I’ve admired these Römertopf clay bakers for years, but could never bring myself to fork out the $90 plus required to own one. So when Peters of Kensington had them on sale recently for $39, it wasn’t a hard decision to make. Well, it wasn’t hard for me, but Pete took some persuading, since our kitchen is bulging at the seams. This certainly is a bulky piece, but oh so very gorgeous.
The whole pot is made from terracotta and needs to be handled with a little care. Ingredients go in cold, then the covered pot is placed in a cold oven and brought up to cooking temperature gradually. If you move it from hot to cold (or vice versa) too quickly, it will crack. It’s not safe to go on the gas hob, but it’s fine in the microwave, although I’m not sure it will actually fit.
On the up side, it’s completely dishwasher safe, which makes it much easier to clean than the bulky Le Creuset pots we have. It also produces tender, succulent meals, which are dead simple to prepare. The pot and its lid are soaked before use, allowing the porous terracotta to absorb water, which it then uses to steam the meal as it bakes. This enables you to cook with less oil – it also means that cooking times are a bit more flexible, and that things rarely burn in the pot. The glazed interior should prevent the pot from absorbing too many odours, although the manufacturers recommend that you buy a separate one for fish.
I’ve used the Römertopf a dozen times since it arrived in the mail. It’s only been a month, but I’ve become hooked on the ease of cooking it provides. I can fill the pot up with raw ingredients, put it into the oven, then pull out a perfectly cooked meal two hours later. And I’ve finally found a place to store it, after Pete objected to it living on the cereal shelf…
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Fig Jam and Lime Cordial 
Can’t wait to see some recipes coming out of that thing! We just went through a slow-cooker change-up, trading the circa 1980s “harvest” colored one my mom gave me for a brand spankin’ new oval 6 qt. It’s not one of the crazy, digital, programmable kind, but it’s definitely more high-fi than your beautiful low-fi Romertopf. Once we have, you know, a HOUSE, we may splurge for one.
Or a tagine?
Hmm….
Shawna,
I could never make a slow cooker work, don’t know why. Always ended up with watery stews. Eventually gave mine to my mother – space (and Pete) dictates that I can’t have a slow cooker AND a Romertopf AND two tagines. By the way, when you do get the space, you need both a tagine and a Romertopf, although the tagines (at least here) are massively more expensive than the clay pot…
Celia
Oooh I have been tempted to buy one of these and especially a tagine for years but keep holding off due to space (despite a large kitchen my ‘stuff’ spills over into the garage)…. and a small doubt about whether I would actually use them. Having said that though, we have an old oval shallow terracotta dish that belonged to my husband in a previous life. I always thought it a bit ugly and avoided using it. Then I started making these amazing baked ricottas in it and discovered that it is fantastic to cook in…so perhaps that should be enough to convince me. Hmm…wonder if the PoK sale is still on….
Can’t wait to see what you produce in it (and your two tagines)!
We overcame our kitchen space concerns and purchased a romertopf. it is fantastic. the greatest benefit is simply placing all the ingredients in at the one time and sliding it into a cold oven. no mixing bowls, no frypans. and the fact they are dishwasher safe still amazes me. i think they’re best for rice based dishes based on our early experimentation. easiest risotto you’ll ever prepare. available at all good online stockists. Dredge out.
Pete, we’re actually making that risotto dish tonight. Will try and post about it soon.
Spice, the Romertopfs are great, but they are a little bulky. I think they’re actually easier to store than the tagines, though. Have to say, we’ve used the Romertopf more in the month we’ve had it, than the tagines in the 12 months they’ve lived in the kitchen.
Made our first romercasserole last night and ate the leftovers for lunch – delicious! I’ll reduce the liquid next time although it made such a fabulously rich soup it seems a shame not to make it the same again. There’s a lot of recipes under ‘clay pot’ cooking. Will try a risotto next…..
Fantastic! I’m glad it worked out well for you. We do a Chinese style soy sauce chicken and rice in it, and have found that you need twice the quantity of water (by volume) to rice.
I raved about our Rom yesterday to our friend Helen – she read the blog and was hooked. Another potential convert.
Cooked a slow leg of lamb – 140 – 150 degrees for 3 hours. Wonderful.
Pete
Pete, make sure you let her know they’re still on special at PoK…
[…] since Celia of Fig Jam and Lime Cordial first mentioned her Romertopf, I’ve been on the lookout for one. I found a proxy in the guise of a bundt dish. Brunswick Stew […]
I have a Romertopf (small) ceramic cooker that looks similar to yours in design, but mine is not glazed on the inside. The whole thing is just bare clay/ceramic. I have a question on using this, if you think you might be able to help. Can I use it in the microwave if it’s not wet? I baked some apples in mine in the early afternoon and my DH likes them warm. But the clay is already dry, so would I be able to reheat in the microwave or should I transfer everything, including the sticky liquid from the brown sugar, and the hardened butter into another type bowl? I really would prefer to leave it in this container if possible, so as not to lose any of the juice.
D, I’ve never used the R in a microwave before, but the instruction book that came with my new baby R baker says its safe for the oven, microwave and dishwasher. The only instruction it gives is: “In the even that the Romertopf Baker is to be taken from the fridge and directly placed into the oven or microwave, please allow the Baker to sit at room temperature for 10 minutes”. I can’t say for sure it would be fine though, as I haven’t personally tried it…sorry!