Thank you!

Aren't they great?? We had pork country ribs and sauerkraut cooked slowly in my Le Creuset smaller Dutch oven today. YuMMMM

Gillian

What do you mean by Dutch Oven ? is it similar to what we call Wonder pot ? mirjam

Um. I googled Wonder Pots and I don't think they are the same. A Dutch Oven is a heavy, usually cast iron, pot with a tightfitting lid. Some have little legs for standing over a fire. Some have handles for hanging over the fire. Some lids are flat so you can place coals on top of the pot, too. Used for making soups, stews, and other one pot meals. Can be used on top of the stove or in the oven.

Donna in Virginia

Mirjam Bruck-Cohen wrote:

Thank you Donna , now i have to google out of curiousity , ps wonder pot , has a whole in the middle and you can Bake with it on a regular stove head ,, mirjam

Usually a big cast iron pot(sometimes enameled)with a heavy lid, and often with a handle. Can go from stove top to oven, and is used to cook things that require long slow cooking like stews, braised meats or pot roasts. They are wonderful.

They can also be cast aluminum or Corningwear.

I do an Italian pot roast in mine - a recipe which I copied from Giada De Laurentiis on the "Everyday Italian" cooking show on Food Network.

MargW

Although we call them Dutch ovens, I notice mine are referred to as "French" ovens by the manufacturer. I have a large oval one, and a smaller round one. They are very heavy, and have colored enamel over the heavy metal base. They will last for generations! See this link.

Gill Murray wrote: They are very heavy

And therein lies the problem.... My damaged wrists and shoulders aren't too happy with having to lift the Dutch oven high enough to pour the leftovers into Tupperware. :( Will have to make a point of using it primarily when I'm feeding someone else and can get HIM to do the heavy lifting.

Ladle them out until almost empty and then pour the rest. I have wimpy wrists so do this most of the time. While the best Dutch ovens are heavy metal, their are serviceable lightweight options.

Brenda Lewis wrote:>

Tried that. Aside from the fact there was major spillage in the ladling because my hands were shaking, lifting the near-empty pot was (at that hour of the evening) still almost impossible -- as the day goes on, the muscles get weaker. Guess I could cook dinner when I first get up and things are still working?

And Dutch ovens are great for camp food - cooked in the coals of the fire.

Cheryl

How funny, I never heard the term 'Dutch oven' before. Of course, I do know these extremely heavy orange pots

I don't use a dutch oven, but I do use my Crock-Pot a lot. Because dh has diabetes AND a pacemaker, I keep us on a fairly low-fat diet. Thus, I cook things like stew or pot roast in the slow cooker overnight and in the morning separate out the meats and the juices. I refrigerate them both all day so that the fats come to the top and harden, then I can take them off easily, correct the seasoning if necessary and reheat meat and juices in the microwave.

Olwyn Mary in New Orleans.

Maybe, as I've been lusting for a new Le Creuset one, but not taking the plunge til working again.

Godd for you, Ellice

Can I send you the DH? - he loves these recipes cooked with Sauerkraut. Or red cabbage. I just can't do it - I only like warm sauerkraut on really good hot dogs.

ellice

I don't know. It's just a large pot that is wider than deep. Good for slow cooking, and can go into the oven as well as be used on the stove. Usually anywhere from the 3 qt to 12 qt size. 4 qt is samllish. Some of them are an ovoid shape rather than round.

This link shows a bunch of them:

A lot of my pots and pans date back from my wedding shower in 1972. I haven't kept them all but my Dutch oven is one of them. It's heavy steel (I think) with a harvest gold finish on the outside, and fruits and veg outlined in black. The knob on the lid is fastened on with a replacement screw that is slightly too long so it rattles, and the lid, of lighter metal, has bent just a little. I have to kind of rotate it around until the lid drops down. I use this SO MUCH.

Alison

Well, I did have the crockpot, but some things need to come to a boil first, and the crockpot wouldn't do that.

I have been known to bring things to a boil on the stove first, then transfer to the Crockpot for overnight cooking. Mind you, if I put my stuff in the pot on high, it does eventually come to a boil.

Olwyn Mary in New Orleans.