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Believe it or not, I have only very recently discovered the convenience and, yes, joy, of slow cooking in my home.
I incorporated this very traditional method of food preparation using clay pots which I have found to be quicker (and safer) than using a crockpot, Instapot, or stainless cookware.
While the concept of speedy slow cooking may seem to be an oxymoron, it really isn’t when it comes to clay pots. Let me explain …
My oldest child goes off to college very soon. The reality of him subsisting on unhealthy, highly processed college food after being raised on an organic, whole food diet for his entire life has been weighing on my mind for some time. As a result, I’ve been in search of an easy to use appliance in which he can quickly and safely prepare simple meals for himself as needed.
Clay Pot Cooker vs Instapot
A crockpot might seem like the perfect solution at first. However, I’ve never been thrilled with this option for several reasons (no offense to those of you who love them!). First, most models are made with Teflon, aluminum, and other unsafe materials. Even the few stainless steel models pose the problem of leaching heavy metals like carcinogenic nickel into your food when you cook acidic dishes such as tomatoes (1).
Old-time cast iron slow cookers aren’t necessarily better. These can contribute to the little known health issue of excess iron in the diet. Doctors call it iron overload disorder. This is of particular concern for adult males and menopausal women and recognized as a risk by science.
From a practical perspective, crockpots don’t cook fast enough for me let alone a busy college student.
Safety Issues
I’ve also avoided the fast cooking Instapot or other types of pressure cookers. I am not convinced that this unnatural way to cook food quickly doesn’t in fact greatly increase glutamates (MSG) in the food. This is especially risky when you make bone broth or tomato-based dishes. Pressure cookers are mostly made with stainless steel. This type of material introduces the very real risk of leaching toxic nickel when cooking acidic foods. I prefer an appliance I can use in all cooking situations!
Flavor Comparison
Finally, while crockpots do produce moist, juicy results, I haven’t been overly impressed with the flavor of the crockpot or Instapot meals. They taste bland and maybe a bit overly boiled to my palate. Of course, adding a lot of seasonings covers this up. The most nutritious food tastes amazing with little seasoning, however.
Hence my laid-back attitude toward slow cooking and pressure cookers until I discovered an affordable appliance that combines modern technology and convenience with the benefits and safety of traditional clay cooking. This appliance which I literally cannot live without after using for 2 years is called the Vita-Clay.
Clay Pots 101
Cooking in terra cotta clay pots is an ancient tradition that dates back to the Etruscan civilization that existed around 800 BC. Today, this area in central Italy that includes the city of Florence is known as Tuscany. I was fortunate to be able to visit Tuscany in the Fall of 2015. This travel experience made research into the subject of even greater personal interest.
Clay is a Porous Material
Cooking in clay pots is different than cooking in other materials such as ceramic or stainless steel. The primary difference is the porous clay. No enamel or glaze means the hard-baked clay “breathes”. Thus, water is absorbed and then released during cooking to achieve moist, intensely flavorful results with little to no seasonings. Slow, steady evaporation of steam from within the clay pot’s unglazed pores and the double-sealed lid is what makes this possible.
Cookbook author and Chef Suzanne Vandyck describes the process as follows:
… the clay cooker cooks with a minimum of liquid and retains all the intense flavors of every ingredient, achieved by simmering in its own juices. 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.
Improved Cooking Efficiency Without Damaging the Food
In addition to intensely flavorful food, the moist clay combined with the double lid design of the model I use, the 8 cup Vita-Clay, creates a micropressure environment that allows for much-improved cooking efficiency. This means you save electricity and time. In fact, clay pot cooking can have your meal ready in up to half the time compared with using other slow cookers.
Speedy slow cooking using clay pots was not the only thing that got me excited about Vita-Clay. You can set the meal to cook and when it is ready, use the delay function to keep it warm until you’re ready to eat. In addition, clay pot cooking is not just suitable for stews. These appliances also cook rice, oatmeal, bone broth, and soups. They even make yogurt!
