The Mija Chronicles

Mexican food and culture, on both sides of the border

Dear clay bean pot: I love you

by

Remember the bean pot I bought last week? Here it is.

My mom wanted me to make sure and tell you that it’s lead-free. Too much lead in one’s system can lead to neurological problems.

So. I used it on Saturday for the first time. Well, actually, on Friday, per the seller’s instructions, I filled it with water and simmered it on a low flame for four hours, to prep the pot for cooking. (I think this removes a layer of grit on the surface.)

On Saturday, Lola came over to help me get ready for the tamalada. We finished a few fillings, and she prepared the beans while I was at the gym. Into the pot the beans went, with a handful of epazote, onion and a little bit of canola oil.

About three hours later, we fished some out of the pot with a wooden spoon. The bean caldo had turned a rich, hot-cocoa brown color, with a sheen of greenish-brown on the surface. I was worried about the green color at first, but Lola reminded me that it was from the epazote.

I couldn’t get over how good they smelled. Of course I’d been around pots of beans cooking before, but they were never as fragrant as this. These were earthy and sweet, and clean. The bean starch, when you rubbed it between your fingers, felt creamy and soft. And the caldo — oh god, the caldo. It had this thickness to it, this heft, as if we had added flour or something. I wanted to bottle it, and save it, and slurp just a teensy bit every day for the rest of my life.

I’d bought these beans and the bean pot, by the way, through Xoxoc, a small family-owned business based in Hidalgo state.

“Mmmmmmmm,” I said loudly, after dipping my nose in the pot and inhaling deeply.

“Está enamorada de frijoles,” Lola announced. She’s in love with beans.

More correctly: I’m in love with fresh beans, my new clay pot, and the mixture of the two together.

All my cazuela needs now is a name. Any ideas?

Reader Interactions

Comments

  2. Hi: I love your bean pot. Where can I get one? Is there a web page? I live in Oaxaca. Also, I really enjoy reading your blog . . . and I’m not a blog reader. Keep up the good work.

    • Hi Susan: Glad you enjoy the blog! On the bean pot, unfortunately there isn’t a web page. (They own the domain xoxoc.com, but they haven’t activated anything yet.) I’ll email you their email address, if you like. They accept orders through email, but I’m not entirely sure if they distribute to Oaxaca. You’ll have to ask. Good luck!

  3. Have you tried Comida Yucateca yet? You’d love it. I specially recommend Frijol con Puerco (this post reminded me) and Cochinita Pibil.

    Maybe I’ll invite you and Alice sometime.

  4. Does your bean pot come with a lid? Did you cover the beans when you cooked them? They do look yummy, by the way.

  5. Oh wow, next time I visit I’m bringing home a bean pot of my very own. I will name it Osito after the dog in the Destinos videos we watched in high school Spanish.

  6. Ahahahah! My suegra gave me a bean pot a few weeks ago. I haven’t been as brave as you though! Still have to inaugurate it. 😉

    thanks for the comment, and yes! let’s plan on getting together in 2010! this year just flew by!

    besos.

    • Hi Dave: I added a more detailed explanation of what “mija” means on the home page of the blog. Hope that clears things up. Thanks for the suggestion!

  10. Nice pot, but it does not have a lid for oven baking. Is it really safe for gas ranges? Plus, where can they be purchased (they may have a model with a lid).
    Thanks, Rick

    • Hi Rick: It is safe for gas ranges. I specifically asked this question to the vendors (they said it was safe) and I’ve cooked several times on a gas range and it’s worked fine. I bought the pot through a small, independent Mexican culinary company called Xoxoc. http://www.xoxoc.com.mx/

      They make a lot of products using xoconostle, which is the sour cactus fruit. I saw them at an outdoor food fair in Mexico City and they happened to have a booth, where they were also selling clay pots. Unfortunately you can’t purchase the pots online. (Only their food products.)

      If you’re in the U.S., I’d recommend Melissa Guerra — haven’t perused her site but she might have a clay pot with a lid. Rick Bayless recommends her stuff all the time. http://www.melissaguerra.com/

      If you’re in Mexico City, there’s a small store called La Nicolasa in Azcapotzalco that sells the same clay pots as the one I bought. I didn’t see any lids when I was there last year, but perhaps they have a different variety now. Or you could ask to have one special-ordered. HTH.

  11. hi i really liked your blog i have a quick question though i purchased i bean pot while i was in mexico and i havent used it yet but how can you tell if it contains lead? thanks

    • Hi Nicole: As far as I know, there’s no outward way to tell. You’d have to ask the vendor. You could also buy a lead testing kit online fairly cheap — my mom used to use those, and they work pretty well. Hope that helps!

    • Unfortunately not. The heat is too intense and concentrated with electric stoves, and clay pots will break. If anyone else has any experience in how to use them on electric stoves, I’m all ears…