Can ancient utensils like clay pots and iron kadhais improve health?

Clay Pots, Iron Kadhais and Brass Vessels: Can bringing back these ancient utensils help improve health?Modern and thick-bottomed cookware in our kitchen has not only replaced our traditional cookware but has also taken away the technique and nutritional value of the food that we used to prepare.

The non-stick pans and aluminium cookware cannot retain food moisture as clay pots can. Classic Indian texts like the Sushruta Samhita describe how utensils used to make food influence digestion, immunity, or water purification. Both Ayurvedic literature and modern sciences reflect upon the effects of cooking and storage vessels. Traditional techniques involved cooking food on chullahs that were made of clay or mud stoves fuelled by wood.

Our fast-paced lives over time led us to choose modern cookware, but you don't have to choose between healthy and convenient anymore. All you need to do is make minor adjustments and buy modern earthenware pots that can help us recreate the best of recipes handed down across generations in our family. You need to replace the stainless steel non-stick pans, aluminium cookware, synthetic alloys, and silicone or plastic storage with the traditionally used kitchenware.

Why choose traditional cookware?

There are many reasons why you should use traditional cookware like clay pots, iron kadhais and brass vessels. Traditional kitchenware lasts for generations; hence, it is a better alternative to modern utensils. Moreover, technique changes texture and taste, and that depends on the kind of cookware you choose to cook and the method that you follow, as flavours develop in a pot only with slow cooking.Moisture retentionOne of the important health benefits that the claypots offer is the moisture retention that is quite required for foods like dals, rice, and some slow-cooked curries.

This enriches the flavours and retains the food's nutrients. Clay pots have been used for fermenting foods for centuries because of low thermal conductivity, gradual heat transfer and mixture-retaining nature. The mineral migration depends on clay composition, food acidity and repeated use.Supports bodily functionsCopper and zinc present in brass vessels leach into the food being cooked in them. This helps you maintain immunity, regulate metabolism, and improve digestion. Besides this, brass vessels also balance excessive body heat and retain 85 per cent of food nutrients.Reducing iron deficiency

Iron plays an essential role in maintaining normal bodily functions. Our bodies need to maintain a balance between metabolism and iron absorption. If a person has inadequate iron intake, it can disrupt this balance and lead to iron deficiency, causing anaemia.

How does traditional kitchenware benefit your health?

Iron Kadhais:Iron Kadhais or skillets, when used to cook food with the right amount of heat, can aid in adding iron to your diet. The release of iron is also influenced by cooking conditions, including cooking temperature, vessel type, and pH of acidic cooking environments.

Even though this method of iron supplementation is quite effective. People who require a high amount of iron due to anaemia are prescribed to take iron supplements.Brass Vessels:

Sushruta samhita specifically talks about the benefits of storing drinking water in silver and copper utensils for the prevention of diseases. Brass is an alloy of copper and utensils made out of it and can also be used to store water. It is a better alternative than using plastic water bottles, which can release toxic substances in the water.Clay potsIt is traditionally used due to its porous nature and because it heats slowly and evenly. If food is cooked slowly in an earthen pot or clay pot, it gives out a faint earthy aroma in food like rice, dal, biryani, etc. Cooking in a clay pot enhances the digestibility of the food and retains its nutrients. Since it is alkaline in nature, food cooked in it is much gentler on the stomach, so it prevents post-meal acid reflux and bloating.

Things to keep in mind

To get the best out of your new kitchenware full of traditional utensils, you need to keep a few things in mind. Remember to put a little oil on cookware like iron kadhai to prevent rust. Using such kadhais to cook acidic foods for long hours can affect their taste. Before you buy cookware like a clay pot, make sure it is not glazed, and buy only food-grade pots from trusted sellers. Also, a poorly manufactured clay pot can present a risk of contaminant migration of heavy metals.

If you are buying a brass vessel, notice that it has kalai done, which is a special technique traditionally done by hand coating the inner surface of brass utensils with pure tin. This is done to avoid unwanted chemical intoxication, which can be caused by sour substances like tomatoes, tamarind, yoghurt or lemon juice after reacting with raw copper or zinc.