On Food and Cooking

(618–907 CE). This fine ceramic was
introduced to Europe with the tea trade in the
17th century, and in England was first called
“Chinaware,” and then simply “China.” The
first glass containers were not molded or
blown, but laboriously sculpted from blocks,
and date from 4,000 years ago in the Near
East.
The Qualities of Ceramic Pots The
outstanding characteristic of ceramic
materials is chemical stability: they are
unreactive, resist corrosion, and don’t affect
the flavor or other qualities of foods. (One
exception to this rule is the fact that clays and
glazes sometimes contain lead, which is a
nerve poison, and which can be leached out
into acidic foods. Imported ceramic
containers made with high-lead clays or
glazes still occasionally cause cases of lead
poisoning.) Ceramic pots tend to be used only
in slow, uniform cooking processes,
especially oven baking and braising, because