Cool Clay Cookware Is On Sale Right Now

All we want for Christmas is the latest clay cookware made from an ancient recipe—at a bargain price, of course.

WHAT TO GIVE | There is something so cool about cooking with equipment that can trace its beginnings back to the days when Christopher Columbus and John Cabot first discovered North America—and if you stew, bake or simmer with the voluptuous clay cookware from the Andean region in Columbia, you will be doing just that.

Moulded by hand from a 700-year-old recipe that includes mica-rich clay extracted from mines in and around La Chamba, these naturally black and burnished cook pots, bakers and bowls perform brilliantly on gas, electric or ceramic cooktops; on grills; or in conventional and microwave ovens. Every piece of these ceramics is so attractive it can go directly from range to table.

I’d been eyeing La Chamba cookware at Williams-Sonoma when I discovered that 18Karat has its own version called Oscuro organic cookware and dinnerware. Oscuro usually costs a little more than the Williams Sonoma product, but if you buy before the end of  December, 18Karat’s discounted offer beats the Williams-Sonoma price.

Right now at 18Karat, if you buy two pieces of Oscuro cookware or dinnerware, you’ll get 20 percent off the regular price; buy three to five pieces (in any combination of items) and take 25 percent off; buy more than six pieces and take 30 percent off the regular price.

If you are wondering what it’s like to cook in Columbian clay, thekitchn.com, Apartment Therapy’s companion blog, has done a little testing. CLICK HERE and HERE to read their super-helpful posts and recipes. —C. Rule

In Vancouver, find Oscuro cookware and dinnerware at 18Karat home store, 3039 Granville Street, 604-742-1880; visit eighteenkaratstore.com. Find La Chamba cookware at Williams Sonoma, 2903 Granville Street, 778-330-2581; visit williams-sonoma.ca.

Photos: 18 Karat, La Chamba via Williams-Sonoma