[Sca-cooks] Ceramic cooking pots was Re:Master Hroars Email

[Philippa Alderton]

--- Mercy Neumark <mneumark at hotmail.com> wrote:

> >I'd like to see them. I can see how a long-legged
> >pipkin would be perfectly safe and functional- the
> >weight is well distributed and even, so you aren't
> >having physical stress put on top of heat stress.
>
> I'll try to get her website info.  Her pipkins are
> long legged and rather
> wide rather than tall.

Makes sense, for even heat distribution and cooking.

> I was using it as an example, but I know there are
> some baterias that can
> grow in clay pots, especially earthernware.  I'll
> probably have to email
> Hroar and ask him...I know I've talked to him about
> it before.

Well, clay is an organic material, and fairly porous,
so no doubt things can grow there- I just tend to
question whether they can grow without water, and how
much there will be there after the pot has been in,
say, a 350 oven for an hour or so. But yes, I'd love
to hear what Hroar has to say.

> I'm thinking that the romertopfs are either
> earthernware or a fireclay mix.
> I've never seen one, so I'm not sure. Sorry I can't
> be more helpful on this.

If it helps any, all the ones I've seen first hand
were close to flower pot red, and appeared that their
clay was very homogeneous- no signs of a different
color mixed in, although that could well be true of
two very fine clays. Did see one in the pale yellow
color in a catalogm but figured that could just as
easily be a photo reproduction color change, as well
as the actual color of the pot. Can grog be ground
fine enough to be as fine as raw clay?

Hey, while I'm thinking of it, where could I buy a
couple pounds of fire clay? I want to make some
modifications to the fire pot on my forge. If you
don't have any online vendors in mind, what sort of
store(s) should I look into?

>   If you add grog (that pre-fired clay again) to a
> stoneware, that should
> help with the thermal shock issues, but I know for a
> fact direct flame on
> certain clays causes blow ups.  My professor told me
> a story of a potter
> that did deocrative teapots and the man tells his
> clients NOT to actually
> boil water in the pots or else they will blow.

Yeah, I've heard that more than once. As we've
discussed on the List, boiling water should be poured
over the tea to steep, rather than boiling the tea in
the water.

> >Since you're visiting the Rock, do have some
> chocolatl
> >chip cookies ;-)
>
> OOoooooOO!  Chocolate. :)

Chocolatl. Cookies with a masa harina base, and a mix
of chocolate chips and finely chopped hot peppers.
VERY tasty ;-)

Phlip

=====
Never a horse that cain't be rode,
And never a rider who cain't be throwed....

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