Clay pot cooking is a process of cooking food in a pot made of unglazed or glazed pottery. History Cooking in unglazed clay pots which are first immersed in water dates at least to the Etruscans in first century BC but likely dates to several centuries earlier. The Romans adapted the technique and the cooking vessel, which became known as the Roman pot, a cooking vessel similar to those made since the 1960s by Romertopf. According to Paula Wolfert, "all Mediterranean food used to be cooked in clay." In the Han Dynasty, pots unglazed on the exterior known as fus (now called sandy pots) were used for wet clay cooking. In Japan clay pots are mentioned from the 8th century and originally referred to as nabe. As pots made from other materials entered use, the Japanese clay pots were distinguished by calling them donabe; "do" means clay or earth. Cooking in clay pots became less popular once metal pots became available. Clay remained popular for those dishes that depended on the unique qualities of clay cooking; Food & Wine called out such dishes as biryani, cassoulet, daube, tagine, jollof rice, kedjenou, cazuela, and baked beans. Properties Clay cookers allow food to be cooked with minimal additional liquids or fats. Individual clay beds are considered to provide specific properties for cooking, and cooking vessels of a particular type often are valued for being made of the traditional type of clay. The micaceous clay found at Taos Pueblo holds heat for a long time. The pots made from this clay are considered to contribute flavor to what is cooked within them. The clay from Lake Biwa contains tiny fossils which incinerate and produce small pockets of air, which also hold heat. The pots made from this clay are considered to contribute to flavor to what is cooked within them. Food & Wine tested multiple dishes in multiple clay pots and said that "In test after test, we found that everything cooked in clay tasted better than the same recipes cooked in metal pans" and that the only drawback to using clay cooking vessels is that they were not indestructible. Cooking techniques Different cultures have different techniques of cooking food in clay pots. Some use pots that are fully finished by burnishing and therefore do not require the pot to be soaked each time before use. Some are unfinished and must be soaked