The porosity and natural insulation properties of clay cause heat and moisture to circulate throughout clay pots. This makes cooking in a clay pot a much slower process but has added benefit of preventing amateur cooks from burning their dishes. More importantly, this causes moisture and nutrient loss while cooking in clay pots to be much lower compared to cooking in metal or enamel lined utensils. The most compelling reason to start cooking in unglazed earthen pots comes from the one thing it doesn’t do—leach harmful metals into your food. Because they essentially come from the soil, they very readily decompose right back into it when you dispose of them, to be completely bio-degradable, unlike Teflon pans and steel pots which take up space in Goodwill aisles or fill up landfills. No contaminants or toxins are added, it’s 100% primary clay, the highest quality natural clay without contaminants. Mitticool Earthen Cookware is also the only cookware made from tested & certified primary clay.