Best Pot Clay Pot for Waterless Cooking

Preserving the Cook's Intention in the Preparation
The "Best Pot" was developed with the intention of creating a pot that can cook while preserving not only the taste of the food but also the emotions and intentions of the cook. By combining Banko-Yaki, a specialty product from Yokkaichi City, Mie Prefecture, with cast iron, we have created a clay pot that allows for waterless cooking.

High Far-Infrared Radiation Emissivity of Banko-Yaki
The Banko-Yaki clay pot has a gentle temperature rise during heating and a high far-infrared radiation emissivity. It not only heats the ingredients thoroughly from the core but also retains heat, allowing for residual heat cooking and thorough flavor infusion. To further enhance the potential of Banko-Yaki clay pots, we developed a glaze by mixing volcanic ash from Mount Aso. By using this glaze on the inner pot, we can achieve a stable and high level of far-infrared radiation. The far-infrared radiation emissivity is an impressive 80% or more, ensuring that heat reaches the core of the food and allows for delicious cooking. The pot's wing-kettle shape ensures even heating throughout, and its double-layered structure promotes convection within the pot. The ingredients cooked slowly and gently from the core will fully bring out their natural flavors.

A survey revealed that among those who compared rice cooked using the same rice and water, the rice cooked with the "Best Pot" was voted as having the "sweetest flavor and aroma" (*The survey was conducted with a total of 84 monitors including employees, cooperative companies, and university students). While individuals have different preferences for rice, such as soft or firm, sticky or fluffy, the rice cooked with the "Best Pot" was mainly chosen for its "sweetness" and "aroma."

Impeccable Construction to Retain Flavor
In waterless cooking, the pot's tightness of air is crucial to prevent the loss of both the flavor and nutrients of the ingredients. To achieve this, we selected a cast iron lid with a certain weight to prevent steam from bubbling up from the inside. Our precision cutting technology, which guarantees an accuracy within a margin of error of 1/1000 mm for processing metal precision parts, was also applied to ceramics, which are inherently hard and fragile. By precisely cutting the lid and pot, we eliminate any opportunities for the flavor to escape from the ingredients (*The thickness of a human hair is about 1/10 mm).

Versatile Cooking Utensil for Various Dishes
The Best Pot is not only suitable for waterless cooking but also for simmering, making soups, and steaming. You can even use it to prepare dishes like chashu (braised pork) and pudding. Waterless cooking with ingredients high in moisture allows you to create dishes with rich flavors.

You can also use it for stir-frying, but please make sure the pot is thoroughly heated before using.

The Journey to the Development of "Best Pot"
We didn't originally envision creating a collaborative product with Banko-Yaki. We had been in discussions with a ceramics manufacturer since around January 2017 to create a pot for waterless cooking using Mino-Yaki from Gifu Prefecture. However, due to its unsuitability as a pot material and the difficulties in reproducing its shape with ceramics, we reluctantly gave up on the idea. At that time, the president of the ceramics company recommended Banko-Yaki, a specialty product from Yokkaichi with a history of nearly 300 years since the Edo period.

Banko-Yaki has a reputation as a "durable clay pot" and has become one of the leading heat-resistant ceramic brands in the country. We immediately approached several manufacturers of Banko-Yaki, but the response we received was always "it's impossible to create such a shape." It seemed that achieving our goal would be difficult... Feeling stuck, our company president, Mr. Yamazoe, suddenly remembered his high school classmate, Mr. Yasuji Mizutani, who is currently primarily involved in making Banko-Yaki clay pots and Japanese tableware at Mizutani Shoten.

Our company values the spirit of challenge, as evidenced by our motto "We can cut anything except air," and Mr. Mizutani has always maintained an attitude of "let's give it a try first" and has told those around him, "If there's something that can't be done elsewhere, bring it to us." The reunion of the two parties, who were moving in the same direction, after more than 20 years was fortunate for our company.

"A two-layered pot is a shape that has never been seen before in ceramics. It was uncertain whether it could be realized, but I didn't want to say 'it's impossible'," said Mr. Mizutani. "Even if it was challenging, we couldn't compromise on that," added Mr. Yamazoe.

The "Best Pot" was completed through the combination of the technologies developed by both parties and the shared determination to take on challenges. We would be delighted if it could be incorporated into people's lives as a means of conveying their feelings through the food they eat.

How to Use the "Best Pot"
The clay pot has tiny invisible holes. To seal these holes, a starchy substance such as rice starch is used as a substitute adhesive, known as "mendome."

Rinse the clay pot with water, thoroughly wipe it dry (heating it while wet can cause it to crack). Then, make rice porridge, turn off the heat once it's cooked, and let it sit for at least an hour. After the clay pot has cooled sufficiently, remove the rice porridge, rinse the clay pot with water, and the mendome process is complete. *If mendome is not applied, there is a risk of water leakage or cracking when heated.

Also, since the clay pot has excellent heat retention, there is a risk of it cracking if soaked in water while still hot. After use, make sure to let it cool down to room temperature before washing. Storing it in a humid place or while it's still wet can cause mold. It is recommended to thoroughly dry it before storing, without putting it in a box or bag. Heating the pot while the exterior is wet can cause cracks.

The lid is made of cast iron, so the cut parts may develop rust. It is rust from the cast iron, so it does not pose any harm to the human body. However, applying edible oil to the exposed parts of the cast iron will help prevent rust. Also, wiping off moisture and storing it in a low-humidity place will help prevent rust. If rust appears, it can be removed by using a commercially available rust remover.