What are the Disadvantages of Cooking in Clay Pots?

Have you ever thought of peeping into your grandma’s cooking style? Why are the foods so delicious? The secret you will find is cooking in clay pots which will give you a magical sensation.

However, you cannot pass over the other side of a coin. Cooking in clay pots has some downsides too. So, what is the disadvantages of cooking in clay pots is the main question here.

Glazed clay pots contaminated with toxic substances cause detrimental effects to health. Also, natural features like porousness, imbalanced heat absorbance dwindle the intact nutritional value and delectable aroma of food.

Be cautious whenever you use the clay pots whether it is for frying, browning, or grilling. So, let’s just explore the whole fact!

Is it Safe to Use Clay Pots for Cooking?

Clay pots that satisfy the purity testing matter naturally, are safe and reliable to use for preparing, cooking, and storing food. Pure clay does not react with food while cooking and is free from harmful substances.
To ensure the impurity of clay, reputable companies conduct the complete scan of clay regularly.

They perform the validity test in two stages: pre-production and post-production.

The unglazed tested clay which contains no chemicals is completely non-reactive and eco-friendly to use on any kind of kitchen appliance.

Is it Healthy to Cook in Clay?

A clay pot is far healthier to cook than other cookware. It renders several health benefits.

It provides vitamin B12 and many other essential nutrients. Also, it serves as a natural detox. The food cooked in a clay pot will build up the digestion efficiency of your body.

The clay pot neutralizes the acidic concentration of foods. Moreover, it has natural insulation properties which improve the food quality.

Disadvantages of Cooking in Clay Pots:

By going through the facts mentioned below, you can identify the demerits of cooking in clay pots clearly. Here are the facts :

• Purity Issue:

Manufacturers make earthen pots by collecting clay from different areas. The transportation may contain materials including iron-oxide, metals, and impurities. And these substances are very dangerous for health.

Whenever buying a pot, try to get them from a popular brand and don’t go with the cheap pots only which compromise with the purity.

• Porousness: 

You cannot clean clay pots like ceramic pots. As the pots are porous, you cannot use any soap or dishwasher directly. Otherwise, the soap will leach into the pores and get stuck there and this can make your dish feel like soap.

• Toxicity of Glazed Clay: 

To reduce the pure clay pot cleaning difficulties, industries introduce glazed clay pots. These glazed pots may be more attractive to look at but contain a high amount of lead.

The toxic lead-based glaze pots have a harmful and hazardous effect on your body which should be a priority to you.

• Brittle Nature:

As clay pots are temperature sensitive, they can crack due to a sudden increase in heat. You must check on it most often.

Uneven heat exposure is also a reason for the side cracks of the pots. Sometimes, it is so tough to maintain the temperature distribution due to its delicate nature. But you must be patient and take care of the heat absorption while cooking.

• Change in Flavor:

While cooking flavorful dishes, clay pots can create a large issue in terms of taste. As the pots contain pores in them, all the spices of the food will seep into the pores. And the pots will hold only the essence which furthermore seals stains.

If the flavor of food gets permanent in your pot, then it will surely diminish the flavor of other dishes and make them of poor taste.

• Huge Heat Absorption:

You will not risk your hands burning intentionally while cooking, right! 

But cooking in clay pots is risky for your hands to burn as it has a huge heat absorption capacity. You have to be careful while increasing or decreasing the temperature of the pots.

Needless to say- keep little children away while cooking in clay pots for their safety.

What are the Health Benefits of Cooking in Earthen Pots?

Earthen clay pots offer multiple natural services that make them more distinctive and beneficial for health.

Below is listed the advantages of cooking in earthen pots:

• Retain Nutritive Value:

Clay pots offer slow cooking compared to metal utensils. This makes the heat and moisture spread uniformly throughout the food which maintains the nutritive value.

Especially when you cook meat in a clay pot, the thermal inertia assists the meat muscle proteins to break down fully and keeps the meat tender and fresh for a long time.

• Balance pH Level:

Having alkaline properties in nature, clay pots accommodate the acidic nature of food. It neutralizes the pH level and makes the food healthier.

• Reduce Oil Consumption:

Earthen pots serve as heat-resistant and provide moisture by reducing extra oil from food. So, you can cook with minimum oil and do not need to put unnecessary fat in your food.

• Enumerate More Nutrients:

Magnesium, calcium, iron, Sulphur, phosphorus are hugely beneficial to health. And clay pots add these important nutrients to food while cooking. 

Are Clay Pots Toxic?

The clay itself contains various natural chemicals. And the manufacturing process of clay pots is environmentally sound and totally natural. So, it is so obvious that clay pots are free from all toxic chemicals and elements.

Also, you can use non-glazed pots as they do not retain the lead. Indeed, the unique format composition makes these clay pots more usable for any type of cooking.

Closure:

Clay pots cooking symbolize the traditional cooking style and their existence is reflected for centuries.

But finding authentic clay is very crucial. Also, the pot made from impure clay always leaves a health issue. And it is so obvious that you do not want to inhale anything toxic through food.

So, it ends here that you must be mindful about selecting and approaching cooking adventures with clay pots.