I remember, my grandmother was a huge fan of earthen pots. Her food was much tastier than what her daughter ( my mother ) cooked. My Granny's kitchen had mostly earthen wares and steel was a rare sight. When we as kids visited her, she would not let anyone of us enter her kitchen for she feared that we would spoil her earthen wares. I always wondered why was she buying those earthen pots and not those shiny steel vessles that were more durable and easy to use. When I asked her one day she told me that earthen pots were healthier and I thought it was just her old ideas.
Back then, there were many potters who made earthen pots then and there as per your requirement. Earthen pots were cheaper back then. They were so cheap that people stopped buying them for they wanted to look classy with steel vessles. Slowly, the world saw the craftsmen vanishing. There were very few potters and the ones available were also out of work. People ditched the pots completely and potters ditched the people by taking up jobs which led to potters going extinct.
It is now that people have started realising how good clay pots are. Times have changed, clay pots are now very costly, but the health benefits that they provide are truly worth the cost.
Cooking in earthen pots would require less oil because clay is heat resistant and regulates the cooking temperature allowing food to retain all it's oil and moisture. Clay pots are also alkaline in mature which stabilizes the Ph balance of the food making it healthier for the consumption.
And my grandmother was absolutely right when she said that clay pots made her food tastier for clay pots are porous in nature and it allows heat and moisture to pass through the food. It also makes sure that the food is cooked slowly resulting in evenly cooked aromatic food.
I would definitely want to invest in some of those clay pots, but I am sure I would have to get a new clay pot daily because of my naughty kids who are mostly play inside the kitchen while I cook.
If you are planning to buy some clay pots to cook some tasty healthy meal for your family then make sure that you don't buy those glazed ones that look trendy. Glazed ones are glazed using paint that contain lead and Mercury which is definitely not good for your health. Go for the unglazed ones that may not look fashionable but would keep you healthy and fit.
Please make sure that you educate your near and dear ones also on the benefits of using clay pots for this would see an increase in the sale of clay pots which I feel will encourage more craftsmen to take up pottery again which is a wonderful craft that is almost extinct.