If you are a health conscious cook, then you already know all about pure clay cookware and the many benefits that it brings. Pots and pans made from pure clay, without any glazing whatsoever, are completely safe to use in the sense that there are no toxins and no chemicals that can be transferred into your food and poison your body. However, apart from this type of safety, there are other features to consider as well, safety features that have to do with the prudent use of this type of cookware.
Cooking safety
There is much more to clay pots and pans than the health benefits they provide by keeping your food 100% toxin free. For instance, a great advantage is that you can use them both for oven cooking and cooking on stove top. Same vessel, two different cooking processes. Nevertheless, you should take into account some safety instructions when cooking either one way or the other. For instance, when cooking on stove top, it’s better to use a heat diffuser, so that the bottom of the pot is not placed directly onto the source of heat. The same is valid for when slow cooking your food. On the other hand, when cooking in the oven, the best way to do it is place the pot in the cold oven and then gradually increase the temperature.
Refrigeration safety
Clay cookware can be used for food storage as well,you don’t have to take the food out of the pots and pans and store it in regular food containers before placing it in the fridge. You may very well leave it inside the pot, as clay vessels are refrigerator safe. However, before putting the pot in the fridge, make sure you leave it out to cool down to room temperature and not refrigerate it while it’s still hot. This is because drastic changes in temperature cause the clay cookware to crack.
Cleaning safety
Caring for your safe cookware is not difficult, but it is highly important if you want your cookware to last you a lifetime, or close to that anyway. If you buy the right type of pure clay vessels, they will be dishwasher safe. Even so, it is recommended that you hand wash the clay pots and pans because that way you can avoid harmful soaps or washing liquids. Just use baking soda to scrub it and then rinse thoroughly under water. Then, simply wipe it with a towel and store it away. Since there is no glaze on pure clay cookware, you can scrub it as hard or for as long as you need, in the unfortunate case that you overcooked or burnt your food. However, this will hardly ever happen with a pure clay pot, because they are naturally non-stick!