mrcasey Posted February 13, 2015 Report Share Posted February 13, 2015 Is there any safety (or aesthetic) problem with leaving functional teapots, mugs, cups, and bowls unglazed inside and out? I love the look of my bare brown stoneware as it looks and feels like something that's come out of the earth. I fire to cone 6 electric. C. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
levoslashx Posted February 13, 2015 Report Share Posted February 13, 2015 Leaving the outside unglazed isn't so much of a problem. Inside though you'd likely end up with difficulties cleaning. Bits and bobs of food and the like would make its way into those tiny nooks and crannys and you'd be hard pressed to get it out. You might try finding a glaze with a color that compliments the body. I've never done it myself, but you may be able to apply some terra sigillata to the interior and burnish it to create a more sanitary glaze-less surface, though you'd want to research that a bit more. Best of luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pres Posted February 13, 2015 Report Share Posted February 13, 2015 Really depends on your clay body. Is it a narrow range body that fires to ^6? Is the absorption rate below 2.5? I would think that these two aspects being met allow the clay to be unglazed. You can find cooking pots with much higher absorption, but these are meant to absorb the juices from cooking and hold them in to the clay. Personally I like a glazed interior at least to make cleaning easier, but a fully vitrified clay should clean. Stains like coffee, tea etc would definitely show and stick with the clay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JBaymore Posted February 13, 2015 Report Share Posted February 13, 2015 Banko, Shigaraki, Bizen, Yixing and other such traditions all are unglazed wares. Depends on what your and your audiences standards are. We've been using unglazed kitchenwares in our house for 40+ years...... Japanese, mine made in Japan, and mine fired here. At cone 6 however, as Pres is alluding to above,........ I'd be looking at the nature of that body. The stuff I am using in the general kitchen all is something like 0.5% apparent porosity or less. All is fired to between cone 9 and cone 14. Yixing and banko wares are more porous.... but are intended to absorb the tea oils over repeated uses. They are also NEVER washed with any kinds of soaps... just rinsed with hot water. Some of it is about care in handling in use. Don't leave a half full coffee with cream stand in the cup for three days before washing it! best, ....................john Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tarheeler Posted February 13, 2015 Report Share Posted February 13, 2015 I leave the outside of some my cups unglazed (^6, less than 1% absorption), but usually use a liner glaze on the inside of the pot and the outside of the rim. It makes it easier to clean and feels better on the lips. But I haven't had any issues with the unglazed portions either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TJR Posted February 13, 2015 Report Share Posted February 13, 2015 I leave the outside of some my cups unglazed (^6, less than 1% absorption), but usually use a liner glaze on the inside of the pot and the outside of the rim. It makes it easier to clean and feels better on the lips. But I haven't had any issues with the unglazed portions either. Pictures? TJR. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flowerdry Posted February 13, 2015 Report Share Posted February 13, 2015 How about using a matte clear glaze on the inside, that way you won't lose that look...although I suspect even the matte glaze will alter the appearance of the clay somewhat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GEP Posted February 13, 2015 Report Share Posted February 13, 2015 I agree that it's not a safety issue, if you know your claybody and are firing it properly. I also agree with those who say it's harder to clean, and will also add that unglazed or matte-glazed surfaces make an unpleasant scraping noise when using metal silverware. The noise is why I line my foodware with a glossy glaze. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrcasey Posted February 13, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 13, 2015 I went ahead and used a 5X5 clear gloss on the inside of some mugs. It's probably going to look weird where the glaze surface meets the unglazed surface at the center of the lip. Btw, I'm using Laguna 612 #75 stoneware. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pres Posted February 14, 2015 Report Share Posted February 14, 2015 On your next bunch put a shoulder line on the outside at the bottom of the lip. Glaze to the shoulder line and leave the rest bare. Sometimes it takes a little bit of planning ahead or trial and error to match up a glaze idea to a pot idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Callie Beller Diesel Posted February 15, 2015 Report Share Posted February 15, 2015 http://www.fire-keeper.org/fermenting-crocks/ This neat lady does fermenting crocks out of vitreous porcelain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hjrosas Posted January 16, 2016 Report Share Posted January 16, 2016 Hi! There are no safety concerns with leaving cookware and tableware unglazed. It is actually preferable to have them unglazed, at least inside, since the alkalinity of the clay neutralizes acids in food and makes them sweeter. Try some coffee one day in an unglazed mug and you will see what I'm talking about. Unglazed pots make the best beans, tomato sauces soups and stews. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaddieLN Posted July 25, 2019 Report Share Posted July 25, 2019 Hey so I glazed a mug but forgot to glaze the bottom. Can I still use it or do I have to glaze the bottom too? I use cone 06 to fire. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Callie Beller Diesel Posted July 26, 2019 Report Share Posted July 26, 2019 The risk with earthenware is that the clay is still pretty porous at those temperatures, so if the glaze is crazed at all, the pot will still be able to absorb water and weep. If it does this, it will seriously overheat in the microwave, and absorb a lot of water if you put it in the dishwasher. It'll shorten the life of your work. If you want to find out if, or how badly your cup weeps, fill it with water and put it on a piece of paper and leave it on the counter overnight, or for a full day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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