If you are a “newbie” to clay baker cooking, or just researching clay baker cookware, there are several great reasons to take the culinary leap into this method of cooking. After soaking your clay baker in water for about 10 minutes, and placing your ingredients in your clay baker, it is ready to deliver the following:

1. FLAVOR! I mean, isn't this the most important aspect of food, anyway? With the variety of clay bakers at YourSmartKitchen.com, any dish you prepare will be one that you can be proud of. Imagine a cornucopia of colorful vegetables such as beets, carrots, onions, and celery all simmering into a delicious ragout. Or what could be better “comfort food” than a clay pot of homemade chicken and dumplings? Because of the unique properties of the clay baker, you create and maintain a moist cooking environment for all your foods. None of the flavor is boiled away or evaporated. Meats and vegetables come out moist, tasteful, and inviting. Your choice of seasonings and spices is infused into your foods as the water absorbed by the clay baker provides moisture to the cooking cavity.

2. HEALTH BENEFITS. No more overcooked vegetables which have lost their vitamins and minerals in the process. No more gray, flavorless potatoes. By preparing your meals in a Romertopf or Schlemmertopf brand clay baker, vegetables are steamed to perfection. The nutrition and delicious juices of meats are sealed in. As the temperature of the oven rises, the moisture absorbed by the clay baker is released and keeps your foods from drying out as they bake. When at last you bring your finished meal to the table for presentation right in the clay baker itself, your family and friends will enjoy a delicious meal which is also rich in nutrients.

3. LOW CALORIE/LOW FAT COOKING. Clay baker cooking also reduces or eliminates the need to add fats or oils to your cooking. The moisture from the clay baker and the preserved juices of the food itself keeps everything tender and succulent. Clay bakers provide a delicious dimension to your recipes without adding any unhealthy additives. Even fat-free dishes can be prepared in clay baker cookware, providing sumptuous entrees for the weight conscious and the heart-healthy diets.

4. EFFICIENCY. Clay baker cookware is designed to cook foods efficiently and in less time. No need to waste electricity or gas preparing your meat in the oven, and vegetables on the stovetop or in the microwave. All the ingredients for your meal can be cooked together in one vessel….your clay baker by Romertopf or Schlemmertopf. Never wait for the oven to preheat. Just place your food in the baker, set it in the cold oven, shut the door and set the temperature accordingly. You are now free to enjoy a 45 minute workout…read the paper…watch the evening news. No fussing or checking on the food. Just remove your clay baker to a trivet or hot pad on the table and use as an elegant serving piece. (Less dishes to wash, too!)