Cooking in clay is not something that modern world has given us. This healthy way of cooking is so ancient that its roots go beyond recorded history. Until few decades ago, clay cookware used to be the primary cooking utensil and nobody ever thought about changing the core material to something else. People probably switched to metal and ceramic cookware when the manufacturers became more profit-centric and less health conscious, so they started using other materials for making cooking pots without ensuring that they were even appropriate for this purpose. As a result, these toxic materials have almost replaced clay cookware and have become the most popular today.
You can still find cookware made from clay in the market but they are far from being healthy. Conventional clay cookware is seldom made from primary clay and it is coated with chemical glazes and enamels for a finished and shiny look. The most popular ceramic clay is a composition of stoneware, porcelain or terracotta glazed with chemical colors and varnishes. They leach harmful toxins into food, some at room temperature and others when heated.
How is Pure Clay different?
Pure clay is primary clay harvested from unfarmed and non-industrialized lands where it is found in the purest form – free from chemicals and other toxins. It has a natural property of being absolutely non-reactive, so unlike most metal and ceramic cookware, it doesn’t leach anything into food. To keep this property intact, no chemicals are used in manufacturing pure clay pots and pans and also they are not coated with chemicals for finishing or coloring purposes.
When a clay cookware has to go through a mechanized process, using chemicals becomes a necessity, but there is no such problem with pure clay pots as they are handmade and extreme care is taken that no chemicals are used at any stage of manufacturing process. This is what makes them 100% non-toxic.
Read: How do you know if you are using a truly healthy cookware?
You can easily differentiate pure clay pots from conventional clay (ceramic) pots by doing a simple alkaline baking soda test at home, which tests if a cookware leaches while cooking. Baking soda is highly alkaline in nature which makes it quite similar to food (an alkaline biochemical substance), so if a cookware is leaching something that is reactive to baking soda, it will definitely react to food and make it toxic. Wanna test the clay cookware you are using is made from pure clay? Have some baking soda ready and follow these steps:
- Boil 2-3 cups of water in any pot, when it starts boiling add 2 tsp of baking soda, boil for 5 more minutes. Turn stove off.
- Wait till cool enough to taste then taste the water (take a sip). If you taste metals, that’s what you’re eating! If water has a rubber/paint taste it’s the chemicals from enamel/glaze.
As a control, stir 2 tsp of baking soda to 1 glass of water and take a sip — you will taste just the baking soda.
Miriams Earthen Cookware’s pure-clay pots and pans are the only ones that pass this test and are 100% safe and non-toxic. If you are looking for a truly healthy clay cookware, then pure clay is your best option. Feel free to visit miriamsearthencookware.com and find a suitable pure-clay cookware for your kitchen.
Why Choose Healthy Cookware? 