Expert: Sunil Tarneja Date: 6/20/2008 Subject: Questions about clay ovens?
Question QUESTION: Hi:
I live in Diamond Bar, a city in Southern California.
I am looking for a tandoor clay oven that can be fueled by bituminous coals. I've looked at many shops on and off the net. I've not been able to find one that I'm sure is safe to use bituminous coals on. Some use charcoal but I don't know if its safe to use bituminous coals on these oven.
I feel gas and charcoal are too bland. They don't give the flavor I like. To my nose and taste buds, nothing is more pleasant than garlic naan [Indian garlic bread] cooked in a clay oven fueled by bituminous coals. The earthy aroma of the clay combined with that of the bituminous coal really gets my appetite going.
Also, what type of heat is mostly used in clay oven to cook food -- radiant, conductive, or convective?
Thanks,
Green
ANSWER: Hi Green,
The conventional clay ovens are made keeping inmind that they would use charcoal as the heat which is generated by charcoal is the right amount required for the products to be cooked in the oven. In all possibility you will find the clay ovens using charcoal and not bituminous coals.
If you are keen to use clay oven only for making Naan of the garlic variety then charcoal will be just as fine just ensure when you cook the naan and take it out of the clay oven you dab it with some melted butter which has chopped garlic in it and then eat it, your taste buds will linger more and your arora hunger will also get satisfied.
The heat from the clay oven is a mixture of radient and conductive as the the lower you go in the oven the heat is more radient and the higher you go the heat is more conductive. so you get the best of both worlds.
Hope I was able to help you reach a decision on the oven you need to buy.
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: Thanks for your response.
Is it dangerous to use bituminous coal in a clay oven?
When clay oven is cooking something, are the coal ignited and emitting fire, or are they just red hot and smoldering?
Also, in which part of the oven are the coals located?
Are the coals in direct contact with the food at any time? Or are they separated by the clay pot?
Thanks again,
Green
Answer Hi Green,
The use of Bituminous in clay oven is not adviseable.There may be some cracks which may develop in the clay oven. Initially in the clay oven the coal is iginited and then it radiates heat not fire, this is when the core are also gets hot like (magma) in a lave erupting volcano.
The coal is normally in the bottom part of the oven and no they are never in direct contact with food at any time, the clay oven is quite big enough to accomodated both food and coal.
