- DO remember pottery will remain hotter for longer
- DO avoid subjecting to sudden changes in temperature.
- DO warm to room temperature after removing from refrigerator.
- DON'T preheat the oven before baking with this dish.
- DON'T heat pottery on a stovetop burner.
- DON'T put pottery on any open flame or directly on a heat source like a hot plate
- DO Microwave with care.
- DO keep your grill heat source least 2½" from the closest edge of your pottery
- DO place pottery items taken from a hot oven onto dry, room temperature surfaces- A wood trivet is ideal.
- DO wait for your leftovers to cool to room temperature before putting them away in the refrigerator.
- DO not put a hot pottery piece directly into cold water.
The Microwave and Ceramics
Although pottery and ceramics can be used in microwave ovens, we would rather see you heat your food in microwave-safe dishes and then transfer it to your handcrafted piece. The issue is if there is any part of the pottery which is not glazed. You see,if moisture gets behind the glaze in your ceramic piece, it can cause problems when microwaved. A small amount of moisture like this could be super-heated causing small rapid expansions and contractions. Over time this will weaken the integrity of the pottery.
Porcelain is glazed at the highest temperatures and is more resistant than pottery to the heat stress created by microwaving. However, id the porcelain has any metallic decorations, keep it out of the microwave oven.
Last words on Cooking with Handcrafted Pottery
Remember, pottery does not like thermal stress. When using handmade pottery for cooking the pottery should be at room temperature before being placed in the oven. Do not pre-heat the oven. The pottery should be allowed to heat up gradually with the oven. Food on the pottery going into the oven should evenly cover the entire piece of pottery. Casserole recipes work well, since they evenly distribute food through out the pottery. Cooking a chicken or turkey in a lasagna dish, for example, exposes some areas to more intense heat than others. This can cause the pottery to crack or shatter.
If you have any questions, problems, suggestions, comments, tricks or techniques - please share them so we all can benefit.
