CLAY IS THE CURE
Food is the most basic necessity in the existence of man on this planet. Everything that a person does, can be boiled down to the need to fill an empty stomach. And the utensils used to make this nectar of sustenance play a very important role on the health of the consumer.
Aluminum has been the primary material used to make utensils for a great period of time now. The properties related to the behavior towards heat and the higher speed of cooking food are the major reasons behind it. However, in the rush to cook food faster, people forgot to focus on the quality of the food being cooked, forsaking clay utensils and all the goodness related to them. Clay utensils have been a part of a traditional kitchen for centuries. When analyzed scientifically, the benefits of earthenware come to light.
HEALTHY AND HAPPY
The first principle to clean eating is eating whole foods. When cooked in aluminum utensils, the foods break down due to the quick heating of the utensil. However with the porosity possessed by clay utensils, there is much more circulation of air, which leads to gradual heating. This helps to maintain wholeness of food to a much greater extent. This in turn, helps preserve the nutrient content of the food. Besides, clay consists of numerous micronutrients like calcium, phosphorous, magnesium, iron and zinc, all extremely essential to the human body.
TREATING THE TASTE BUDS
Food is as much a pleasure, as it is a necessity. Food not treating your taste buds isn’t worth eating. And clay utensils help making the experience of eating top notch. As clay is basic, it neutralizes many sour and bitter acids in foods like tomatoes and vinegar, thus balancing the pH of the dish and upping its flavor. It is believed by many cooking experts that clay utensils add an ‘earthy’ flavor to the food. This is probably the reason why the Surti Undhiyu, a Gujarati mix vegetable dish cooked by burying the mixture of veggies contained by a clay pot inside a fire pit, a fabled one across India.
KEEPING BACTERIA AT BAY
Clay utensils are also solid soldiers against bacteria. It is observed that the food cooked in clay utensils is bacteria-free and edible for at least 2 more days than any other utensils. Also, the utensils are non-toxic and extremely friendly to users. They are also easy to wash and last nearly 3-4 years if properly taken care of. People believe that it is a lot of hassle to maintain them. But this, again, is a myth.
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SONS OF NATURE
Apart from all this, earthenware is totally biodegradable. Many of the clay utensils, like the traditional Indian ‘kulhar’ are designed specifically for one-time use. Once these utensils serve their purpose, they are discarded and crushed, so that they return to the soil and the potters can utilize this soil again, thus completing an entire cycle. This makes these utensils friends of Mother Earth.
While it is believed that the ways of Indian culture, using earthen pots and pans is old-fashioned, equal significance has been given to use of clay in Moroccan, Japanese, Chinese, Spanish and many other cultures. Thus, the entire planet realizes the importance of these utensils.
It is believed that the entire cosmos is made up of the same stardust. We are born out of it and soon we will return back to it. Thus, in the process of creating our ultimate necessity (food), it is only right to be as close to our roots as we could be. Mother Nature is here to nurture us all, as she has always been. Let us all try and go organic and take a step towards our all-loving Mother.
We buy either gold/ silver jewellery or steel utensils on Dhanteras (Part of Indian Diwali Festival), let’s take a pledge to buy at least one clay utensil on Dhanteras from this year onwards to help rural pottery artisans.
Let’s take another pledge to light only clay Diyas instead of artificial tea lights.
Support Social, Cultural and environmental sustainability !!
