Vermicular in the US: Which Pot to Buy, and Who Needs the Musui–Kamado

Vermicular is a Japanese cast iron cookware maker, and its best-known products are built around one idea: a lid machined to fit the pot so closely that meat and vegetables can cook in their own moisture. The US store currently sells two versions of that pot, the Oven Pot 2.0 and the original Oven Pot, plus the Musui–Kamado, a pot that sits in its own induction base. Prices run from $120 for the smallest original pot to $670 for the Musui–Kamado.

This guide uses Vermicular USA's product pages and help center, checked on September 15, 2026, and photos from Japanese homes posted to RoomClip. We have not cooked with these pots ourselves, so it covers what each one is, what it costs, and what it gives up.

What you pay for with a Vermicular

The selling point is the seal. Vermicular says its lids fit the pot within 0.01 mm, which keeps steam inside instead of letting it escape around the rim. That is what the brand's musui, or waterless, cooking depends on: the liquid comes from the ingredients themselves, such as onions and tomatoes, instead of added water or stock. Vermicular also says the Oven Pot can cook rice.

What you do not get is an easy-care pot. The inside is enamel, but the rims of the pot and lid are bare cast iron that needs a thin coat of oil to keep from rusting. Vermicular also tells owners not to use high heat. If you usually sear on your highest burner setting, plan to cook at medium with this pot.

What Vermicular sells in the US

• Oven Pot 2.0: the current pot, in 14, 18, 22, and 26 cm, eight colors, and two lid styles. Vermicular describes it as 30% lighter than the original. $160 to $400.
• Oven Pot: the original line, in 14, 18, 22, and 26 cm plus a 26 cm shallow pot, in four colors. $120 to $340.
• Musui: the pot designed for the Kamado base, sold on its own for $330. It also works on any stovetop.
• Musui–Kamado: the Musui pot plus the 120-volt induction base, $670. The store did not list the Kamado base on its own when we checked.
• Frying pans and skillets: $130 to $230. We compare the Vermicular frying pan with other Japanese pans in our Japanese frying pan guide.

There is no separate rice cooker in the US lineup. The Musui–Kamado has a rice mode, but it is one of seven cooking modes Vermicular lists for it.

How the three compare

Our picks

Pick #1: Oven Pot 2.0, 22 cm, $340

This is the pot to buy if you want one Vermicular. The 22 cm holds 3.7 quarts, Vermicular calls it its standard size, and it weighs 6.4 pounds empty. The 2.0 line adds an enamel finish that Vermicular says drives off excess moisture quickly, and the brand pitches it for searing and stir-frying as well as braising.

Choose the lid when you order. The self-standing lid has a raised handle and is designed to stand on its own. The round-knob lid comes with a separate lid stand.

Best for: one pot that handles braises, stews, and rice for a small household. Avoid if: you want the lowest price for the same capacity. Main drawback: it costs $60 more than the original 22 cm, and like the original it is not for high heat. Vermicular warns against preheating it empty over medium heat for more than 7 minutes.

Pick #2: Oven Pot, 22 cm, $280

The original line has the same precision-fit lid and, in 22 cm, the same 3.7-quart capacity for $60 less. Vermicular says its lid has soft spikes on the underside that drip condensation back onto the food. The original line also has a size the 2.0 does not: a 26 cm shallow pot that holds 3.9 quarts, for $320.

Best for: anyone who wants the Vermicular lid and does not mind extra weight. Avoid if: lifting a full pot from the stove to the sink is already hard for you. Vermicular does not list weights for the original on its current help pages, but it describes the 2.0 as 30% lighter. Main drawback: fewer colors, and some sizes were partly out of stock when we checked. The 14 cm and 18 cm each had two of four colors available, while the 22 cm had all four.

Pick #3: Musui–Kamado, $670

The Musui–Kamado is for cooking on the counter with the temperature controlled for you. The Kamado is a 120-volt, 1,050-watt induction base that heats the 3.9-quart Musui pot from below and around the sides. Vermicular lists seven cooking techniques for it, including waterless cooking, braising, searing, low-temperature precision cooking, and rice for 1 to 4 rice cups, measured with the 180 ml cups it ships with.

You are not locked into the base. Vermicular says the Musui pot works on its own on any stovetop, including induction, and in the oven up to 570°F.

Best for: people who want the base, not a burner, to hold the cooking temperature, and who have counter space near an outlet. Avoid if: rice is the main reason you are shopping. Compare it with a conventional rice cooker first, starting with our Japanese rice cooker guides. Main drawback: $670 for one size, 15.2 pounds with the pot, and a 2.8-foot cord that decides where it lives.

Which size to buy

Compare quarts rather than the serving counts on product pages, since appetite and side dishes change how far a pot goes. Vermicular's own pages also give slightly different serving numbers for the same size.

• 14 cm: 1 quart in the 2.0 (2.6 pounds) or 0.9 quart in the original. A side dish or a sauce.
• 18 cm: 2 quarts in the 2.0 (4.4 pounds) or 1.8 quarts in the original. Small stews and vegetables.
• 22 cm: 3.7 quarts in both lines, and 6.4 pounds in the 2.0. Vermicular's standard size, and the one to buy if you are unsure.
• 26 cm: 5.9 quarts in the 2.0 (9 pounds) or 5.3 quarts in the original. Batch cooking and larger braises.
• 26 cm shallow, original line only: 3.9 quarts in a wider, lower pot.

Smaller households sometimes size down on purpose. The owner of the 18 cm pot above bought it after their household shrank to two, because their larger pot had stopped getting used.

Where it goes in a small kitchen

A 22 cm Oven Pot 2.0 weighs 6.4 pounds before any food goes in. Store it at or below waist height, in a deep drawer or a low cabinet, rather than on a shelf you have to reach up to.

If you want to serve from the pot, Vermicular sells a wooden magnetic trivet that attaches to the base of the pot so the two move together. The size for the 22 cm pot and the Musui was $65 when we checked. Vermicular says the trivets are not designed for its frying pans.

If you are thinking of replacing a rice cooker

Some Japanese households use a Vermicular in place of a rice cooker, either the RICEPOT on the counter or an Oven Pot on the stove. In the US, the equivalent choice is between the Musui–Kamado with its rice mode and an Oven Pot on your burner, where you manage the heat yourself.

Do not put an Oven Pot on the Kamado in rice mode. Vermicular says the 22 cm Oven Pot and Oven Pot 2.0 can be used with the Kamado in cooking mode only, because they lack the Musui's floating lid and water can boil over.

For conventional 120-volt rice cookers, see our Japanese rice cooker guides.

The care rules that matter

• Hand-wash when you can. Vermicular allows the dishwasher if the pot does not touch other items and the detergent has no abrasives or bleach.
• Oil the rims. The rims of the pot and lid are uncoated cast iron. Wipe on a thin layer of cooking oil for the first several uses, before braising or cooking acidic food, and before storing food in the pot.
• Keep the heat at medium or below. Vermicular says not to use high heat and not to preheat the empty pot over medium heat for more than 7 minutes, because that can permanently damage the enamel.
• If you overheat an empty pot, let it cool on its own. Vermicular says never to add water to cool it, because of the risk of thermal shock.

Vermicular does not set a fixed warranty period for its enameled cast iron. It replaces pots with defects in material or workmanship under normal household use and the published care instructions. The Musui–Kamado has a 3-year limited warranty.

Frequently asked questions

Ready to buy?

Amazon prices and colors change often. Check the listing against Vermicular USA's current price, and confirm the product name says Oven Pot 2.0, Oven Pot, or Musui–Kamado rather than RICEPOT.