Thursday, October 22, 2009
Cookware trends: clay pot revival
Occasionally, trendscaping is about being in the right place at the right time influenced by what you love to do and want to see. I love it when worlds (personal, professional, recreational) collide and retail anthropology sings.
And that's more or less how we happened upon Bram with our friends (@sagekitchen) in Sonoma as we partook in a little pre-lunch retail therapy. Urged by Jim, we entered the little storefront of clay pots and fell in love with the merchandise.In all honesty, my motivation was purely focused on adding to our growing collection of cazuelas until all of the signs started pointed to an emerging trend. Then, all if a sudden, there were rumblings everywhere about clay pot cooking on twitter and Kim O'Donnel (@kimodonnel) posted this great Q&A with Paula Wolfert on trueslant.com.
But there was another side of the story to be told- the retail experience.
Owners Ashrf and Shelly Almasri have assembled an outstanding array of clay pots- complete with halas, skillets, tagines and bowls for the stove top, oven or table from around the world. All of the clay pots at Bram are completely handmade, natural earthenware similar to the cazuelas, cocotes & ollas found at gourmet specialty retailers (La Tienda or Spanish Table). Our purchases (see below) work well on our green egg, stove top or oven.Egyptian Hala
"Hala" is the generic term used in Egypt for a casserole with high sides. These are traditionally used to make meat and vegetable casseroles cooked with spices and a bit of liquid, essentially a stew. Last weekend we used the Hala for poaching pears.
Skillet
This earthenware Skillet is perfect for braises and sauces or roasting in the oven. Reminiscent of the French poêlon, the clay skillet found in Provence with a convenient side handle and pour spout. According to this San Francisco magazine article, this is Paula Wolfert's favorite cazuela (and it's ours too).
Round Baker
Its depth allows that ideal ratio of creamy interior to golden, crisp topping. You won't find a better baker than this for fruit cobblers and crisps. It's terrific for reheating or holding food in the oven until serving.
We also loved this Tagine (not currently available online- call to Mr, Almasri order: 866.970.2726) but we already have one with a heavy cast iron bottom by Le Creuset. My favorite way to use the tagine is for cooking lamb or merguez sausage from Uli's with vegetables, couscous and harissa from World Spice or Mustaphas.
In addition to cookware, Bram also stocks an impressive selection of French, Indian, Italian, Middle Eastern and Moroccan cookbooks. On 11/2 Bram is also hosting a book signing & dinner to celebrate Paula Wolfert's new book "Mediterranean Clay Pot Cooking". Details can be found here."Hala" is the generic term used in Egypt for a casserole with high sides. These are traditionally used to make meat and vegetable casseroles cooked with spices and a bit of liquid, essentially a stew. Last weekend we used the Hala for poaching pears.
Skillet
This earthenware Skillet is perfect for braises and sauces or roasting in the oven. Reminiscent of the French poêlon, the clay skillet found in Provence with a convenient side handle and pour spout. According to this San Francisco magazine article, this is Paula Wolfert's favorite cazuela (and it's ours too).
Round BakerIts depth allows that ideal ratio of creamy interior to golden, crisp topping. You won't find a better baker than this for fruit cobblers and crisps. It's terrific for reheating or holding food in the oven until serving.
We also loved this Tagine (not currently available online- call to Mr, Almasri order: 866.970.2726) but we already have one with a heavy cast iron bottom by Le Creuset. My favorite way to use the tagine is for cooking lamb or merguez sausage from Uli's with vegetables, couscous and harissa from World Spice or Mustaphas.
Why clay, you may ask?
- It's alluring and primitive nature satisfies our desire to briefly escape from the economic day-to-day and discover unknown techniques.
- It's soulful and deep with flavor and tradition.
- The price point is fairly low so the products are available to many.
- Braising and slow-cooking are seasonally appropriate and comfort us in tough times.
- Cause it's cool.
If you don't have friends driving back from Sonoma to transport your earthenware, you can also shop at bramcookware.com.
Labels: color trends, eCommerce, food, housewares, inspiration, retail
