tagines

I've got two I've thrown, one is low-fire terra cotta with a clear glaze, the other is a high-fire white stoneware with a dark tenmoku glaze. Both work quite well, but I prefer the latter (although mostly since the latter has a much lighter lid, since it was made much later in my pottery experience)

I threw one out of a flameware claybody, which I can use directly on the stove. I glazed the inside of the lid and both the inside and outside (minus the bottom, of course) of the base. I love using it--it works really well. The flameware turns a nice toasty color when fired to cone 10, but flameware glazes are very limited.

Question about your tagine--did you put a hole in the top or close it completely? I did some research before throwing mine, and found sources for both a hole and no hole. I opted to take the no hole route, thinking that the steam should recirculate as part of the cooking process. Works for me, but I was wondering what other people did.

Deb R.

I haven't turned it yet but I will put a hole in when I do. I have made nobs to fit in the hole so that you can then choose to have it open or closed.

Deb: Would you be willing to share that flameware body recipe, or is it a commercial clay body?

Best, Wayne

Le Thu, 14 Oct 2004 01:05:50 +0000 (UTC), Deborah M Riel a écrit :

I havent' turn any but I saw a lot in Marocco, without hole.

Corinne

The flameware clay we used was (I believe) a claybody that Karen Karnes developed. My teacher studied with her for awhile. We actually had 2 slightly different claybodies--one with a lot of grog, the other smoother. The highly grogged body ripped the skin right off my hands when throwing it, but it looked nice. I preferred working with the smoother clay for obvious reasons.

I'll check my notebook from when I was working with flameware and see if I have any papers with recipes. I know I have a few glaze recipes for flameware (and there are very few out there), but I don't know about the clay itself. We purchased it premixed, but I may have some information on it.

Deb R.

No hole in my tagines.

Nice solution--never thought of doing that!

Deb R.

Friend that ordered it had a picture of some like that. I didn't think it up so I cannot claim it :o)

ok - nice tips, but what IS a Tagine?

steve

steve graber

A tagine either refers to the cooking pot or the food cooked in the pot. It's Moroccan in orgin, and the pot has a flat dish base with sides that go up about 1.5-2 inches and a tall conical lid. The idea of the cone is that the steam from cooking recirculates around the pot, leaving the food tender and well spiced. The recipes call for a lot of middle-eastern type spices, and the meal is usually served with couscous.

Some tagines are for serving only, and some are ovenware. The one I made is flameware, and I cook with it on my stovetop. You can also get cast iron tagines for stovetop use. Some have a little hole in the top of the cone, some don't, and I've never been able to find out why one would be preferred over the other. My tagine doesn't have a hole in the top.

Here's a website with a description and some pictures of basic tagines:

Wayne,

I found this on the web:

It gives a flameware clay body recipe, plus a couple of glazes. I can't say that's what I used, though, since we didn't mix it ourselves but bought it custom mixed. I'm pretty sure what we used was a Karen Karnes recipe.

Deb R.

Apparently for oven use the hole in the top allows the food to brown off more.

ok! but around here we just call it a "clay cooker".

we have some that are decent grade terricotta clay - unglazed. it's great for chicken. the recomendation is to soak the thing in water for a while before cooking things in it. you get that slow seeping steam affect.

but we just put chicken in and cook!

ours are eliptical with lids and big enough for a decent size chicken. no openings besides a sloppy lid fit.

meanwhile bean pots are great as cone 10 cookware. with or without a lid they seem to enable beans to bake in a more thourough maner.

so what else is out there as pottery cookware?

see ya

steve

steve graber

We also have those here, they are called "roemertopf", which means roman pot. The inside of the bottom part is glazed, the rest ist just unglazed and you also have to soak them in water for a while before each use.

What's a bean pot? I just remember in the US those electric crock pots, which were great for any kind of stew, also beans. We don't have those here unfortunately.

Monika

Deb: Even a point in the direction of the clay supplier for that flameware body would be appreciated.

TIA, Wayne Seidl

Thanks, Deb. Much appreciated! Wayne Seidl

monica! you inspired me a few years ago to make onion soup ~ it's that time again!

try making your own bean pot. use a fat squatty vase shape. heavy pots are best - so if you happen to make what i call "door stop pots" they can be used to bake beans when they are not holding a door open.

fat - larger - classic greek vases without much of a neck feature. maybe 9 inch diameter & 9 inches tall. a nicer shape but also similar to spit-toons.

i'll e-mail you some shapes soon.

see ya

steve

steve graber

gee, yes, lets make onion soup again! I took my new dog to puppy school today and it was soo cold i almost died.(8°C and windy wíth a slight drizzle at the beginning.) Should have made onion soup right away, but another soup also helped when we got back.

Do you make the beans in the oven, for hours and hours?

take care, Monika