Starting with Julia Child and many of the TV cooking show gurus, enameled cast iron has become the darling of the cookware industry.  The most versatile piece in this style of cookware is the enamel dutch oven.  “Is an enamel dutch oven worthy of a place in your kitchen?” is what this blog is all about. We will explore in depth the wonderfully versatile world of enamel dutch oven and the cookery functions it can provide.

A sampling of the questions that this blog will cover are: What brand to buy? What size should it be? What can I do with it that justifies that massive price tag?  Can I get a cheaper version without giving up too much? If it discolors or chips can it still be used? …fixed?  As we attack these questions your comments and queries are welcome.  Feel free to sign up to add your input.  Your comments will be monitored to avoid spam input in this blog.

Why enamel dutch ovens came about
For at least a couple hundred years cooks have been singing the praises of cast iron cookware.
Its ability to withstand ultra high heat without warping or to spread, cook and retain even the lowest heat gives this cookware a unique ability. Almost everyone’s grandma had at least one or two pieces of this kind of cookware that they claimed was their “favorite pot in the house”.

The main drawback of cast iron was that it had to be “cured” to protect its surface and give it the non-stick qualities all cooks wanted.  Uncured it would rust, pit, and food would stick and burn when it was used.  There are many schools of thought on how to do the initial cure and how to clean and maintain the cookware after it is used.  The number of do’s and don’ts on the right way to do this “curing” has reduced the value of cast iron in the minds of many modern day cooks.

A technique of applying glassy enamel coating to the bare cast iron eliminates the need for curing. This gave rise to enamel cast iron cookware.  The coating could be made in bright colors, have coordinated exterior and interior colors that made the cookware beautiful to see.  This allowed the same pot to work as both cookware and serving dish.  The pot could be washed and cleaned as easily as an ordinary dish and did not require any of the special care of cast iron cookware. 

Enamel cast iron cookware has almost all of the benefits of plain cast iron.  Its one drawback is that it cannot be used over campfires and other open flames. The enamel cannot withstand the extremely high heat that pure cast iron can absorb.  Almost all enamel cast iron however, can work perfectly well in the highest heat put out by a typical kitchen oven or stovetop.

The most versatile piece of cookware within this genre is the enamel dutch oven and this blog will concentrate on you having that kind of pot in your kitchen.