How to Cook in an Unglazed Clay Pot

Last Updated: November 12, 2022 References Tested

An unglazed pure clay pot is a cooking pot made from all-natural clay and contains no contaminants or glazes. A kind of organic version for cookware. It's believed that food is at its best in taste and nutritional value when cooked in these pots because the heat cooking the food is non-destructive, it's food friendly and does not destroy nutrition bearing cells in the food. What's more, the pot itself is inert and does not leach metals or chemicals into your food. Depending on which brand you're using, an unglazed pure-clay pot can be used on gas, electric and convection stove tops and in the oven.

Part 1

Part 1 of 4:

Seasoning Your Pot

This only needs to be done one time, before use.

1
Wet the pot thoroughly under running water for a few seconds.^{[1]
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2
Wet the lid also in the same way.

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3
Fill the pot half way up with water and in a separate bowl take 1-2 cups of water and add 3 tablespoon (44.4 ml). of flour. Use any flour such as rice, wheat, tapioca, all-purpose etc. Using a few drops of cooking oil and turmeric is optional.
4
Stir this mixture thoroughly, add it to the pot. Stir and close the lid and let it cook until it thickens.^{[2]
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5
Turn the stove off and let it sit for a few hours or overnight.
6
Pour the broth out (you can use it on multiple pots if you want). Rinse the pot thoroughly pat dry with a towel and start cooking!^{[3]
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Part 2

Part 2 of 4:

Cooking on the Stove-top

1
Make sure the pot is seasoned already.
2
Start on low. Let it stay at this heat for 5-10 minutes.
3
Increase temperature to medium. Unglazed pots hold all the heat given to them, so no heat is lost and there's no need to go past medium setting.^{[4]
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- While most brands recommend the use of a heat diffuser, with others a diffuser is not required when cooking on gas cook tops.

Part 3

Part 3 of 4:

Cooking in the Oven

1
Make sure the pot is seasoned already.
2
Start cooking in a cold oven or at 250 degrees Fahrenheit or 120 Celsius.^{[5]
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3
Increase to desired setting in about 10 minutes. You can go up to 450 to 500 degrees in the oven but you'll soon find out that the pot does not need as much heat to cook the same food.^{[6]
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- Most times food can cook at about 50 degrees or so less than the temperature setting called for on the recipe.

Part 4

Part 4 of 4:

Care and Cleaning

1
Start with several back-to-back uses. After the seasoning process, use the pot a few times back-to back, i.e use it often at least 3 to 4 times. This helps the pot to shrink slightly and will prevent it from holding moisture.
2
If the pot needs to be put away sooner, just wash it, pat dry with a cotton towel and dry it in the oven at 250 degrees Fahrenheit or on the stove top for 10 minutes at the lowest setting. Once used a few times you may not have to dry it this way. It will dry on its own.
3
Use wooden spoons. They go well with the pots.
4
Clean them as needed. Unglazed pure clay pots become completely non-stick in a few uses so cleaning them is very easy. Also, since most of the steam rising from the food is locked inside, food seldom burns or sticks to the bottom.^{[7]
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- Using baking soda is recommended for cleaning: wet the pot and lid thoroughly with water, sprinkle 1/2 tsp of baking soda, scrub and rinse off. Dry the pot with a cotton towel/rag and put it away to dry.
5
Store the pots with lid open in well ventilated areas.

Community Q&A

Question

My clay pot broke when I turned off the gas and opened the ceiling fan. Can anyone explain why this happened?

T. Chinsen

Top Answerer

Original clay pot cooking was done in an oven. It required the pot and lid to be soaked overnight so that the clay pot was saturated. Meat and vegetables were placed in the pot (with no additional fluids) and then baked. The wet clay creates a "sauna" that cooks the food. If you did not have enough surface seasoned (overnight is best), the heating up of the pot will be uneven. This causes different rates of expansion and contraction, which result in cracking and breaking when cooled quickly.
Question

Do I have to season the clay pot first every time before cooking?

Sam the Safe Cook

Community Answer

That depends on the brand. Some imported brands require soaking and seasoning each time. Miriam's Earthenware that makes clay cookware in the USA which come pre-seasoned and does not require soaking or seasoning each time.
Question

What is the best way to use a clay pot in the instant pot as an insert into the steel insert, called the "Pot in Pot" cooking method?

Sachin Sharma

Community Answer

With clay pots, it is better to cook with them right on the stovetop because their walls are semi-porous. That allows oxygen to pass through the pot during cooking, making your dish taste and smell better. When you use it as an insert, you are cutting off the air supply and the pot might take in off-gassing from the material of the instant pot and the linings, which could be toxic. However, if you still want to do so, you should check the dimensions of your clay pot (the base diameter and the height) and compare it to your existing insert. Different instant makers keep changing their designs so there is no size that fits all, which means you need to do some research on your own.