Jason King
AmyHuangClay Pot Cooking and My New Baby
January 14th 2010 08:37
I have been eyeing this clay pot for about two or three years now. Every time I visit my parental units we do a day trip or coffee in Tilba Tilba. It is a beautiful country town just off the highway near Bermagui on the South Coast of NSW and has some great shops and a nostalgic small little pub. They even close the road on one day in Easter and open the town for a fair - so much fun watching egg throwing competitions or the new backtown version of Erobisize on display 
We walk the length of the town and I have my traditions - I buy soap and candles from two different shops every single year. And we all buy some cheeses from the Tilba Cheese Factory. They are divine. In the Cheese Factory they have oodles of ccoking equipment for sale and one of them is my new clay pot. I always say no to myself as I normally want to make sure I have money to get home with and play while I am away. But this year they were all on sale and I am kicking myself I did not buy the large one now. Instead I got the medium which is great for feeding up to 3 but if I have more people over or want to cook leftovers aswell I am trumped.
BUT - I am not disappointed in picking this up for $24- thanks to a substantial sale on the pots. I have only cooked one meal in it so far - My Spag Bog - but have been searching online for recipes and also on Orble for recipes I can convert. Helen's delish looking Slow Cooked Moroccan Lamb being the forerunner at present.
Clay pots cook very different to your regular pot. A clay cooker is a single pot or vessel that can serve as a vegetable steamer, stew pot, soup kettle, fish poacher, brick oven and roaster. Clay is a porous material which, when saturated with water and heated in the oven, provides slow evaporation of steam from the pores. This creates a moist enclosed environment that results in increased flavor, very tender meats and healthier foods. Clay pots require less fat, use less liquid, require little tending and can even brown meats.
Traditional clay cooking pots are used all over the world! Moroccans use the tagine with its conical lid; the Spanish a lidless cazuela; in Provence, the shallow open dish called a tian is also the dish cooked in it. Other vessels of earthenware or stoneware include chicken bricks, tandoor pots, potato or bean pots, garlic or onion takers, souffle' dishes, pie dishes, glazed ceramic casseroles and Chinese sand pots - all great ways to cook many kinds of food, but especially good for slow-cooked dishes. Follow the manufacturer's advice on the correct cooking method for each vessel, but a general guide is that unglazed earthenware, such as terracotta, should be soaked in cold water for about 10-20 minutes before use, and should never be washed in detergent or in a dishwasher, which will taint the clay. Chicken bricks and Romertopfs are perhaps the best examples of such vessels. Don't use them for very highly flavored dishes, such as curries or fish dishes, in case they absorb the flavors and taint other dishes. Glazed earthenware such as the cazuela and the tagine should never be placed in or on the heat while empty, and all earthenware should be placed in a cold oven, then brought up to the correct heat gradually (in stages if it is a gas oven).
Some clay pots were traditionally used on top of the stove, but you should follow the manufacturer's instructions, and it would be wise to use a heat diffuser between the heat source and the pot. Moroccan tagines, however, can also be used on a barbecue, though the coals should be covered with sand.
Stoneware is a stronger material, fired at 1264 degrees C, and usually glazed - much ceramic ovenware is of this kind and can be placed in a preheated oven without fear of damage, but always check the manufacturer's instructions. Never put a hot pot on a cold surface nor a cold unglazed pot in a preheated oven.
* Food cooks with a minimum of liquid and no additional fat.
* Food browns in clay, even with the lid on.
* More of the essential nutrients and vitamins are retained in foods cooked in clay pots because food cooks in a closed environment with limited liquids.
* As long as you don’t overfill the cooker, your oven will remain clean.
* Clay cookers may be used in the microwave very successfully. It is best to use lower power settings.
* Food can be kept warm by leaving the lid on the cooker after removing it from the oven without overcooking.
* Meats cook especially well in clay cookers because they have a tendency to stay moist and juicy.
* Unglazed clay cookers can soak up a considerable amount of water. This is best for tenderizing meats because of the super steaming quality. Use this type of pot for tougher cuts of meat, stews roasts, poultry, poaching, steaming and microwaving.
* Glazed clay cookers have a glaze which usually only covers the bottom cooker for easier cleaning.
History and info is care of "Cooking with Sherley".
Anyone want to suggest a recipe to cook in it??
Have a great day!!
