The unique benefits of cooking lentils and beans in MEC Dutch ovens

Using a Dutch oven for cooking lentils and beans is great because of its many features. This heavy piece of cookware retains heat and distributes it evenly by maintaining low and slow temperatures for a long time. This kind of cooking is especially useful for long-simmering lentils and beans. This also saves energy and is great for slow cooking recipes. But the health value of any Dutch oven is decided by the purity of its raw material. Keep reading to learn more.

How important is the raw material of a Dutch oven?

Conventional Dutch ovens are made from cast iron or other metals. This is problematic because metals are innately reactive. When we cook a biochemical entity (food) in a metal pot, it reacts to nutrients and forms toxic compounds that contaminate food. This means your lentils and beans may cook well in such a Dutch oven but they will be unhealthy.

Moreover, pots with these materials radiate harsh heat even when cooking at low. This heat breaks down nutrients and many essential nutrients are lost. Lastly, the water-soluble nutrients present as steam are lost as well because there is no mechanism to manage steam.

All these issues render food nutrition-deficient and unhealthy and call for a viable alternative. Read on to find out which pot is the best choice.

MEC Clay Pot – the Best Dutch Oven for cooking lentils and beans

MEC clay pots are excellent Dutch ovens and offer healthy features that no other cookware can. We’ll introduce you to three of these healthy features below.

Firstly, they are made from lab tested 100% primary clay – the purest form of clay free from any impurities and contaminants. This makes MEC pots truly non-toxic.

Secondly, MEC clay radiates gentle far infrared heat. It cooks food thoroughly and without damaging nutrients by penetrating deep into the food. The pot takes a few minutes to convert the generic heat from the stove into far infrared heat. Once this heat spreads throughout the pot, your beans and lentils will cook faster than in any other cookware.

Pre-soaking is necessary when cooking in pots that cook with near-infrared heat, that cooks food from outside, like metal and ceramic pots. With far infrared heat, your beans and lentils cook thoroughly from inside out so no need to pre-soak. The lectins & phytates are also thoroughly cooked and therefore well digested in the gut.

The metal and ceramic pots also may not cook the acids in the beans thoroughly. MEC’s clay, being alkaline, cooks without letting the beans get acidic. Also, MEC pots retain heat for much longer than any metal pot. This makes them perfect for keeping food warm for hours after cooking. The beans and lentils recipes at the end of this article, show how cooking in MEC is faster and more convenient than cooking in conventional Dutch ovens.

Third, MEC manages steam (water-soluble nutrients) by condensing it naturally on the inside of the lid and then letting it fall back into food.

All these features make MEC pots the best Dutch oven for cooking lentils and beans. They turn out well cooked, rich in nutrients and taste delicious with natural flavors of the ingredients intact.

Intrigued? Head over to the MEC store so you can try cooking these lentils and beans recipes in MEC for tastier and healthier results:

• Light and Easy Lentil – Mixed Grains Pilaf
• Lentil & Beans Soup w/ healthy vegetables and an assortment of spices (AKA Sambar)
• Rice with lentils, vegetables and spices (AKA Khichari in some parts of the world) – A quick & easy one pot wholesome meal
• Healthy & Hearty Okra with Lentils Soup
• Garbanzo Bean Curry