Before First Use: Soak Your Clay Pot in Starch Water

2026-07-12

Every Kanaskraft pot arrives as pure, unglazed clay — exactly as it left the kiln. Before you set your first curd or store your first jug of water, give it one simple treatment that families in South India have used for generations: a starch-water soak. Why starch water? Unglazed clay is porous by design — that breathability is what keeps curd creamy and water naturally cool. But a brand-new pot is thirsty. Soaking it in starch water lets the starch settle into those open pores, tempering the surface so your first batch doesn't pick up a raw-earth taste, and helping the vessel stand up to daily use. How to make starch water The easiest source is already in your kitchen: the cloudy water you pour off after cooking rice (kanji). If you don't have any on hand, stir two tablespoons of rice flour — or a handful of raw rice — into about a litre of water. Preparing your yogurt (curd) pot 1. Rinse the pot with plain water. No soap — not now, not ever. 2. Fill it to the brim with starch water. If it came with a lid, soak that too. 3. Leave it to soak for a full day (about 24 hours). 4. Pour the starch water out and rinse with plain water. 5. Let it air-dry completely before use. Then set your first batch of curd. Many people find the second and third batches even better than the first — the pot keeps improving as it settles in. Preparing your drinking-water pot Exactly the same treatment: fill it with starch water, leave it a full day, rinse with plain water, and let it dry completely. After that, fill it with drinking water and enjoy the cool, sweet taste that only clay gives. A few things to remember - Never use soap at any stage — see our post on cleaning clay pots. - Always let the pot dry fully before storing it away. - If a pot has sat unused for a long stretch, a fresh starch soak wakes it up again. A little patience at the start, and your pot will serve your kitchen for years.