We all know that camping just isn't the same without some great tasting Dutch oven cooking. Have you ever wondered how Dutch oven cooking all got started? Dutch ovens and Dutch oven cooking have been used for centuries by many types of people including explorers, mountain men, settlers, loggers, pioneers, gold miners, and colonials.  

In the late 1600s the Dutch system of making these cast metal cooking pots was much more advanced than the English system. The Dutch used dry sand to create molds that helped make a smooth surface on their pots. In 1704, an Englishman named Abraham Darby decided to travel to the Netherlands to observe and learn the Dutch system for making these metal cooking vessels. Four years after his return to England, Darby patented a casting procedure that was similar to the Dutch system and started to make these cast metal cooking pots for Britain and her new American Colonies. England became the primary exporter of cast iron pots, skillets, and kettles worldwide. Some believe that since Darby's patented cooking vessels were based off of the Dutch system, they became known as Dutch ovens. Other researchers believe that it was due to the Dutch traders who sold cooking vessels out of their wagons as they traveled. Either way, the term "Dutch ovens" has been around for over 300 years.

 

As Dutch oven cooking spread throughout America, the Dutch ovens began to change. Paul Revere is given credit as the craftsman who developed the flat-topped Dutch oven, adding three legs to the bottom and turning up the lid to add coals. The cast-iron cookware was loved by all including the early settlers and colonists because of its versatility and durability. Dutch ovens could be used for baking, frying, boiling, stewing, roasting, or any other use. They were so valuable to some in the 18th and 19th centuries that cast-iron cookware or Dutch ovens were often included in wills to be given to the desired inheritor. For example,  in May of 1788 Mary Washington (mother to President George Washington) assigned in her will that one-half of her "iron kitchen furniture" should go to her grandson, Fielding Lewis, and the other half to Betty Carter, a granddaughter. Among her selection of "iron kitchen furniture" were many Dutch ovens that were enjoyed for Dutch oven cooking.

 

As Americans spread to the west, Dutch ovens and Dutch oven cooking spread as well. Dutch ovens were noted to be included with the gear that Lewis and Clark carried with them on their explorations. The pioneers and Mormon handcart companies also carried Dutch ovens with them. Dutch oven cooking meant so much to the early Utah pioneers that they raised a statue to honor the Mormon handcart companies who entered Utah’s Salt Lake Valley in the 1850s which proudly displays a Dutch oven hanging from the front of the handcart. In addition, Dutch ovens have become the official state cooking pot of Utah. For their Dutch oven cooking, Mountain men preferred the simpler and lighter hanging Dutch ovens with a rounded bottom and no lid while they were on the move. Overall, you can see that Dutch ovens and cast-iron cookware were considered an essential cooking utensil for everyone.

 

Today you can find Dutch ovens and Dutch oven cooking used everywhere in America, whether in a backyard, at a reunion, or camping in the mountains. There is nothing like the taste of Dutch oven cooking. Please check out our Dutch oven recipes so that you can begin to enjoy the some delicious food!

 

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