As followers of Clay Coyote know, we’ve been working on developing a Flameware Stovetop Ceramic Cookware line for clay pot cooking some time now.
We just got our copy of ‘Food and Wine’ magazine today, in which Paula
Wolfert has a great article on Cooking in Clay. Her new book Mediterranean Clay Pot Cooking will be out in a month. As she was writing it, we had some long conversations on why food tastes better when cooked in clay pots. If you’ve tried our new Flameware Stovetop Ceramic Cookware, you’ll probably agree-food really does taste better when cooked in clay pottery.
My theory is that metal pots transmit heat very quickly. Clay, on the other
hand, is an insulator. When you put heat to a clay pot, it comes through very slowly. I think the metal causes a very slight burning where the food meets the pan. If you control your heat in a clay pot, this doesn’t happen and the food doesn’t get the bitter, burned taste that metal gives. Paula thinks it’s because the indigenous low fired clay pots that will withstand direct heat
gather flavors over time. In low fired ware, there probably is some flavor transfer. Our new Flameware is high-fired and I don’t think the pot itself picks up any flavor…so we’re probably both right.
So far we’ve cooked an apple pancake that starts in the skillet and ends in the oven, oatmeal almost daily, scrambled eggs and ham almost daily, risotto (fabulous) in the casserole, tagines in the tagine, Pollo Verde in the cazuela, stir-fried vegetables in the skillet and many more.
We’ll be getting some recipes on the website and would like to hear your thoughts and shared recipes.
Hello Mrs. Wolfert
i’m actually writting to you to see if you can help me find the/a clay recipe for the low fired flameware you talk about. Everybody that i have been able to get a recipe for talk about high fired flameware (as i’m re-reading what i am writting i realize that it is maybe not as clear as it could be… my first language is french… enlgish is my second language and i think i need to work on it a bit more! anyhoo…). Do you think you might know someone that would/could help me in my research for low fired flameware earthenware??? A bientot j’espere! Marie
Hello Marie, While this is not Ms. Wolfert’s website and the article to which this is attached was written by me, I might be able to give you some help. The clay you are looking for is high-mica earthenware (low-fire). It is not a clay body in the sense that it is not a mixed clay…you can’t just add mica to a low-fire earthenware. It must have been formed in place.
When we first started the journey which resulted in our making of high-fire flameware, I searched throughout the US looking for a commercial source for such a clay. While it does exist, primarily in the SE and SW US, to my knowledge, no one mines it commercially, since there is no real market for it. What clay is found is usually hand dug by the user. Be aware that some of these mines are sacred sites for Native Americans and absolutely should not be touched. It is my understanding that someone attacked one of these sites with a skid loader and dump trucks. If someone offers you low fire flameware clay, be certain you know where it came from.
My suggestion would be to call smaller local clay operations in areas where low fire cooking pots were made. There is more availability in Europe and Africa. I know this isn’t much help but it’s what I know. Also, understand that the low-fire earthenware clays are not a true flameware in the sense that they can go from cold to full flame instantly. They need to be handled gently and heated slowly.