Vita-Clay Sizes
Below is a picture of the compact, personal Vita-Clay model I am going to send off to college with my son. Would you believe it costs less than $50? And, if the clay pot chips or breaks for whatever reason, it can be easily replaced without buying a whole new cooker. Clay pots are very resistant to damage, by the way, so the chances of this happening are low.
Update: I’ve now used Vita-Clay for two years. I have all three sizes depending on what type/size meal I need to cook. No chips or breaks yet. These pots are very durable!
Cleaning Clay Pots
How about cleaning the clay pots? No dishwasher is necessary although you can use one if you like. Note that dishwashers might discolor the clay pot slightly or cause some lime buildup. To clean, all I do is rinse it out first. Use a drop or two of mild dish soap if desired and a soft dishwashing brush. Then, rinse and wipe clean.
If there are some cooked on bits of food, I soak for an hour or so in plain water in the kitchen sink. Then, dump the water and wipe clean. For tougher to remove food bits, soak overnight using 1 cup water, 1/4 cup white vinegar, and 1 tablespoon baking soda. Rinse and wipe the following morning. I’ve actually never had to use this approach. Little to no scrubbing is necessary in my experience even when I cook rice.
What About Toxins
One of the very first questions I asked before considering cooking in a clay pot was: would it be safe and toxin-free for my family? The clay pot I use made by Vita-Clay is manufactured using organic Zisha clay. Zisha is extremely pure clay, tested to be free from contaminants. This special clay was formed over thousands of years by rainfalls that scrubbed the mountains in southern, nonindustrialized China. These rainfalls released minerals into pristine lakes forming huge clay beds.
This article on lab tests for lead in clay pots provides credible insights for those seeking toxin-free cooking using Vita-Clay.
Most risk of lead contamination comes from glazed, ceramic dishes and pots. The Zisha clay pots are unglazed and have been certified by an independent third-party lab as lead-free (test results here).
They meet the FDA, CA 65, and UL safety requirements. No chemical treatments are applied to the clay during manufacturing.
Making Soup in a Clay Pot
The dishes I love making in the clay pot cooker are soups, stews, soaked rice, soaked oatmeal (soak and cook in one step!) and yogurt. Yes, you can easily make yogurt (using any type of milk: dairy, coconut, almond) in the Vita-Clay!
For now, let me share with you my favorite soup recipe in the Vita-Clay. Just throw in all the ingredients, turn it on and you are done. This is a very easy option for dinner on nights when the schedule is challenging and hectic.
Clay Pot Split Pea Soup Recipe
Easy recipe for split pea soup made in a slow cooker clay pot.
Ingredients
- 2 cups dried split peas
- 5 cups bone broth
- 1 1 lb/.5 kilo ham hock
- 1 pinch turmeric powder
- 1 onion finely chopped, preferably organic
- 4 celery stalks chopped, preferably organic
- 5 carrots chopped, preferably organic
Instructions
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Put all ingredients in the clay pot right after lunch around 1pm and close the lid.
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Turn on the “stew” setting for 3-4 hours. Dinner will be ready around 5pm. If you wish to eat dinner at a later time, the Vita-Clay will automatically keep things warm until then.
Recipe Notes
In a pinch, filtered water or a mixture of bone broth and water can be used.
If you buy instead of make bone broth, only buy bone broth packaged in glass jars. Other brands have toxic packaging issues.
Soaking Split Peas First
I like to soak split peas before cooking to increase digestibility and nutrient availability. To do this, put the split peas in a glass bowl with a teaspoon or so of sea salt, cover with filtered water and stir. I do this right after breakfast. You can also do it before you go to bed the night before if that’s easier. Then, after lunch, I drain off the water and put the soaked split peas and remaining ingredients in the Vita-Clay. Gently simmer into a hearty soup and dinner is done by 4-5 pm! Bonus: the Vita-Clay settings keep the meal warm until you are ready to eat.
Using a Vita-Clay Video Demonstration
The brief video below shows me using a Vita-Clay to make dinner. See how easy it is?
Want to Try Cooking in Clay for Yourself?
If this article has you excited to try cooking in clay pots too, note that there are several models to choose from. Click here to check out all the sizes and models available. Use coupon code WISE25 to order what you like best at 10% off. You won’t believe how reasonable the prices are!
