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French Ovens a Cooks best friend   by Keith Jones

French Ovens

A French Oven is known in France as a Cocotte or is usually called a Dutch Oven..

It is not the traditional idea of an oven at all but is in fact a type of cooking pot..

You may well have seen one of these in your local Kitchen Goods store or supermarket.

The main manufacturer in France is Le Creuset which still manufactures French ovens in Northern France in the town of Fresoy-le Grand.

However Dutch Ovens have a much older history – going back to at least the late 17th Century. They were used commonly at least 300 years ago.
Originally Dutch Ovens were fairly plain and made of molded Cast Iron.
Very early versions had a molded cast iron lid with a handle and hung from a heavy handle. Pots made of cast iron when full were very heavy and needed a strong handle to stop food falling in the fire.
Early Ovens sometimes were made with legs to keep the pot out of the coals.
Some ovens even had a flange to hold coals above the pot and to keep the coals off the food.

A Shropshire businessman named Abraham Darby (Who built the first cast Iron bridge in the world at Coalbrookdale over the River Severn) went to The Netherlands to investigate these handy cooking vessels. which were made there in dry sand molds and which gave a much superior finish to their cooking pots.

Darby patented his own version and sold the Dutch Ovens (as he named them) both in Britain and in British Colonies (including America). Before that these ovens were very roughly finished.

Dutch Ovens were an essential in all homes at the time as they were (and still are) used mainly for roasts, stews, casseroles and other dishes which needed long slow cooking over various heat sources.
A Dutch Oven was a very much prized possession and appears in wills specifically left to favourite sons or daughters for use in their kitchens.

It was normal for any house with a large kitchen to be equipped with several of these pots. They were handy because they could then be stacked and several used to cook over the same fire.

In fast it formed such a basic necessity that almost every Prairie Wagon crossing America had one of these inside (and certainly inside the Chuck Wagon on Cattle drives). It even became the Official cooking pot of Utah.

In Australia the Dutch Oven became known as a bedourie camp oven but was made of steel instead of breakable cast iron.
South Africa had its own version with three legs to use over a camp fire. This was commonly used by the Voortrekkers as they explored the wilder areas of Southern Africa and they called it a potjie (a litte pot)

Cowboys also commonly used these for cooking and it was only in the early 20th Century that Le Creuset brought out their version which was colourfully enamelled
.
This was the first major change in French ovens – because they are enamelled inside and outside, they are easy to clean (the inside is usually enamelled in a cream colour to make cleaning easier)

Although the Americans use to season their pots before use, the French Enamelled versions needed no such seasoning.

French Ovens are not really suitable for frying or other oil based cooking but should be kept for water based recipes.

Similarly, French oven are not really suited for very high temperature cooking – long and slow cooking is the rule with these ovens

Although Le Creuset was the originator of enamelled French ovens and have a range of distinctive very bright colors usually in oval or circular designs, they now have several competitors such as Lodge

The main advantage of Le Creuset over their competitors is that Le Creuset is fired twice and so it has two coats of enamel and each French Oven is rigorously inspected for defects

You should always dry these ovens after cleaning and they should be stored with the lid in place after you have put a piece of kitchen roll inside to absorb any damp.

About the Author

Keith Jones
http://www.frenchovens.org

For good information about French Ovens and Other French Baking products
You may freely print this article provided that this author box is attached and is complete
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