This is a great question and I often get asked what makes clay so special. This article will explain the whole story.

Well before the Conquest of modern day Mexico, the indigenous peoples were using slow cooking methods, earthen pit ovens and ceramic pottery to cook their food. This ancestral method allowed for more gentle cooking - think braises, soups, stews, pit smoked BBQ etc. The comal cooked, toasted, roasted and blistered ingredients in a fashion similar to a modern griddle with dry heat acting as the main energy source. Copper may have been used for cooking, but was much more prized for its beauty aesthetic in jewelry than cooking. It wasn’t until the Spanish Conquest of 1519 that steel made its appearance - for better and worse.