Have you already tried cooking in clay pots? If so, what is your experience and what are your favorite dishes to create?
Disclosure: I was NOT paid to write this post although I was provided a Vita-Clay in order to personally verify all product claims. I wrote this article because I am a big fan of the Vita-Clay since researching about the benefits of clay pot cooking and cooking with it constantly over the past five years. Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. I truly believe in what this company is doing to produce a safe, quality product for the public.
Can the inner pot of Vita Clay be placed directly on stove top? After many years of use, I wanted to upgrade my old Takahi slow cooker to its newer low energy consumption flora version. But seeing your article, maybe Vita Clay can be another option. I love Takahi for the fact that the inner earthern inner pot can be placed directly on gas stove top. This enable one-pot cooking so that no extra pan is needed if I need to brown/sear my meat before setting it to stew overnight.
I often use it to cook Asian ABC soup, lotus roots soup etc. If I cook Asian soup straightaway using slow cooker, soup is not tasty at all. What I need to do is to bring soup to a boil on stove and let it simmer for at least 30 min on medium heat. Then pour from stock pot to slow cooker to brew till tasty while I go to work. 2 pots to wash. Dreadful. With Takahi, I placed the earthern inner pot directly on stove top to boil and simmer then transfer the whole inner pot from stove to the slow cooker heating pot, turn the control knob to High heat / auto shift. Leave it there, and I could go and watch my favorite TV show / go to work.
If Vita Clay inner pot allow direct stove top cooking, I do not mind trying it out.
The Vita-Clay pot cannot be put on the stovetop from what I understand. It is for use inside the Vita-Clay cooker only.
What does it mean to season the VitaClay pot? What is the purpose?
You do not need to season the pot, simply using mild dish soup or baking soda to wash in warm water.
Hi Sarah. I just bought one of these. Is there an easy way to adapt recipes for this so I am not limited to what is on the VitaClay site? I do not have any experience with this type of cooking method. Thank you.
I’ve just been throwing everything in there and cooking on “stew” for 2-3 hours. Everything is turning out amazing!
Thanks, Sarah! One other question. The VitaClay website says that this cooker does use pressure as part of the cooking process. I saw this described on another site as “micro-pressure.” I don’t know anything about pressure cooking, which you indicated might be unhealthy. Is the pressure used in the VitaClay pot less concerning than the pressure in a normal pressure cooker? I assume a normal pressure cooker uses a lot more pressure, but if you can unpack this issue a little, it would be most helpful. Thank you again!
There are holes in the lid of the Vita-Clay so whatever pressure there is, it isn’t much and wouldn’t build up to the point of creating MSG in the food. It cooks fine and not overly or unnaturally fast like a pressure cooker IMO. The micro-pressure term must refer to the steaming effect of the clay and water on the food as it cooks I’m guessing as this is the way the clay pot cooks as opposed to a stainless steel or ceramic slow cooker that is not porous.
i was so excited to read this because i’ve had fears about chemicals leaching from my crock pot. but i checked out the vita clay pot and the largest they make is only 8 cups. my current crock pot it 8 quarts. the pot i use for morning oatmeal or a side dish for supper is 6 quarts. unfortunately i do not see my family being able to use a vita pot 🙁
The 8 cup is actually a 4.2 quart. Still smaller than what you’re using, but might still work for oatmeal depending on how many cups of dry oats you use. I think 8 cups is the dry measurement.
I just bought one and am looking forward to your yogurt post. I assume you can make raw yogurt in it? I hope to make porridge overnight, so my husband can have an easy breakfast.
Oops, you did say raw yogurt. I misread it.
I’ve had this cooker on my radar for a while now. I would like to replace my rice cooker with it. Can you tell me, to make rice would I just put the rice and liquid in and press start? That’s what I do now and I really don’t want anything more complicated then that.
Yes, put everything in and press start. It’s that simple. No bringing the rice to a boil and then stirring, turning down the heat. One step and that’s it.
Hi Sarah.
