They lock in nutrients, fight bacteria, and make your food taste better.

Whether an unglazed earthen pot can add its own flavor to the food that’s cooked in it or not, is a subject of much debate. Earthen pot cultures, chefs and cookbook authors, like Paula Wolfert who introduced America to the Moroccan tagine and is considered the queen of claypot cooking, swear that unglazed clay vessels give food an earthy taste and aroma—what Wolfert calls “goût de terroir, a ‘taste of the earth’.” But food scientists are skeptical about such claims, given that clay, once it’s fired, is known to be relatively inert.

The most compelling reason to start cooking in unglazed earthen pots comes from the one thing it doesn’t do—leach harmful metals into your food.

The single biggest resistance to cooking with earthenware pots, comes from this idea that their use is fraught with hassles or that they’re too delicate to be used on a gas flame. “Most clay pots are pretty robust,” says Smith, “one just has to respect their individual qualities.”

• YOUR FOOD WILL TASTE BETTER
• FOOD COOKED IN CLAY POTS IS BETTER FOR YOU
• THEY KEEP BACTERIA AT BAY
• THEY’RE SAFE, NON TOXIC COOKWARE
• BETTER FOR THE PLANET