The Dutch Oven is one of the most versatile pieces of cookware on the market, accommodating a number of recipes and cooking techniques and even serves a variety of different purposes outside the kitchen. But what makes the Dutch Oven such an iconic piece of cookware?
The Dutch Oven’s tight-fitting lid and thick cast iron walls are designed to lock in moisture, conduct heat evenly and deliver a truly flavourful dish. This is especially important for beginner chefs looking to get started. In addition, this multipurpose pot features a self-basting cycle, tenderizing ingredients to perfection as they slow-cook.
The Dutch Oven is also available in 11 different colours, making it a bold addition to any kitchen. This iconic piece of cookware can go from stovetop to the table with great aplomb, helping you tackle your favourite dishes.
Here is a closer look at the 7 key features of the Dutch Oven.
Click the buttons below to discover each of the 7 features of a Dutch Oven.
Tight-Fitting Lid
Tight-Fitting Lid
Le Creuset’s Dutch Ovens are hand inspected by French artisans with each piece cast individually. Their tight-fitting lids fit perfectly atop this iconic piece of cookware, locking in heat and moisture, and ensuring food is cooked evenly. The Dutch Oven offers cooks superior heat retention and even allows this pot to mimic a convection oven.
Constructed with colourful, long-lasting exterior enamel, the Dutch Oven’s tight-fitting lid is completely resistant to chipping, cracking, or warping over time. This feature plays an integral role in the self-basting cycle of the Dutch Oven, creating steamy conditions for the dish. Its tight-fitting lid is specifically crafted to preserve flavours over a long simmer, making it ideal for low and slow-cooked meals.
Sand-Colored Enamel
Sand-Colored Enamel
The Dutch Oven very much embodies the set-it-and-forget-it nature of cooking and is ideal for slow-cooking stews, braising meat over a long period of time, or simmering a soup to perfection. Rather than constantly checking the Dutch Oven pot, this iconic piece of cookware boasts a sand-colored enamel, simplifying cooking. Simply put the lighter the enamel, the easier it is to monitor recipes as they cook.
This helps avoid burning sensitive dishes and is yet another feature that helps the Dutch Oven separate itself from other slow-cooking pots. Typically, all of Le Creuset’s Dutch Ovens come with a sand-colored enamel, allowing you to monitor cooking progress with ease. This feature serves a crucial purpose especially when preparing complex dishes, offering chefs the ability to easily monitor and move around ingredients as needed.
Thick Enamelled Cast Iron Walls
Thick Enamelled Cast Iron Walls
Le Creuset’s Dutch Ovens are crafted with the very best materials, ensuring both its durability and performance for years to come. In fact, our cast iron is the lightest per litre in the industry, highlighting our commitment to craftsmanship and excellence.
This extends to the iconic piece of cookware’s thick, enamelled cast iron walls, which are designed to trap moisture and flavours as ingredients simmer. The Dutch Oven’s thick walls distribute and conduct heat evenly, offering home cooks superior heat retention throughout. As a result, the Dutch Oven pot is perfect for slow-cooking soups and simmering sauces, providing chefs the ability to stir without the fear of splattering. In addition, the Dutch Oven’s thick walls create a perfect environment for baking, making it a go-to piece of cookware for preparing fresh bread or decadent desserts.
Vast Colour Selection
Vast Colour Selection
Le Creuset offers home cooks and professional chefs alike an unrivaled colour selection and this is no different with our Dutch Ovens. In fact, the Dutch Oven is available in 11 different colours, making it perfect when entertaining friends and family. Our vast colour selection can either accent or compliment your existing kitchen decor. The Dutch Oven has regularly been displayed from pot racks in kitchens due to act as a statement piece and become an element of kitchen decor.
From Le Creuset’s original flame coloured Dutch Oven, dating all the way back to 1925, to a sophisticated teal, this iconic piece of cookware is versatile enough to suit any kitchen. Consider the fact that you can also use the Dutch Oven at the table to serve directly when choosing your colour! Using this pot as serveware not only adds a bold touch of colour to the dinner table, but also minimizes the overall cleanup time.
