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 