You may have heard a very old phrase “Health is made in the Kitchen”. It is truly a myth that “Being healthy” is only about Perfect meals, Hardcore workouts, and sanitization. Do you bother about the role of kitchenware that you use for cooking and storage of your food? Storing, cooking, and grinding of food & water in a quality container or vessel needs to be one of your prime lifestyle concerns. Much Traditional kitchenware is getting eloped from your kitchens. You cannot even imagine what magical benefits these kitchen wares hold for your physical and mental wellbeing.
However, the entire focus turned around buying fresh, organic, and nutritious food which is good for you in one way. But unfortunately, the whole purpose of getting nutrition gets defeated if you are not using the best traditional kitchen wares and cookwares.
The advent of plastic in the market fascinated many people because of its lightweight, versatility, and durability aspects over its toxicity. But now, as people are more aware and health-conscious, they are making a successful shift from toxicity (plastic) to health (traditional kitchenware). It is never too late to make the right choice. Bring the best traditional Kitchenware from the list below for healthy life.
List of 12 Traditional Kitchenware with their Benefits
Keeping your food items in good-quality containers prevents the growth of germs and mold formation. Your right choice can keep your food fresh for a longer time without any leaching or chemical seeping into it. Hence, investing in good quality kitchen wares should be your priority to stay fit. Replace the plastic and other toxic metal in your kitchen with these Top 12 useful traditional kitchen wares.
Ceramic Jars
Nowadays, people have many options for food storage ranging from plastic to glass containers. Most people prefer plastic containers because they are cheap and not prone to breakage. If we go back to the golden old days’ people used to store their goods in traditional ceramic jars also known as Barni instead of plastic. The versatile ceramic containers are ethnic and classic serve ware in India. Their simplicity is their USP(Unique selling point) that attracts everyone. Earlier, people used these jars to store curd, ghee, and pickles. These traditional storage containers are gorgeous as well as a healthy alternative for the storage of your eatables.
No Chemical Leakage
It is advisable to store your eatables in a non-porous container. Ceramic is the healthiest storage material because of no chemical seeping into the eatables stored in it. It does not affect the nutritional value and composition of your foods. Certain chemicals in plastics can leach out in your foodstuff and may disrupt your metabolism. The toxicity of plastic can also lead to infertility in males and females.
Heat-Resistant
Ceramic pots can withstand thermal shock due to their flame-retardant material. A mixture of inorganic material, clay, water, or other earthy elements makes it a heat-resistant container.
Protection from UV radiation
Many perishable foods are sensitive to light, so their exposure to UV rays can cause a change in taste and color due to their high oxidizing power. Light and free radical reactions may change the composition of foodstuffs. It degrades the proteins and antioxidants, which can lead to undesirable flavor in food products. Ceramic is very helpful in storing food items that require protection from UV radiation.
Non-Reactive to Acidic food
Some containers or jars cannot store acidic food ingredients due to the unwanted reaction of plastic chemicals with the food acid. But fortunately, ceramic is perfect for acidic food as it does not react with acidic food ingredients.
No Contribution to BPA and VOC
Some plastics contribute to the Bisphenol A, or BPA, in your foods. It may cause damage to your brain, heart, and behavior. Exposure to it can lead to diabetes, obesity, anxiety, and depression. But Ceramic jars are BPA and VOC (volatile chemical compounds) free.
No Proliferation of Germs
For the sake of your health, you should always choose the material that is not permeable to germs, microbes, and fungus. Ceramic jars do not allow the proliferation of germs because they are easy to clean. Their surface is not prone to the growth of harmful bacteria.
Wooden Spice Box
A wooden spice box in your kitchen is a wise idea as you get all your seven necessary spices in one place. There is no need to open seven different boxes to cook one dish. If you do not have a spice box in your cookhouse, it becomes annoying when you are in a hurry. In the market various types of spice boxes are available but using wooden spice boxes has its own advantages.
Avoid microbial Attack
If your spices are in contact with air, they can be encouraging for microbial growth. It leads to the destruction of the nutritional value of powdered spices. Wooden Spice Box avoids microbial growth.
Protect Color and Aroma of Spices
Other than infusing flavors and nutrition in the food, spices give different natural colors to your dish and enhance its appearance. Few people know that the colors of spices, fruits, and vegetables play a crucial role in the balanced functioning of the mind and body. The wooden spice box excels in preserving the natural color, freshness, nutrients, and aroma of the spices.
No Chemicals
Nowadays, the market is full of plastic spice boxes. Storing your spices in these boxes cannot be safe for your health because of the harmful chemicals. These chemicals can react with the spices contained to rob off their nutritional content.
Convenient Cooking
In a wooden spice box, you get different partitions for the main spices. It will help you to get rid of space mess in your kitchen while cooking. You will get all the key spices in one place in one go.
