Cook from clay for better nutrient retention

Posted on 1 July 2010

By Marie Louise Swart

I was thinking of the days in Eden when we were eating fruit from the trees and veggies from the earth and it came to me that we never had to wonder about our food. Since it was raw the food was natural and all the nutrients went into their bodies and didn’t get lost in the cooking process.

But most people don’t always want to eat food raw. Cooking food brings out the flavour and with added spices and herbs it also makes it tastier. Studies in recent years also show that iron and aluminium from cooking pots can leach into food and toxic polymers from non-stick pans are released in to the air, causing several serious health risks.

Cooking with clay pots is becoming very popular and is a healthier option because clay is a natural product. Minerals that are in the clay dissolve into your food, making it tastier and healthier.

Using glazed earthenware has several advantages over metal pans:

• Food cooks with a minimum of liquid and no additional fat.
• Food browns in clay pots, even with the lid on.
• More of the essential nutrients and vitamins are retained in foods cooked in clay pots because food cooks in a closed environment with limited liquids.
• As long as you don’t overfill the cooker, your oven will remain clean.
• Argilla clay pots may be used in the microwave very successfully. It is best to use lower power settings.
• Food can be kept warm by leaving the lid on the pot, after removing it from the oven, without overcooking.
• You only use one pot for the whole meal.
• Argilla pots have a glaze which makes for easier cleaning.
• Clay pots are very durable.

Argilla clay pots come in mocha and sandstone and are oval and round bakers, pie plates and casseroles. Try cooking dishes like lasagna and other pastas, casseroles and baked goods.

A disadvantage of clay pot cooking is the longer cooking time (1 hour), but the exquisitely tastier food will soon have you forget about this.

For some great vegan dishes that you can cook with Argilla, visit: www.argillasa.net.

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