Kitchen Products

…and you like to cook, you’ve got to have a Dutch oven.  One of my fondest childhood memories involves my favorite aunt, and how she would simmer homemade chili or stew in a Dutch oven all day long on her wood-burning stove.  It was a wonderful tradition for inclement weather, and the entire house smelled amazing for hours.

My aunt’s Dutch oven had belonged to her mother–my grandmother–so its origins were a good 50 years ago.   Predecessors of the slow cookers of today, Dutch ovens are traditional cast iron cookware that lasts at least one lifetime—and quite possibly, more than one generation.  (My aunt still promises that one day I will inherit her Dutch oven.)

There are plenty of benefits for being a vegetarian, but one of the downsides is to have a carefully planned diet so as not to miss any of the nutrients that meat and animal products would provide otherwise. 

One of the biggest issues is having to take vitamins in order to compensate for the loss of iron that one would gain from eating beef.  If you cook with cast iron cookware, however, then you’re luckier than most.

Studies have shown that the minerals from cast iron cookware attach themselves to food that is being prepared, thus putting an amount of iron that would not be present in vegetarian food.  By purchasing cast iron cookware, you could have some of the same health benefits as a non-vegetarian, as well as having really great, long-lasting pots and pans.

Cast iron cookware has been around for centuries dating back to ancient China. Cast iron is known for being able to absorb and retain heat better than most cooking materials which makes it excellent for roasting and slow cooking. This is also why a cast iron dutch oven is a great addition to your kitchen. The meal choices that can be prepared in a dutch oven are almost endless. Stews, chili, roasts and whole chicken or duck normally come to mind when thinking of using a dutch oven. There are so many other items that are great when prepared in a cast iron dutch oven such as pasta dishes, homemade breads, casseroles, cornbread, gumbo and more. The cast iron dutch oven can be used to brown the meat, prior to adding the other ingredients, then cook the entire dish and finish in the oven, if needed. It is truely the one pan for the whole meal.

A disadvantage of cast iron is the fact that it rusts easily and must be seasoned regularly. This is where enameled cast iron cookware can make it very easy to use everyday. The porcelain enamel finish on the ColorCast Cast Iron Dutch Oven prevents it from rusting and is easily seasoned. Just a little cooking oil wiped on the porcelain interior does the job. The finish also prevents the taste of the food from being affected by the cast iron. And clean-up is a snap compared with traditional black cast iron. This is the original nonstick pan. Try new recipes in this user-friendly cast iron dutch oven and have some fun. Oh yeah, in these busy days that we all have it is easy to turn down the heat and keep the food ready to eat later, like after the soccer game!!