Earthen Water Dispenser
A living being cannot survive without water. Having enough pure water has unbelievable beneficial effects on your health. Earthen water dispenser and Clay pot save you from 48 leading chronic diseases. But what if you are consuming water stored in the wrong container? It can adversely affect your health. To gain the therapeutic benefits of the water elements, you should bring an Organic Earthen water dispenser to your home. This age-old traditional practice can turn a glass of water into a healthy elixir for you.
Natural Cooling Properties
A cool glass of earthen pot water has no other match. When you have water with an earthy scent, it surely quenches your thirst. The porous nature of clay helps to cool water naturally because of the principle of vaporization.
Defluoridation of Water
Increased fluoride levels in water can lead to dental fluorosis or skeletal fluorosis. It is harmful to your teeth, bones, and joints. Some soils are rich in silica and alumina. Clay pots made of this clay helps to remove excess fluoride from the water.
Balances the PH level of Water
Being Alkaline in nature the clay pot balances the PH level of the water stored in it. The impurities in Pure water make it more acidic. The clay pot is alkaline, which is why it makes the water alkaline.
Balances the Body Glucose Level
Earthen water dispensers or clay pots are rich in vitamins and minerals and help to balance the glucose levels in your body.
Remove Endocrine Disruptor Chemicals
Clay is porous and this texture helps to trap dirt or contaminants or endocrine disruptor chemicals from the water. BPA gets into your drinking water if stored in plastic ware. But there is no presence of BPA in Earthen pot water.
Improve Metabolism
Earthen water dispensers make water chemical-free and rich in minerals. When you intake this water daily, it improves your digestion and metabolism.
Copper Jug or Copper Glass
Ayurveda says that copper water is a universal remedy for many diseases. It is the first metal discovered by a man that has many health benefits. Nowadays, people have changed their approach to traditional and natural medicine ideas positively. It is the reason people are getting inclined toward buying copper jugs or glass. There are some incredible health benefits of the copper water jug.
Eliminate Free Radicals
Free radicals are harmful to your body if their levels are not under control. You can face many diseases, which include heart-related problems, diabetes, and cancer. Copper helps eradicate free radicals from your body.
Regulate Blood Pressure
When the level of LDL cholesterol in your body increases, it gets deposited in your blood vessels. It causes difficulty with blood flow in your arteries, which eventually leads to heart disease. Copper plays a role in the regulation of blood pressure as well as dilates arteries for better blood flow.
Maintain Hormone Level
Hyperthyroidism is a condition where people have low levels of thyroid hormone in their bodies. If you are suffering from thyroid disease, it may be due to copper deficiency. Cooper water helps in maintaining copper levels in your body and helps prevent thyroid disease.
Enhance Digestion
It also helps in digestion as the leaching of copper in water helps in catabolism or the breaking down of food into smaller pieces. It aids in the complete digestion and absorption of food in your body. It also maintains the PH level of your stomach and makes the environment alkaline.
Relieve Arthritis
Regular intake of copper water can soothe your inflamed joints because of its anti-inflammatory properties. It is the reason you should have copper water for three months regularly in the right way to relieve rheumatoid arthritis.
Make Skin Healthy
Copper plays a role in the production of melanin, a pigment that protects against ultraviolet radiations. It is a holistic medicine that heals your skin, hair, heart, digestion, and more.
Good Immunity
A copper-deficient body can lead to a neutrophil reduction in your body that weakens your innate immunity. Therefore, if you want to maintain your immunity, then include copper utensils in your life.
Pestle and Mortar – Natural Spices Grinder
Mortar and Pestle is the key equipment for crushing natural herbs and spices to add on in the food and for making Ayurvedic medicines or Natural Remedies. In traditional India, this crushing equipment has a special place in the kitchens. Yes, maybe in the present time Pestle and Mortar are fighting for its existence in your Kitchen, but its benefits have no other alternative.
Improve Digestion and Metabolism
A traditional spice crushing is best because it retains all the essential components of your spices. In an electric grinder, you cannot get the same benefits as pestle and mortar. It helps to increase your metabolism and pull out your digestive system ailments.
Avoid Enzyme Rancidity
Enzyme rancidity occurs because of increased electric grinding time. It destroys some enzymes and changes the flavor. In the traditional way of bashing spices, essential oil comes out slowly and enhances the taste.
Preserve Medicinal Value
During electric grinding, blades in the grinding machine produce excess heat. This heat can damage the medicinal value of the ingredients. The use of Pestle and Mortarmethod preserves the medicinal and nutritional value of the ingredients.
Retain Flavor and Aroma
Crushing of ingredients with a pestle, release aromatic oils slowly. In electric grinding focus is not on releasing this essential oil whereas its focus is only on cutting ingredients into smaller pieces. This is the reason pestle and mortar are helpful to retain the flavor and aroma of the components.