We walk the length of the town and I have my traditions - I buy soap and candles from two different shops every single year. And we all buy some cheeses from the Tilba Cheese Factory. They are divine. In the Cheese Factory they have oodles of ccoking equipment for sale and one of them is my new clay pot. I always say no to myself as I normally want to make sure I have money to get home with and play while I am away. But this year they were all on sale and I am kicking myself I did not buy the large one now. Instead I got the medium which is great for feeding up to 3 but if I have more people over or want to cook leftovers aswell I am trumped.
BUT - I am not disappointed in picking this up for $24- thanks to a substantial sale on the pots. I have only cooked one meal in it so far - My Spag Bog - but have been searching online for recipes and also on Orble for recipes I can convert. Helen's delish looking Slow Cooked Moroccan Lamb being the forerunner at present.
Clay pots cook very different to your regular pot. A clay cooker is a single pot or vessel that can serve as a vegetable steamer, stew pot, soup kettle, fish poacher, brick oven and roaster. Clay is a porous material which, when saturated with water and heated in the oven, provides slow evaporation of steam from the pores. This creates a moist enclosed environment that results in increased flavor, very tender meats and healthier foods. Clay pots require less fat, use less liquid, require little tending and can even brown meats.
Traditional clay cooking pots are used all over the world! Moroccans use the tagine with its conical lid; the Spanish a lidless cazuela; in Provence, the shallow open dish called a tian is also the dish cooked in it. Other vessels of earthenware or stoneware include chicken bricks, tandoor pots, potato or bean pots, garlic or onion takers, souffle' dishes, pie dishes, glazed ceramic casseroles and Chinese sand pots - all great ways to cook many kinds of food, but especially good for slow-cooked dishes. Follow the manufacturer's advice on the correct cooking method for each vessel, but a general guide is that unglazed earthenware, such as terracotta, should be soaked in cold water for about 10-20 minutes before use, and should never be washed in detergent or in a dishwasher, which will taint the clay. Chicken bricks and Romertopfs are perhaps the best examples of such vessels. Don't use them for very highly flavored dishes, such as curries or fish dishes, in case they absorb the flavors and taint other dishes. Glazed earthenware such as the cazuela and the tagine should never be placed in or on the heat while empty, and all earthenware should be placed in a cold oven, then brought up to the correct heat gradually (in stages if it is a gas oven).
Some clay pots were traditionally used on top of the stove, but you should follow the manufacturer's instructions, and it would be wise to use a heat diffuser between the heat source and the pot. Moroccan tagines, however, can also be used on a barbecue, though the coals should be covered with sand.
Stoneware is a stronger material, fired at 1264 degrees C, and usually glazed - much ceramic ovenware is of this kind and can be placed in a preheated oven without fear of damage, but always check the manufacturer's instructions. Never put a hot pot on a cold surface nor a cold unglazed pot in a preheated oven.
* Food cooks with a minimum of liquid and no additional fat.
* Food browns in clay, even with the lid on.
* More of the essential nutrients and vitamins are retained in foods cooked in clay pots because food cooks in a closed environment with limited liquids.
* As long as you don’t overfill the cooker, your oven will remain clean.
* Clay cookers may be used in the microwave very successfully. It is best to use lower power settings.
* Food can be kept warm by leaving the lid on the cooker after removing it from the oven without overcooking.
* Meats cook especially well in clay cookers because they have a tendency to stay moist and juicy.
* Unglazed clay cookers can soak up a considerable amount of water. This is best for tenderizing meats because of the super steaming quality. Use this type of pot for tougher cuts of meat, stews roasts, poultry, poaching, steaming and microwaving.
* Glazed clay cookers have a glaze which usually only covers the bottom cooker for easier cleaning.
History and info is care of "Cooking with Sherley".
Anyone want to suggest a recipe to cook in it??
Have a great day!!
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Comment by Lara M
Love Speaks
Food Slate
As you pointed out, stews are great in it, so are soups...actually just about anything
Comment by Jason King
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Something fun and different. The one thing I have to get used to is massively lowering the temperature after it gets hot as it holds it too well.
Hope you've been well
Comment by Lara M
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Comment by K @ the Lair
Comment by AmyHuang
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Am I invited to dinner? ;-P
Comment by Jason King
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Mum - maybe I could get you that for your birthday
Amy - yay a good thick creamy curry. Maybe a goat curry - YUM. Are u in Sydney nowadays?
Comment by Chris Champion
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Comment by Jason King
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The pot didn't say anything back but I am sure it means well
Comment by Helen Randell
Rough Cooking
This looks awesome! I can't wait to see what you create in it!
Comment by Jason King
Sydney Table
Salty Popcorn
Total Randomness
Keep you posted