Olla de barro

An unglazed clay pot: beans, soups, and stews that taste of the earth they cooked in.

Also called clay olla, olla de barro · From Mesoamerica and the Andes

An unglazed clay olla with a wooden spoon and a handful of dried beans beside it.

The journey

Olla is a Spanish word that landed on a much older clay pot. In Mexico, Peru, and Colombia the vessel stayed clay while the language changed. Beans, atoles, and long soups still prefer a pot that breathes steam instead of sealing it the way iron does.

A metal olla is a weekday cousin. The clay one is why the broth tastes round.

A Codex Mendoza folio — kitchens that still stew beans in clay. — Codex Mendoza (c. 1541), Bodleian Library, Oxford · Public domain. Source

In the kitchen

Season a new pot with water and a gentle heat. Never shock it with a flame that jumps. Cook beans from dry with onion and epazote or hierbabuena. Serve from the pot.

Mexican, Peruvian, and Colombian kitchens all keep this shape. A Dutch oven copies the recipe. It cannot copy the clay perfume.

Used in these ComidaTime kitchens

Find a olla de barro on Amazon