No Chemical Change
Have you ever gotten a bitter result of your green chutney or green sauce in an electric grinder? You must be wondering about the unpalatable taste. This is because of some chemical changes due to chemical reactions because of the heat generated in an electric grinder. The traditional way of grinding avoids this chemical change.
Improved Appetency
The aroma of the volatile or essential oil of spices plays with your brain positively to wake up your taste buds thus resulting in improved appetite.
Bamboo Basket
In earlier times when there was no plastic available people used to make and use bamboo baskets for various storage or carrying purposes. In many rural or some urban areas, these bamboo baskets are still in trend. These hand-woven baskets come in different shapes, designs, sizes and are eco-friendly. Being natural and anoxic material the bamboo baskets must be part of your kitchen.
Biodegradable
Plastic cannot be recycled, but bamboo baskets are biodegradable. They do not produce chemical substances after breaking.
Lightweight
Bamboo basket is light in weight and you can carry them from one place to another easily.
Compostable
It does not harm your environment because it produces non-toxic elements after their disintegration.
Best Alternative to Plastic
These natural woven baskets of bamboo are the best alternatives to plastic. Plastic is harmful and produces many toxic chemicals.
Strong and Durable
This bamboo basket is sturdy and you can easily store or display all your goods or food.
Earthenware for Cooking
The use of Earthenware is a simple addition to your lifestyle that can lead to Disease-free life. It is made up of a special kind of mud clay loaded with micronutrients that makes the earthenware pure and healthy in nature. Cooking in clay pots is an elixir for your physical and mental health. The magical thing is that the five elements that are used in the creation of your Body are used in the making of clay pot as well. Even when you do the cooking in the clay pots or Earthenware these Panchmahabhootas ( Air, Earth, Ether, Fire & Water) works incredibly to preserve the nutrients, aroma, and taste in the food. Have a look at the miraculous health benefits of Earthenware or Claypot Cooking.
Preserve the Vital nutrients
Clay is rich in magnesium, iron, calcium, phosphorus, and sulfur. When you cook your food in this traditional cookware you get undamaged micronutrients out of your food.
Balances the PH Level of Food
As you know that the clay is alkaline in nature which automatically balances the PH Level of the food stored or cooked in it. Hence, it helps you to get rid of digestive problems mainly related to Acidity, Gastric, and Bloating.
Retain Temperature
Reheating destroys nutrients as well as the taste of your dish. But when you cook in a clay pot, there is no need of reheating your food because it can retain hot temperatures for a longer period of time.
Avoid Bacterial Growth
Clay is good to avoid microbial and bacterial growth in your eatables. So you can keep foodstuff out of the refrigerator for a longer duration. It will not change the taste of your food and will remain fresh for long.
Permeable Surface
The clay pot has voids and pores on its surface. It is the reason your food can retain moisture. Heat can circulate easily and evenly for thorough cooking.
Good for your Heart
Clay pot cooking does not need excess oil. So you can get an oil-free meal, which can lead to a healthy heart. Slower cooking in earthenware retains its nutrients and moisture to make your food elixir for you.
Iron Pan or Utensils
As soon as non-stick and Teflon utensils are loading into the market, people are throwing their iron utensils out of the kitchen. But now, somehow health awareness and traditions are coming into the light and people have started to include the Best Iron utensils for cooking. A few of the unbelievable benefits are mentioned below and if you want to know more Click here.
Improve Iron Levels
Your body needs iron for the proper functioning of various processes. You can get iron from a variety of foods and vegetables. But cooking in an Iron pan is another best way to add Iron in your food. According to Ayurveda, Ironware is a valuable addition to your cooking space to stay healthy and fit.
Improve Hemoglobin Levels
Iron is necessary for your body to improve the level of hemoglobin. It increases the production of red blood cells and helps to increase the oxygen intake in your body. You do not need any Iron supplements if you are cooking food in iron utensils. Other than fulfilling the iron requirement of your body and helps in the growth and development of your body.
Natural and Chemical Free
Iron cooking utensils do not have any chemical coating on their surface like non-stick cookware. They do not contain any artificial colors, chemical sprays, or lead on their shell. Therefore, when you cook food, it increases and seeps the iron content into the food rather than the toxic chemicals.
Heat Conductivity and Retention
Iron takes time to heat up but does not cool as quickly once it is heated. When you use iron utensils for cooking, it saves time and LPG too. It is because of its conductivity and heat retention power.
Thorough Cooking of Food
Due to the heat retaining factor, the Ironware cooks your meal evenly from both outside and inside. It makes your food tastier and healthier as compared to other cookware.
