Maybe you have started to look for clay pots because you wanted to provide healthier food for you and your loved ones. On the other hand, maybe you wanted to experience the authentic tastes of the dishes from childhood that used to be prepared in clay vessels. These are some deep reasons that also brought me to clay pot cooking several years ago.
Even though they are many motivations to start with this special way of food preparation, there are some questions that we almost all share at the beginning of our clay pot cooking journey.
One doubt that I had during my beginning with this way of cooking was, can I use clay pots on any stovetop, and are there some stoves that I should particularly avoid?
As a general rule, clay pots can be used on different stovetops when applied with a heat diffuser. The exception are clay pots specifically designed for baking and roasting purposes, which are usually clearly marked for that by the manufacturer.
In the upcoming article, you will find some of the data that I have gathered from international clay pot brands and the compatibility of their products with different stovetops.
Additionally, you will be able to find the gathered recommendations of mentioned manufacturers regarding the best practices for stovetop heating setups used for clay cookware. Finally, I will share some of my personal experiences after several years of using clay pot cookware.
Pro tip: After you’ve finished reading about how ceramic cookware can be used on stovetops, consider taking a look at trivets like the ones offered by Amazon’s best-selling list. They may be great option for protecting your surfaces and ensuring safe placement of your cookware.
1. Can you put a ceramic pot on a stovetop?
Here are a few pieces of advice from my personal experience with using and experimenting with many clay pots up to now.
In most cases, clay pots can be used with any of the cooktops(gas, ceramic, electric, glass, or induction) when they are used together with heat diffusers. Here is an example of a good diffuser from Amazon, but they can be found in most cookware stores.
In some cases, the ceramic pots can go straight to the stovetop. This is the way I commonly use my clay pots with electric stoves.
Additionally, I would highlight that I am primarily talking about pot-shaped clay vessels. On the other hand, roaster-shaped clay vessels are usually not designed to go on the stovetop, and their main purpose is turned towards baking and roasting
Clay roaster on the left and clay pot on the right
Finally, It is important to have a stovetop with a surface equal to or higher than the bottom of the ceramic pot. Moreover, it is crucial to have a good temperature setup in order to avoid cause cracking your clay pots or avoid overheating the stovetop due to heat accumulation which can happen easily(Read next chapter).
If you got the clay pots from somebody, or you wanted to start using some of the old clay pots after a long time and you don’t have a manual, these recommendations can be a good starting point.
However, if you are planning to get your new clay pot from local production or some of the internationally available brands it can be helpful to ask the seller of taking a look at the manuals. Different manufacturers can have certain specificities that are good to be followed.
On the graph below, I have gathered information about a few internationally available brands of clay pots(also called pure ceramic cookware or 100% cookware) and their recommendations for different stovetops.
Now that you know more about which stoves you can use with your clay pots, it will be also important to highlight the right temperature setups to use.
2. Which temperature settings I should use on different stovetops for cooking with clay pots?
After several years of cooking with clay pots, I would say that using clay pots in low to medium heating settings is ideal(Up to 5 out of 10). You will commonly hear that using such settings will allow your clay cookware to heat up slowly and avoid damage from cracking.
However, there is one more reason for not exposing your clay pots to high-heating setups. Unlike metals, ceramics’ heat absorption(as well as releasing) is much slower. So, if the heat generated by the stovetop is too fast(high heating settings) and there is not a fast transfer of the heat to the clay pot bottom will cause overheating and damage to the stove.
This can be easily observed visually on the electric stovetops where the metal stovetop plate gets red-hot.
As a final advice, it would be best to start with lover heating settings on the stove(1-3 out of 10) in the first 5-10min and to increase to 4-6 later if needed.
To give you an even better perspective about good practices of cooking with clay pot cookware on the stovetop I have also highlighted guidelines from previously mentioned brands coming from their official manuals or from the data that I gathered by direct communication with the manufacturers.
|
Brands |
Advice |
Reference |
|
Miriams Earthen Cookware 
|
Generally use setting 3 on a scale of 1-10). If your pot/pan is more then 1/2 full with ingredients, you can increase to medium-low (4/10) after cooking on ‘low’ for a few minutes. Avoid medium or higher than medium settings. |
MEC official guideline |
|
Romertopf Roasters |
Ideally between 3750F and 5000F. Dishes with a very long cooking time require a lower temperature than those which cook quickly. Use the oven setting where the same amount of heat is generated in the upper and the lower part of the oven, and place the RÖMERTOPF® on the middle shelf. |
Foemrtopf official guideline |
|
Xtrema 
|
Always use the lowest settings (1 or 2 on a scale of 1-10) when cooking with an Xtrema® Skillet. For boiling water or using an Xtrema® saucepan, use a low to medium setting. (3-5) Never heat a dry skillet on medium or high heat. Heat on a low (1-2) setting for one minute, then add your cooking spray or oil and cook on low. |
Direct communication with customer service |
As you had the chance to see, the general recommendation for the clay pots relies on low to medium heat and a slow cooking process. However, such practice can really make a difference when it comes to the taste and quality of the food at the end of the cooking process.
Finally, If you wondered, does clay pot cookware really makes the food tastier, you can take a look at the results of experiments that I have performed, gathered in this post.
3. Conclusions and final thoughts
Clay pot cooking is something specific and unique, as well as the food that comes from this slow, traditional way of cooking.
However, clay pots can be very versatile regarding the heating methods that it can be applied to them. They can be utilized on different stovetops(including gas, ceramic, electric, glass or induction) when they are used together with heat diffusers. In addition, manufacturers usually make it clear if the pots are compatible with direct cooking on different stovetops, without the need for diffusers.
If you are doubting which stovetop heating setting would be the best for your clay pot vessel, be free to start with lover heating setups(1-3 out of 10) during the first 5-10min and go to medium settings 4-6 out of 6. This way you will prevent cracking and leave your next dish to cook slowly.
Finally, by using a low heat setting you will prevent your stovetop from overheating since the clay pots are absorbing the heat slowly.
If you are interested to see more about the benefits of clay pot cooking as well as the experiments that I have performed to prove/deny certain beliefs behind clay pots find more about it in my in-depth posts here.
Finally, if you are interested in the steps that I take when choosing the clay pots from the local producers for me and my family, have a look at this article. In the same post, I have gathered a review of a few internationally available producers of clay pots, and what can(or cant) expect from them.
