tripe Tripe is a type of edible lining from the stomachs of various farm animals. Most tripe is from cattle and sheep. Types Beef Beef tripe is made from the muscle wall (the interior mucosal lining is removed) of a cow's stomach chambers: th ...
. The diable is an unglazed potbellied container used to dry-cook chestnuts or potatoes. The tian is a low rectangular pan for making tians or gratins.


Germany

Clay roasting pots called '' Römertopf'' ('Roman pot') are a recreation of the wet-clay cooking vessels used by the Etruscans, and appropriated by the Romans, by at least the first century BC. They are used for a variety of dishes in the oven and are always immersed in water and soaked for at least fifteen minutes before being placed in a cold oven. Since its introduction in 1967, it has influenced cooking traditions in Germany and neighbouring countries.


Greece

A '' yiouvetsi'' is similar to a ''
güveç Güveç () is a family of earthenware pots used in Balkan, Persian, Turkish, and Levantine cuisine; various casserole or stew dishes cooked in them are called ghivetch. The pot is wide and medium-tall, can be glazed or unglazed, and the dish ...
''.
Moussaka Moussaka (, , ; ) is an eggplant (aubergine)- or potato-based dish, often including ground meat, which is common in the Balkans and the Middle East, with many local and regional variations. The modern Greek variant was created in the 1920s by ...
is made in these.


Spain

In Spanish cooking a ceramic roaster known as '' olla de barro'' is used. Another clay pot used in Spain is the ''
cazuela Cazuela ( or ) is the common name given to a variety of dishes, especially from South America. It receives its name from the ''cazuela'' (Spanish for cooking pot) – traditionally, an often shallow pot made of unglazed earthenware used for co ...
''.


Italy

The is a vase-shaped pot used for cooking beans in the coals of a fireplace or in a wood-fired oven. Another Italian clay pot is the , which is a wide glazed clay pot used in Apulia and Calabria. In Tuscany the and are bean pots. Dishes commonly prepared in clay pots include .


In South American cuisines

Clay pots are used in various South American dishes, including ''
cazuela Cazuela ( or ) is the common name given to a variety of dishes, especially from South America. It receives its name from the ''cazuela'' (Spanish for cooking pot) – traditionally, an often shallow pot made of unglazed earthenware used for co ...
'', which is named for the Spanish cooking pot.


In North American cuisines

Native American civilizations traditionally cooked in clay pots, although they fell out of favor after European settlers' introduction of metal cookware. In the modern United States some cooks choose to use clay pots for health or environmental reasons. In
New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...
and other regions,
baked beans Baked beans is a Dish (food), dish traditionally containing white Phaseolus vulgaris, common beans that are parboiling, parboiled and then baking, baked in sauce at low temperature for a lengthy period. Canned baked beans are not baked, but ar ...
were traditionally cooked with
salt pork Salt pork is salt-cured pork. It is usually prepared from pork belly, or, less commonly, fatback. Salt pork typically resembles uncut side bacon, but is fattier, being made from the lowest part of the belly, and saltier, as the cure is stronge ...
in a
beanpot A beanpot is a deep, wide-bellied, short-necked vessel used to cook bean-based dishes. Beanpots are typically made of ceramic, though some are made of other materials, such as cast iron. The relatively narrow mouth of the beanpot minimizes evapo ...
in a
brick oven A masonry oven, colloquially known as a brick oven or stone oven, is an oven consisting of a baking chamber made of fireproof brick, concrete, stone, clay (clay oven), or cob (cob oven). Though traditionally wood-fired, coal-fired ovens were c ...
for six to eight hours. In the absence of a brick oven, the beans were cooked in a beanpot nestled in a bed of embers placed near the outer edges of a hearth, about a foot away from the fire. "Bean hole" cooking may have originated with the native
Penobscot people The Penobscot (Abenaki language, Abenaki: ''Pαnawάhpskewi'') are an Indigenous people in North America from the Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, Northeastern Woodlands region. They are organized as a List of federally recogniz ...
and later practiced in logging camps. A fire would be made in a stone-lined pit and allowed to burn down to hot coals, and then a pot with seasoned beans would be placed in the ashes, covered over with dirt, and left to cook overnight or longer. The beans were a staple of New England
logging camp A logging camp (or lumber camp) is a transitory work site used in the logging industry. Before the second half of the 20th century, these camps were the primary place where lumberjacks would live and work to fell trees in a particular area. Many ...
s, served at every meal., Maine Folklife Center


See also


References


{{Cooking techniques Utility vessels Cooking techniques ja:鍋#材質と特徴