In the Australian bush, the Dutch oven is popularly known as “camp oven,” in Japan it is the “tetsunabe” and for the French it is simply known as the “casserole dish.” But what is a Dutch oven? A Dutch oven is a type of cast iron cookware. This type of cookware is perfect for camping and outdoor cooking.
Camp cooking has always been fun and enjoyable. Most of us think that having a Dutch oven means that cooking outside of the house would be very limited since you are away from your kitchen stove. What makes it so special is that the Dutch oven can cook almost anything under the sun. You can basically bake, roast, or fry by means of adjusting its temperature. Since the Dutch oven is made out of thick cast metal, it is said that it distributes heat equally making the food very hot and flavourful. In order for you to maximize the use of the Dutch oven, you must first choose a very good kind of Dutch oven.
Selecting a Dutch oven mostly depends on your needs. Just like choosing any other cookware, you do not choose to fry eggs in a Dutch oven when you have a frying pan already. The camp oven comes in two (2) types: the Aluminum and Cast Iron. The Aluminum is obviously heats fast and is lighter making the food susceptible to burn easily while the Cast Iron is conducts heat slower and evenly and is heavier. Many people prefer the Cast Iron Dutch oven compared to the Aluminum Dutch oven. It is also important to select a Dutch oven which has three short fat legs making it sturdy and stable when placed under heated coals. You may also choose an oven with a lid so that you may also place hot coals on top of it.
The Dutch oven comes also in different sizes to gauge how many people you are going to cook for.
a) Two (2) quarts – 8 inches: this is ideal if you are going to cook for two (2) persons only.
b) Four (4) quarts – 10 inches: this can accommodate a recipe that is good enough to feed up to six (6) persons.
c) Six (6) quarts – 12 inches: good for fourteen (14) people.
d) Eight (8) quarts – 14 inches: good enough for twenty (20) people.
Experts say that if you are just with a very small group, the eight (8) or ten (10)-quart size is best. It will be very convenient to bring since it is not that heavy compared to other sizes.
The Dutch oven is practically a very good piece of cookware you might consider having since you can use it at home and outdoors. And because camping outdoors is a good time to bond with family and friends, bring in a Dutch oven and cook them a very delicious meal that will surely make your adventure memorable.
