A Dutch Oven is an iron cooking pot that has a tight-fitting lid. Traditionally, most Dutch ovens were made of cast iron, but modern ones may be made of ceramic or thick cast aluminum.

Although its name suggests that it might have been created by the Dutch, the Dutch oven was actually invented by an Englishman called Abraham Darby. Darby created the oven after he made a trip to the Netherlands to study Dutch cooking utensils in 1704. Initially, the Dutch oven was mostly used for outdoor cooking, but today, it is also used as a cooking utensil in the kitchen.

For more information about Dutch Ovens, including a wealth of information on its usage and recipes, go to: http://www.appliancepartspros.com/the-dutch-oven.aspx

Here’s another great page with resource links, submitted by one of our readers: http://kalamazoogourmet.com/products/outdoor-kitchens-and-the-dutch-oven