Ancient form of cookware making comeback with Massachusetts company
By Doug Meehan
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BOSTON (WCVB) — Ever since the early days of humankind, clay pots have been an integral part of cooking. Now, a Massachusetts woman is on a mission to bring back the ancient cookware into modern times.
“I had a fascination for clay. Just because of the enviroInside her Roslindale home workshop, Kattumuri Kargbo and her team are hard at work making one-of-a-kind, natural clay pots by hand.
“This is pure earth. Very pure earth full of nutrients that sustain life,” she said.
The pure clay is first harvested from 30 feet underground at a property owned by Kattumuri Kargbo in Bridgewater. It then goes through a process of gravity sifting and filtering. Once in a pliable state, the material is skillfully transformed into cookware that is hardened in a heated kiln.
When finished, Kattumuri Kargbo said you cook with her pots the same way as you would with any pot or pan.
“You can braise in them, you can cook soups and stews,and grains and rice. You name it,” she said.
Kattumuri Kargbo said that what you cannot name are any harmful properties in her cookware. She said natural clay pots are heather cooking vessels than ones made of ceramic clay or traditional metals. Her hope is to offer a healthier version of cooking that starts with the pot itself.
“So, when you teach people and bring about that awareness, I think we can be successful, and I said that’s what I’m going to do,” Kattumuri Kargbo said.
Becoming a successful business has not been without its challenges. Seven years ago, the mother of four lost everything, including her company, when her home at this same Roslindale location went up in flames.
“2018 was a year that, like, latterly transformed our lives because here was this massive fire that practically took everything we ever owned. It took my business. It took my home. It took everything,” Kattumuri Kargbo said.
Undeterred, Kattumuri Kargbo rebuilt her home and her business. And like her cookware itself, she gained strength and renewed purpose through the heat of fire.
“Thank God we came back. We rebuilt and we started it all over again and we persevered,” she said.nmentally friendly nature of it,” said Miriam Kattumuri Kargbo, owner of Miriam’s Earthen Cookware.
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