subject: History Of The Dutch Oven [print this page] The Dutch oven has been a staple in kitchens and campsites for several hundred years. They go by different names in different countries- cocottes in France, potjie in South Africa, tesunabe in Japan. Dutch ovens rose to prominence in Europe in the 17th century. The Dutch had an efficient system of casting these pots, and used sand in their molds which allowed the pots to be produced with smoother surfaces.
In the 18th century, an Englishman named Abraham Darby traveled to the Netherlands and observed the Dutch process of creating the pots. The Dutch made brass pots with sand molds. He brought the idea back to the UK and began to tinker with the process. Eventually, he created a better type of molding along with a process of baking the molds to increase their smoothness. Process down, he began to produce the pots for Britain, obtained patent on the process and began to sell them to the American colonies. With the constant expansion of the American colonies, the Dutch oven was an instant classic.
The pots were used for making stews, frying, roasting, boiling and baking food. They were left as items of inheritance in wills, and were staples on any wagon train heading westward. The Dutch oven became the official cooking utensil of Utah.
Notable Americans who used the Dutch ovens included Lewis and Clark on their westward journey, Paul Revere who modified the lids to their current shape, and George Washington used them to feed his revolutionary army.
During this time, from Dutch production, to British patent to American colonial use, the Dutch ovens evolved, developed three legs, a wire handle and rimmed lids. These evolutions made the pots more stable, easy to carry and easy to cook food with uniformly. Today, Dutch ovens typically come without the legs and are smooth-bottomed, and sometimes are even made out of aluminum and ceramic.
