Product Review
by Carrie Bui
Romertopf 111 by Reco International Corp. This month Kitchenware News & Housewares Review decided to test out the Romertopf 111, a covered clay baking dish, from Reco International Corp.
meatloaf recipe. To compare the Romertopf fairly against regular baking dishes, I cooked each recipe twice, once in a regular baking dish and then again in the Romertopf.
The Romertopf 111 is Reco’s most popular clay pot. It’s a 3-quart pot that holds a maximum of 6 pounds. Meals cooked in clay pots are supposed to be moister, more flavorful and more tender. According to Reco, this clay pot is versatile enough to cook anything, from a roasting chicken to fish and vegetables. Cooking with the Romertopf can also be a healthier option because it doesn’t require fatty additives, such as oil.
First, I made a baked tilapia in a glass baking dish, per the recipe’s suggestion. The tilapia was marinated in olive oil, dill, lemon zest, salt and pepper then placed in a glass dish with fresh lemon juice squeezed over the fillets and a pat of butter on each fillet. I baked the fish in a preheated oven at 450 degrees for about 15–20 minutes. The fish was flaky with a pleasant flavor of lemon and butter to it.
Before each use the Romertopf needs to be soaked for at least 10 minutes. The clay dish absorbs the water, then tiny water particles are released during the cooking process, to keep food moist and flavorful, according to Reco’s website. Place food inside the pot, cover with the lid and pop the Romertopf directly into a cold oven. The included Romertopf instructions suggest that recipes usually can be converted for clay pots by increasing the cooking temperature by 100 degrees Fahrenheit and deducting a half hour from the cooking time.
I prepared the fish again the next day, following the same recipe, but swapped out the glass baking dish for the Romertopf. It’s important to remember to avoid sudden changes in temperature with the Romertopf, and when you pull it out of a hot oven, the pot should be placed on a towel, hot pad or wooden board rather than a cold surface. My dining companions and I noticed that the fish baked in the Romertopf pot was noticeably moister than the previous fish, and the tilapia was more flavorful, with the lemon juice coming through much more prominently than it had in the glass dish.
I tested the Romertopf twice, once with a baked tilapia recipe and then again with a
The second recipe I decided to try was a meatloaf, made with ground beef, onions and
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Kitchenware News & Housewares Review • MAY 2010
mushrooms. Same as the fish, I tested the meatloaf recipe first in a dark metal loaf pan, following the recipe and baking it at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 85 minutes. That meatloaf was a nice, evenly cooked loaf—a very straightforward, tasty meatloaf. I made the same meatloaf again two nights later using the Romertopf. I decided to test out the estimated formula on the Romertopf instructions and increased the temperature to 450 degrees Fahrenheit and baked the meatloaf for about 45 minutes. I pulled the Romertopf out of the oven, making sure to place it on a couple of dish towels, and pulled off the lid to discover the meatloaf half submerged in liquid. This made checking the meatloaf difficult because we couldn’t see down to the center of it clearly. After slicing it up, I realized that the loaf needed a little more time to cook, probably another 10 minutes. My assessment of cooking with the Romertopf is that food prepared in it came out moister and more flavorful. It definitely would have cut cooking time down on the meatloaf if my timing hadn’t been off. I do think it would have to be a bit of a trial-anderror game when using the Romertopf for the
first time with any recipe, but cooking always tends to be a trial-and-error process. Cleaning instructions included with the Romertopf say to clean the pot with hot water, a stiff brush and baking soda to remove grease spots. The Reco website recommends filling the top and bottom with water, adding baking soda or vinegar and scrubbing with a plastic sponge. Reco also suggests placing it in the oven and letting the water and baking soda or vinegar combination boil for 10 minutes for a deeper cleaning. Cleaning the Romertopf after the fish was fairly simple, but I did have to soak the pot overnight after making the meatloaf, not much different than having to soak any other pan. Over time, the pot takes on a seasoned patina. While the pot needs to be soaked in water before every use, which adds time to the process, the Romertopf lived up to its promise of moister, more flavorful meals.
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