I bought the large multi-cooker based on your recommendation and just received it yesterday. I’m so excited about this appliance–(have used slow cookers forever for broth but “real meals” pretty much end up flavorless). I have the split pea soup cooking now in my new vita clay cooker and it smells so good. I’m still learning the controls, not too difficult. But am concerned to learn that the cooker should be seasoned. I read the instructions thoroughly, but I didn’t see any recommendation for seasoning. Can I/should I still season now that I’ve already cooked in it? And, where did you come across the seasoning directions. So very many thanks.
So excited for you Lynne! I hope you love it as much as I do!
The instructions for seasoning are in the box. It’s on the sheet that says “Important Tips: Clay Pot Care Guide” I think you should probably do it even though you’ve used it already. Here’s what it says in case you can’t find it:
Season clay bot before first use:
Fill the pot with water, about 70-75% full and add 1-2 cups of white rice.
Set on soup setting for 2-3 hours
Disclaimer: this is not a recipe, it is a recommendation on how to season clay pot prior to use.
Didn’t find that sheet in the box–only loose sheet was the Easy Start page. So thank you so much for providing those instructions. BTW, the soup is delicious, and I made some rice too, which also turned out great. Now I’m going to season it proper–because I want it to be a long-time friend in my kitchen! Again, many thanks.
Sarah,
I purchased my Vitaclay pot at the WAP conference and I am one whose experience with the Vitaclay pot was not good. Mine is in the trash after many attempts to use it. I cooked rice in it several times. It will not even cook that anymore. I could not cancel or change a setting or make yogurt. I pulled it out to try it again with no luck so finally decided it was time to throw it out. Customer service is terrible. I would have to fully agree with the negative reviews on Amazon. When I saw that I was not the only one not getting help after three or four attempts, I just decided to take my loss and not waste any more of my time. I would not put my reputation on the line for this product if I were you. Half will be disappointed in this product.
I honestly cannot in the world figure out how you cannot even cook rice in the Vita-Clay. My 13 year old did it on the first try with no help from me. There is also the “quick start” guide in the box that is so simple an even younger child could easily do it. I am sorry it didn’t work for you, but I am scratching my head over your experience. Perhaps you are just not so good at learning new appliances, although I have to say, this is one of the simplest I’ve ever seen. I think back to my Aunt who got a VCR for Christmas some years ago and couldn’t get it to work and thought it was broken even though there was nothing wrong with the machine when someone else started it up for her.
Sarah,
Sorry you misunderstand my post. I did cook rice several time and am saying now the cooker will not even do that any more. I do know how to run the cooker. It is not operator error.
Read the reviews on Amazon. I went there to see if others had the same experience as I did and found many if not more negative than positive reviews. They experienced the cooker not working and no customer service either. Seems you either get a cooker that works or you don’t. I’m sure yours was tested to make sure that it worked so that you would promote their product. VitaClay has a good concept but poor product. Research product not ideas before you promote and mislead.
Again, sorry you didn’t like it … I love mine as do many others, and it certainly is not “misleading” for me to say so! No product pleases everyone.
We’ve had our VITA CLAY for a few months now and love it! Did you season yours? If so, how? I haven’t seasoned ours and keep meaning to.
Yes, we seasoned it. You just put a bit of rice and some water in there and simmer for an hour or so if I recall. Very easy.
What do you think of salad spinner pots and pans
I was sold until I heard clay was from China. I know they claim lead-free but what about other heavy metals?Do they test for other toxins such as cadmium etc.?
Yes, the tests come back free from cadmium as well. Here is what the FAQ on the Vita-Clay website says (more info on the website about the purity of the Zisha clay): VitaClay ® cookers are UL, cUL listed. It meets standard requirement of FDA, CA Prop 65, which covers lead and cadmium test. Moreover, our VitaClay ® has passed RoHS laboratory testing as well. The RoHS Directive stands for “the restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment”. This Directive bans the placing on the EU market of new electrical and electronic equipment containing more than agreed levels of lead, cadmium, mercury, hexavalent chromium, polybrominated biphenyl (PBB) and polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) flame retardants.