Dutch oven cooking is the practice of cooking stews and other foods with a cast iron pot. Dutch oven cooking pots will also need tight lids for the proper cooking of the food. Cast iron pots are heavier than most and are usually made as a whole. Dutch oven cooking is usually used for casseroles, roasts and stews. These dishes are usually slow cooked and Dutch oven cooking pots fit the bill in slow cooking since they act as pressure cookers with their tight lids and intense heat.

Utensils similar to Dutch oven cooking pots and casseroles have been noted in Europe during the late seventh century. Although, the English were initially the first to introduce this way of coking, it was the Dutch who perfected the way of producing these iron pots. They did this by using dry sand to produce their molds. This method gives their pots a smoother finish and surface.

The more effective way of making the Dutch oven cooking pots soon arrived in Great Britain and the English were soon producing the pots. It was assumed that because the method originated from the Netherlands, this is the reason why they are called Dutch oven cooking pots.

These Dutch ovens soon reached the United States and here some modifications were made to facilitate better cooking. Legs were added to the pots to add lift to it when sitting on coals and the lid had an added flange to keep the coals from going into the food. Dutch oven cooking used to entail putting coals on the lid for better convection.

Nowadays, Dutch oven pots may vary in the way they are made and in the material they are made with. Some are made with aluminum and ceramic while others are still made with the traditional cast iron. The aluminum pots are not as effective as the traditional cast iron pots because aluminum dents easily and is softer than iron. Dutch oven cooking is usually more effective when coals are placed on top of the lid to facilitate all around heat.

The traditional Dutch oven cooking pots are usually seasoned before you can cook anything containing tomatoes, vinegar or other acidic ingredients. When the pot turns black and smooth, they are as effective as Teflon coated pots and pans in many cooking methods. The enamel based pots are not as effective in deep frying as the cast iron ones since enamel can not withstand high heat.

Dutch Oven Cooking Adds Variety To Outdoor Cooking

Cooking over an open fire, providing even heat to the food was always a challenge and certain foods were just not able to be prepared over a flame. Until Dutch oven cooking made it to Europe in the 1700's there were limitations to the type of cooking available, but since then, food items were not limited to boiling and roasting. With the use of Dutch oven cooking food can be boiled, baked, fried and even roasted.

In its earliest form Dutch oven cooking used a cast iron pot with a heavy lid designed to hang over an open fire. The lid, developed by the Dutch had a raised rim on which hot coals from the fire could be placed to provide heat at the top for cooking instead of just heating the bottom of the pot. Dutch oven cooking became extremely popular in the United States during the travels westward and was one of the main items that Lewis ad Clark carried with them on their journey.

Today, Dutch oven cooking is used when camping to provide a wider array of foods that can be enjoyed in the wild. It can be used for stews as well as for baking and in colonial times was equipped with a small removable screen for large families. Once the food in the oven was done, the screen could be removed and replaced with another type of food.