What Is the Dutch Oven?

A Dutch oven is a cooking pot. used for cooking in an oven, on the hob, or more traditionally by surrounding them with hot coals. 

Dutch ovens, sometimes known as cocotte, are favorites in kitchens across the country for their reliability, durability, and versatility. These heavy pots cook food in a unique way and produce results that are hard to replicate in any other dish.

Dutch ovens come in various shapes, sizes, colors, weights, prices, and finishes. From small, 3-quart pieces to 9-quart feast makers, there's an option for nearly any preference or application. They're perfect for one-pot meals, which makes them a residential go-to as well as a commercial staple.

What makes a Dutch oven work differently from any other pot? 

In many ways, it does function the same as a stew pot — it's round, made of metal, and great at cooking liquid products. But the Dutch oven boasts a few features that drastically alter the final product.

A Dutch oven suffuses food with flavor without drying it out. With a long, slow cook time, stews, soups, and braised dishes become mouth-wateringly tender without requiring a lot of attention from the chef. This is great for busy home chefs as well as commercial enterprises that want to cook large quantities of delicious foods without needing someone to constantly stir a pot.