After frequently using your flameproof clay pot (Village Pot or Ovum), they can form hairline cracks around the base which spread upwards. These cracks should not affect your cooking and are a natural part of the ageing, as no chemicals are added in the clay body. Though if the cracks begin to cause leaking, there is a way of sealing them by boiling a mixture of rice flour, coconut sugar (or any sugar) and water. The hot mixture penetrates the cracks and acts as a natural glue.

Method:

Half fill your clay pot with water, you want the water to be about 5 cm / 2 inches above the cracks. Add 1/2 cup white rice flour and 3 tbsp sugar (any sugar is fine, whatever you have), these ratios don’t really matter, you could add more if you have a larger pot. 

Place the clay pot pot on a gas flame or on the stove top with a heat diffuser on low heat. When the pot feels hot, raise the heat up to medium. Bring the mixture to a boil and then turn it down to simmer stirring regularly until the mixture thickens and reduces. You want it to become a sticky pudding-like consistency. Leave the pot to cool down completely before discarding the mixture and then clean your clay pot as normal (you could eat it if you wanted haha!).

After you’ve cleaned your clay pot, fill it with water and make sure the outside is completely dry. Place in a tub or bucket overnight to see if any water leaks out - this method should have repaired any leaking. Usually the cracks in our pots heal themselves from being used frequently to cook rice and starchy foods like lentils (dahls).

- Cade