Cast Iron Dutch Oven

A Dutch oven is a thick-walled cast iron cooking pot with a tight-fitting lid. Dutch ovens are great for long, slow cooking dishes like stews and casseroles. Cast iron dutch ovens are great for outdoor cooking and camping trips. You can use the old-style lipped dutch ovens as true baking ovens. They can be used to prepare cakes, breads, pies and pizzas. Smaller baking pans can be placed inside dutch ovens. It is possible to stack the ovens on top of each other which allows heat rising from the coals to be conserved.

Dutch ovens will become smooth and shiny turning a dark black over time. A well maintained cast iron dutch oven can become as non-stick as the best Teflon or other non-stick cookware available. When properly cared for, a Dutch oven is good for decades or even centuries of use.