ABOUT CHAMBA COOKWARE
Black clay Chamba cookware is well-known throughout Colombia and is used in many top city restaurants for serving
traditional dishes. Its origins can be traced back at least 700 years to vases and pitchers found in pre-Columbian
archaeological sites. It is still made in the traditional manner, mostly by women in the village of La Chamba, in the
Magdalena River Basin in central Colombia. Each piece is molded into shape by hand rather than spun on a wheel. The
painstaking process and natural materials give the dishes an authentic, distinctive and elegant look, yet they are safe to use
and easy to care for.

Use: Chamba cookware is practical as well as beautiful and is ideal for cooking and serving.  It can be used in the oven, in
the microwave and on the stovetop (many recommend the use of an inexpensive heat diffuser when using it on an electric
range). Do not expose your Chamba to sudden changes in temperature—such as moving it directly from the refrigerator to
the oven, placing it in a hot oven (don’t pre-heat the oven), or placing it on a cold surface when it is hot.

Seasoning: Before you use your clay Chamba cookware for the first time, the piece should be filled three-quarters full with
water and placed in an oven for 30 minutes at 400ºF UNCOVERED. This usually seals the cookware, although a complete
seal is sometimes achieved only after it has been used several times for cooking. Boiling milk in the vessel may help if it is
still found to be too porous, but this is rarely necessary. All of the cookware and tableware can be used over any direct
source of heat, including an open fire. Over time you will notice changes in color of the pot from exposure to the heat source.

Cleaning: After it has been seasoned, Chamba cookware cleans easily. A quick soak and wipe down with a sponge or soft
cloth is all you need to clean it. Cleaning in the dishwasher or use of abrasive cleaners is not recommended.

Safe: There are no toxins used in the production of La Chamba dishes.  The pieces are not glazed and there is no lead in
the clay. The smooth finish of the pieces is the result of painstaking hand-burnishing with stones

Appearance: Small imperfections in the finish and flecks of minerals in the clay are due to this handmade process and
materials and can be considered a characteristic of the pottery. Mica in the surface gives the cookware the ability to heat
evenly and not crack under temperature changes. Because the pieces are handmade (sometimes by different artisans)
dimensions will vary from piece to piece.

The Process: The body of each piece is made from coarse dark gray clay mined by hand. Finer clay, (reddish in color as a
result of the presence of iron in the form of Ferric Oxide, or rust) is then applied thinly over the entire surface as a glaze.
After drying, the piece is burnished with very smooth river stones. It is the skill and the time spent in polishing which
distinguishes the finer from the more rustic product. Lids are made to fit the individual pots they cover; however due to
variations shrinkage during firing and drying, they may not fit snugly on the piece.

After baking in the sun, the cookware is placed inside earthenware urns and fired in large earth kilns. A coarse organic dust
of dried herbs and grasses is thrown into the urns immediately after firing. This burns rapidly and reduces the ferric oxide in
the glaze to ferrosoferric oxide, which is black.   Sometimes, depending on how and when the dust is added, patches on the
surface may retain their original terracotta color. The process by which the glaze turns black is also reversible if the
cookware is exposed to intense heat in the presence of oxygen. This explains the reddish brown patches, which may
appear, on the base of the piece after use on the stove.

                         Chamba Imports buys Chamba directly from Colombia and supplies Toque Blanche and other quality retail
stores throughout the United States. Please send wholesale (re-sellers only) inquiries directly to them at
nelson@ChambaImports.com. Restaurants can send inquiries to info@MyToque.com.
604 Main Street Half Moon Bay,  California (650) 726-2898 info@mytoque.com
For ordering and shipping information about our products please click here.