Good for Muscle Health
Iron is necessary for your muscles because it helps in recovery and repair. So, if you use an iron skillet pan for your cooking, it will lead to better muscle health.
Thick and Durable
Iron holds a lot of importance in Ayurveda. As it is thick and durable, it can stay in high heat and temperature without damage to the pot.
Murukku Press
Murukku press is the best option to make homemade snacks for your family. It helps to give different shapes to Murukku dough made up of rice, gram, wheat, and lentil flour. There are many chemical-laden gadgets available in the market that can harm your health. But brass Murukku press can be the best alternative for other hazardous equipment that serves the same purpose.
Increase Immunity
Brass is good for your immunity, and it also improves oxygen circulation. It is helpful in detoxification and also provides strength to your body.
Good for Skin and Hair
If you use chemical-loaded gadgets to make murukku snacks it can lead to harmful effects on your skin and hair. But the snacks made from this Brass equipment fill the eatables with the goodness of Brass to improve your skin and hair quality.
Protect from Abdominal Infection
If you are suffering from an abdominal infection, indigestion, ulcers, and inflammation, it becomes hard for you to digest fried food. However, the therapeutic properties of Brass present in murukku press mix with the food to strengthen your digestive system.
Protect from Asthma
If you have asthma, then brass content in murukku press acts therapeutically for your health. It happens because brass is beneficial to cure respiratory disorders.
Balance your Doshas
There are three types of doshas that include Pita, Kapha, and Vata Dosha. For a healthy body, all the doshas should be in balance. Brass helps to soothe your aggression, depression, and anger by balancing out the Dosha of your body to some extent.
Clay Stove
In the olden days, clay stove or mud Chulla was an integral part of everyone’s kitchen. But now Indian kitchen has transformed to modern from traditional because of electricity. Now you people use the microwave and LPG gas stove instead of Chulla made from clay and grain husk. When you cook in mud Chulla in an open space, it adds value to your food and environment too. Check its benefits.
No Loss of Nutrients
The heat from the clay stove is gentle and not harsh. It gently cooks food without loss of nutrients. This is the reason it is a healthy way of cooking food as compared to modern ways.
Purification of the Environment
When you use cow dung cakes instead of wood then it adds therapeutic value. It purifies your environment by eliminating harmful insects, mosquitoes, and other germs. It also adds positivity and warms you in winter.
Ash Increases Fertility of Soil
In the old-time people used the ash of mud Chulla as a disinfectant for their kitchen garden. They spread it on the plants and ash protected them from insects biting. So, the use of this ash can increase fertility as well protect from insects.
Physical and Psychological Benefits
It also adds benefits to your physical and psychological health. According to Ayurveda, cow dung has healing properties it acts as a mood enhancer and changes the vibes of place as well.
Wooden Churner (Hand Blender / Mathani)
A wooden churner helps to convert your cream to butter and can be used to churn curd, buttermilk, boiled lentils, green vegetables like mustard, Spinach, etc. It is a necessary and multipurpose gadget in your kitchen as compared to other metal or electric churners.
Avoid Rancidity
The heat produced in the electric churning can change the taste and aroma of your food or butter. But when you use a wood churner, it prevents the rancidity of your food.
Enhance Flavor
With the help of a wooden whisk churner, the process of making butter goes slow. It emanates all the flavors slowly to your butter.
Proper Water Distribution
With the help of a wooden churner, you get butter that you can preserve for longer because of proper water distribution.
Right Butter Texture
A hand blender helps to retain the texture of your liquid foods and retain its nutrients. When you use an electric blender, the color of your butter looks pale. But when you use the traditional way of making butter with the help of a wooden churner it produces white color butter with a creamy texture.
Coconut Scrapper
Coconut has lots of nutrition and health benefits. Its flesh is hard to remove because of its outer shell. Traditional Coconut scrapper helps to scrap coconut without breaking its outer shell. It eases your task to grate coconut. Now there are plastic, semi-automated, and electric graters available in the market. But traditional scrappers still provide great results in terms of quality and maintaining dietary value.
Compact Size
It is easy to handle because of its compact size, and you can easily use it to grate your coconut inside the shell. Wooden scrapers help to scrap coconut from its hard shell quickly. It is not expensive as compared to other versions of scrappers.
No Toxins
Traditional coconut scrapper does not add toxins and chemicals to your coconut scrap. It is safe and maintains nutritional value.
Conclusion
Traditional kitchen wares give you an abundance of health benefits and also a trouble-free experience of cooking. Not just Healthy cooking or Healthy eating should be your priorities. How you keep and store your healthy food is equally important to stay healthy. You have to make the right choice while selecting the kitchenware to keep, store and make your food items nutritious and healthy. Make good health your priority and do not neglect this important factor. I hope this article will lead you in the right direction towards health happiness.
Shine Always!
