What is a Dutch Oven

Dutch oven is nothing but a simple cooking vessel that is endowed with thick walls and comes with a tight fitting metal lid. Dutch oven is one of the popular kitchen utensils across the world. It is generally made of iron but these days you can also get it in other materials, such as, stainless steel, aluminum, and copper etc. Dutch oven with enamels are easy to clean and less likely to rust compared plain cast iron.

History of Dutch Ovens

As the name suggests, Dutch ovens were originated by Dutch people during the late 17th century. Their system of producing cast iron vessels was much advanced compared to American system. The Dutch vessels had the smoother surface which they obtained by using dry sand to make the molds of the vessels. An Englishman named, Abraham Darby once visited Netherlands to see how smooth iron vessels were made. After observing their process, he decided to improve the production of cast iron metals in his own country and went back to England and started producing cast metal vessels. They instantly became popular with American colonies in Britain. Later on the Americans made some changes in the original vessel by making it a little shallower and adding a flange to pile hot coals on the vessel and legs to place it properly in the oven. The added flange also prevented coal from entering into the food and ensured the food safety. Since then, it is considered as one of the popular cooking vessels.

Cooking With a Dutch Oven

A Dutch oven has survived for over 300 years and the reason for its survival is its great utility value. Another feature of the cast iron Dutch ovens is they are extremely durable and are good for bulk cooking. They have also been very versatile since their inception. People used to cook beans, meats, made pies, bread, pizzas, and also baked biscuits, cakes, with the help of this dynamic vessel. Dutch oven is also known as stew pot or heavy casserole. It is primarily used for braising and stewing tough meats and vegetables. The tight fitting lid of the oven make sure to hold the heat and moisture inside the vessel. It can also be used for roasting the food items, as the lid enhances the condensation in the pot and radiates heat inside which results in close oven that cooks the food in the moist heat. They can be used easily on the stove top as well as oven. Using Dutch oven in an oven has an additional advantage as the pot radiates oven's heat evenly throughout the pot which results in well cooked food. It can also be creatively used for any preparation that needs to go from the oven to stove top and vice versa. In short, cooking with Dutch oven is convenient and safe.

You can cook many recipes with a Dutch oven. Today there are many manufacturers who make Dutch ovens in various shapes, sizes, colors, and added features, such as light weight etc. By using these advanced and improved vessels, you can experiment with various recipes for cooking with a Dutch oven, such as Prairie chicken, Italian zucchini, and trail-side beans etc. These Dutch oven recipes are sure to serve your taste buds with exotic tastes.