Self-Basting Cycle
Self-Basting Cycle
One of the most important features of any Dutch Oven is this iconic piece of cookware’s self-basting cycle. This ensures ingredients are tenderized as they slow-cook and releases heat evenly throughout, keeping food moist. The Dutch Oven’s self-basting cycle is particularly useful for beginner chefs, taking care of much of the cooking process for them.
Self-basting occurs when steam builds in the Dutch Oven and has nowhere to go. The condensation then runs down the side of the pot directly over the food. In fact, Le Creuset initially invented the Dutch Oven’s spiked lid, but later replaced it for a domed lid, resulting in the same self-basting cycle.
This classic piece of cookware will continuously baste the ingredients evenly in its own juices by locking in moisture and heat. This feature is great for transforming rough cuts of meats into tender, flavourful dishes, slow-cooking a stew, and even when preparing poultry.
Different Shapes & Sizes
Different Shapes & Sizes
The Dutch Oven comes in a number of different shapes, each suited to achieve particular cooking techniques or recipe types. However, this iconic pot is versatile enough to be used for just about any recipe, no matter which shape you opt for. For instance, there is the Round Dutch Oven, which is the original shape. This piece of cookware has elevated traditional recipes over the years and can be used to prepare bread, slow-cook stews, roasts, and for one-pot meals, including pasta, soups, and curries.
Next, there is the Oval Dutch Oven. This shape is not too dissimilar from the original design, yet its elongated shape makes it perfect for fitting roasts, poultry, and fish. While it can be used for other recipes, the Oval Dutch Oven is at its most effective when preparing large pieces of meat and poultry.
Thirdly, the Chef’s Dutch Oven differentiates itself due to its sloping sides and is designed to prevent ingredients from getting stuck in the corners of the pot. This, in turn, makes it ideal for simmering soups, sauces, and even deep frying. Lastly, Le Creuset offers a Shallow Dutch Oven. This design mimics that of a braiser, combining a wide surface and slightly taller sides to hold in liquid more effectively.
Wide Loop Handles
Wide Loop Handles
The Dutch Oven can go from stovetop to table with minimum fuss due to its wide loop handles. Whether you’re looking to transfer liquids to a dish, or simply want to remove the Dutch Oven from the oven, its wide loop handles offer chefs a secure and confident grip – even when wearing oven mitts.
The handles are crafted with enamelled cast iron, ensuring that they will not bend or crack under high heat or when holding a heavy pot filled with a soup or stew. Indeed, this cookware’s wide loop handles are particularly important when using it in the oven as the entire cooking vessel will heat up. The Dutch Oven is known for its ability to maintain superior heat retention, however, its wide loop handles make it easy to transport, no matter the temperature.
Dutch Oven vs. French Oven
The terms French and Dutch Oven are often used interchangeably given how similar these pieces of cookware are. In fact, the French Oven revolutionized the original Dutch Oven design from the 18th century replacing the pure cast iron with enamelled cast iron. This change improved heat retention, durability, and performance. It is also commonly referred to as the cocotte.
Making the most of your Dutch Oven
The Dutch Oven is a great place to start your Le Creuset collection and offers you the ability to tackle a number of your favourite recipes. Whether you’re looking to slow-cook a stew to perfection, or want to saute vegetables, this iconic piece of cookware is versatile enough to accommodate thanks to its unique features.
From its self-basting cycle and vast colour selection, to the Dutch Oven’s thick cast iron walls, locking in moisture, this multi-purpose pot has quickly established itself as a staple in kitchens.
These were just seven of the most important features that make the Dutch Oven such an iconic piece of cookware. For more inspiration, browse our catalogue of Dutch Ovens, ranging from the Chef’s Dutch Oven to the Oval and Round Dutch Oven.
