Description of Challenge
Healthy cooking using traditional, ecologially sound materials.Claypot cooking techniques
Solution
Clay pot cooking is a technique of cooking food in an unglazed clay pot that has been soaked in water so as to release steam during the cooking process. This technique has a long history, stretching back at least to ancient Roman times, and is commonly used in several cuisines in Africa, Europe and Southeast and East Asia.
Cooking techniques:
Typically, an unglazed clay pot is submerged for 15 to 30 minutes to absorb water before cooking, then filled with the food and placed into an oven. The walls of the pot help to diffuse the heat, and as the pot warms it releases the water as steam.
Alternatively, clay pots can be cured by boiling water (not in clay pot), and adding rice to the water. Once the rice is cooked, it is strained and the left over water is poured in the mud pot to be left overnight.This procedure is repeated for the duration of a week. This method will help to cure and remove mud from the pot and make it ready for cooking.
The food inside the clay pot loses little of its moisture because it is surrounded by steam, creating a tender, flavorful dish. The evaporation of the water prevents burning as long as the pot is not heated until it is completely dry.
Because no oil needs to be added using this cooking technique, food cooked in a clay pot may be lower in fat compared with food prepared by other methods, such as sautéing or frying. Unlike boiling, nutrients are not leached out into the water.
Because of the heat lost to the evaporation of water, clay pot cooking requires lower oven temperatures and longer cooking times than traditional roasting with dry heat. Clay pots may be cleaned by scrubbing them with salt; soaps or detergents should not be used, because the clay may absorb them.
