300px|thumb|Cooking of svadbarski kupus (wedding cabbage) in ceramic pots, Serbia
Clay pot cooking is a process of cooking food in a ceramic pot.
History
Cooking in unglazed clay pots which are first immersed in water dates at least to the Etruscans in first century BC but likely dates to several centuries earlier. The Romans adapted the technique and the cooking vessel, which became known as the Roman pot, a cooking vessel similar to those made since April 1967 by the German company Römertopf. According to Paula Wolfert, "all Mediterranean food used to be cooked in clay."
In the Han dynasty, pots unglazed on the exterior known as fus (now called sandy pots) were used for wet clay cooking. Clay remained popular for those dishes that depended on the unique qualities of clay cooking; Food & Wine called out such dishes as biryani, cassoulet, daube, tagine, jollof rice, kedjenou, cazuela, and baked beans.
Individual clay beds are considered to provide specific properties for cooking, and cooking vessels of a particular type often are valued for being made of the traditional type of clay.
Food & Wine tested multiple dishes in multiple clay pots and said that "In test after test, we found that everything cooked in clay tasted better than the same recipes cooked in metal pans" and that the only drawback to using clay cooking vessels is that they were not indestructible. The comleks is a Turkish bean pot.
South Asia
In the southern states of Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana in India, the traditional pot used for cooking is called chatti. There are many different types of pots used in the different cultures of North India, Pakistan, Bangladesh.
India
In northern states, including Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, the cooking pots are called handi. Traditionally, Indian chefs could cook many dishes simultaneously by stacking handi while cooking.
Sri Lanka
People in Sri Lanka use clay pots to make many dishes including pahi fish curry, called abul thiyal; accharu, a chutney; as well as some meats, rice, and several types of freshwater fish called Lula, Hunga, Magura and Kawaiya.
Greater China
thumb|right|Chinese claypots, used in cooking either food or medicine
In China, the pot used for such cooking is generally known as shaguo () or boujai (), a Cantonese word for 'little pot'. Clay pot dishes are sometimes labeled as 'hot pot' or 'hotpot' dishes on the menus of Chinese restaurants in English-speaking areas of the world, but they should not be confused with hot pot dishes that are served in a large metal bowl and cooked at the table. In Taiwan, the chicken dish sanbeiji is prepared in a clay pot.
Another common Chinese clay pot is the sandpot or sandy pot, a round pot with a lid, glazed on the inside and unglazed on the outside, which allows them to be soaked before cooking but not add liquid to the ingredients. After soaking the pots are filled with food and placed in a cold oven or started over a very low burner.
Philippines
The traditional pot used for cooking is the palayok.
Indonesia
thumb|right|[[Sapo tahu tofu and vegetables cooked in claypot]]
The traditional pot used for cooking is called kuali or gentong. The famous cuisine is empal gentong (beef with coconut milk soup). Chinese Indonesian sapo tahu is tofu and vegetables cooked in claypot.
In African cuisines
Ethiopia
Traditionally, all food was cooked in specialized clay pots. Some traditional dishes are still cooked in clay pots as the same flavor cannot be achieved with metal cookware.
thumb|left|Tajine potter
Morocco
The tajine is a North African, two-piece pot used in Moroccan cuisine. The bottom part is a broad, shallow bowl, while the top is tall and conical, or sometimes domed. The tall lid acts to condense rising steam and allow the moisture to roll back down into the dish. The tajine lends its name to the meat stew that is typically cooked in this pot.
Another Moroccan clay pot is the tagra, which is used to bake fish. In the absence of a brick oven, the beans were cooked in a beanpot nestled in a bed of embers placed near the outer edges of a hearth, about a foot away from the fire. "Bean hole" cooking may have originated with the native Penobscot people and later practiced in logging camps. A fire would be made in a stone-lined pit and allowed to burn down to hot coals, and then a pot with seasoned beans would be placed in the ashes, covered over with dirt, and left to cook overnight or longer. The beans were a staple of New England logging camps, served at every meal.
See also
References
ja:鍋#材質と特徴