"Bob Terwilliger" > wrote in message
...
> Paul wrote:
>
>> Well I'll have you know Yunnan clay is unique and is what makes the pot
>> able to withstand the high heat of a fire. Google it. You might lean
>> something.
>
> I know you really want to prove your point, but you're digging yourself in
> deeper and deeper. Yunnan clay is not at all unique in its ability to
> withstand the high heat of a fire. The term potters use for clay vessels
> made to withstand stovetop temperatures is "flameware." Flameware can be
> made from quite a few different clays. Do you believe that in making
> tagines, Moroccans all got their clay from Yunnan?
>

I was simply making an observation that I learned when I supposedly didn't
bother to do a little research. Some sites described the unique nature of
Yunnan province clay and they said it had superior heat capabilites - I
assume they meant China and not the planet. Apparently Morocco has some
special clays too. And they said this is why the term Yunnan pot cooking
was coined because it as mostly used in Yunnan province where the clay was
obtained. I have some terra cotta cookware already and I know it can be put
in the oven to 375F. Lots of clays can take heat but few can take direct
flame. That's what I learned. Alton Brown made a rib roast in a flower
planter. Certainly burying a clay pot in a fire is a lot hotter than an
oven, though.

> (I got an education in this subject last December. My brother-in-law is a
> potter, and I told my sister that I wanted to commission a tagine from
> him.
> She provided a detailed explanation of how flameware is made, and why my
> brother-in-law's studio couldn't make flameware with the high-firing kiln
> they have.)

The web site I found described the whole process. She makes a lot of clay
cookware. She will make me a tagine and it didn't seem a big deal. It's
going to be expensive I'm sure when I get the final price, but it will be a
thing of beauty I can cook with.

Paul