Care Guide: Pottery

In our previous blog Guide: Ceramic Pottery vs. Porcelain we talked about what pottery and porcelain are and their main differences. Today, we'd like to give you some instructions on how to take care of your pottery pieces including what to do before the first use and general care guide since pottery is naturally more porous and needs a bit more care than porcelain pieces. 

Before First Use

Because pottery is more porous than porcelain, and the clay body less dense than porcelain, pottery pieces tend to absorb water, oil and liquid from food. It could also tend to get stained by the color from food. It's recommended to perform the steps below to kind of seal the pores on the pottery pieces.

1. Put a white, plain cloth towel on the bottom of the pot, and place the pottery pieces directly on it. Fill the water that used to rinse rice to the height of the vessel.

2. After simmering on low to medium heat until boiling, switch to low heat to keep it in a non-boiling state and simmer for 20 minutes. If it is in a boiling state at this time, it may cause the bottom of the pot or vessels to collide with each other and cause damage. Please pay attention to the state of the rice washing water.

3. After turning off the gas, take out the vessels and let them cool down before rinsing them with water.

4. If the vessel is not completely filled with starch material after a single treatment, repeat the above steps.

General Care Instructions

• It's important to let the vessels be fully air-dried after use. Even if the surface appears to be dry, most of the water will remain inside, so please turn the pieces upside down, do not stack them, and place them in a place that can be exposed to sunlight for half a day to a day. Wait until the vessels are completely dry before putting them in the kitchen cabinet.

• Please try to avoid leaving food in the vessels for a long time after eating to avoid staining or odor on the piece. It's recommended to clean it immediately after use, and to store the pieces after they are sufficiently dry.

• All ceramics may be cracked or damaged due to excessive temperature differences. Please do not directly soak the vessels in cold water when they are in a high temperature state.

• Please leave enough room between each piece in the dishwasher to avoid collision.

• To reduce odor and food stains stuck on pottery: add 4 tablespoons of baking soda and 1 tablespoon of white vinegar to 1 liter of water, and soak your pieces in the above solution for a period of time (please adjust the amount of baking soda and white vinegar according to the intensity of the smell).