What is a dutch oven?

Question

I have a soup recipe that I'd like to try out, and it tells me to cook the ingredients in a dutch oven. What is that? Would I get the same effect from boiling the ingredients on the stove, or using a crock pot?

Answer 1

my mom told me that its just like a big pan... you know the one with the two handles. but i dont know if thats just somethiing you can use instead

Answer 2

One of these: http://www.dutchovencookware.com/lodge-c...

Unless you mean the other, much more hilarious kind of "dutch oven."

Answer 3

dutch oven is like a cast iron stock pot.  if u dont have one, a crock pot or just a stock pot on the stove is a good alternative

Answer 4

While traditionally a dutch oven would be cast iron and used on a wood fire, anymore it's really just any larger pot with a lid.  Normally it has at least a 4 quart capacity.  Mine is steel clad and the same diameter as my skillet so the lid fits either.  But the dutch oven is 5 or 6 inches tall.

Yes, you can simmer your soup on the stove.  Make sure there's enough room in whichever pot you decide to use to allow for a good rolling boil and then down to simmer.  I don't recommend the crock pot because it probably isn't large enough or hot enough to really get things going.

Answer 5

A dutch oven is cast iron pot with a heavy lid. You could also use a crock pot or even a nice heavy pot on the stove on low.

Dutch ovens are traditionally heated with coals from the fire but you can also cook with them in the reg oven. Or as I said above just a heavy thick walled and thick bottomed pan.

Answer 6

A dutch oven is a large, heavy based cast iron pot. They're great for soups (anything requiring a long, slow cooking time) because they heat evenly, retain heat very well and therefore cook the soup more evenly.

A cast iron camp oven works (http://www.horizonleisure.com.au/catalog... Brands like Le Creuset and Le Chasseur make excellent Dutch ovens as they are enamel coated and so are easy to clean and virtually indestructible. For example: http://www.amazon.com/Creuset-Enameled-C...

The other sort of dutch oven (which I don't think would help with cooking your soup) is when your partner passes gas under the bed sheets and then pulls the sheets over your head, trapping you in!

Answer 7

You must go to Holland to get one.

Answer 8

There are basically three types of Dutch Ovens.

Two are cast iron, one has feet to raise it above hot coals, and the lid has a lip around the edge to keep hot coals on top.  Also called a Camp Oven.

The second cast iron Dutch Oven is simply a largish pot, usually four-quarts or larger and is used to hang over a fire or sit on a stove top.

A more modern version is really nothing more than a moderately large pot, generally in the four-quart to eight-quart range.  It generally has a rounded shape with the mouth of the pot the same diameter as the base, and the sides bulged out.  Dutch ovens always have a lid, even when not used.

Generally speaking, Dutch Ovens are somewhat heavier and thicker walled than other pots of the same material.

For your recipe, any large pot with the capacity to hold your soup will work, but the heavier the pot, the better.

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