Cooking in Clay Pots

Clay pots (also known as earthenware) have been used for centuries and for me that's one of their main attractions. I love how cooking ties us to the past. Like a loaf of home-baked crusty bread, food served in a clay pot is rustic, simple and delightful.

But cooking in clay isn't just picturesque. In spite of their maturity, clay pots are valuable and efficient tools in a modern kitchen. Earthenware pots hold moisture and allow for slow, even cooking of a variety of foods. Vegetables, grains, fish, poultry and meat all benefit from being cooked in clay. Cooking in earthenware yields foods that are moist, tender and flavorful.

Clay pot cooking has nutritional benefits as well because it is especially suited to low-fat cooking. Clay pots are soaked in water before use and most have a lid. As the pot is heated, steam builds up inside the pot and the food is steamed until tender. Little fat is added to the pot—it isn't necessary.

Clay pot cooking is also easier because it is one-pot cooking. For most recipes, all the ingredients are simply combined in the pot along with herbs and spices and the pot is then covered, placed in the oven and baked, keeping your stovetop clear and your hands free to make salad and dessert.

When using a clay pot keep in mind that most food contains a lot of water, even meat is 75 percent water and many vegetables are 95 percent water. As the food inside the pot cooks, some of this water is released. You only need to add a bit of water to the pot when you start cooking. Since most foods cooked in a clay pot are steamed, you won't get as much browning as you are used to seeing in baked foods. If you want a bit of extra color, simply remove the lid toward the end of cooking. The fact that earthenware is porous and soaks up water makes it wonderful to cook in but can also lead to it soaking up flavors. Avoid cooking savory dishes and desserts in the same earthenware pots.

Earthenware pots come in an almost endless variation of shapes, each designed for a certain type of dish or cuisine. North Africans use cone-shaped tagines, the Spanish cook food in a casuela, northern Mediterranean and German cooks use a high-sided vessel with a high-domed lid, called a chicken brick or Romertopf, and in China a saucepan shaped clay pot is used to make soups and stews. You will also find specialized shapes of earthenware pots for cooking beans, roasting garlic and poaching fish. The best all-purpose earthenware pot is oval or rectangular with relatively high sides and a lid that is ridged so that it can't slide off.