There are a few differences between a Dutch oven and a normal stockpot, besides the fact that this Dutch oven is tremendously beautiful to look at (especially in this dark green enamel coating).  A Dutch oven is made from a big chunk of cast iron. That heavy chunk equips the Dutch oven with the following characteristics:

It holds heat and distributes it very evenly.
– Ensuring consistent cooking results.
– Making it perfectly suited for frying, as the temperature stays more stable and the oil can rebound quickly after temperatures drop when food is added.

It has a very tightly sealed lid.
– Instead of losing flavor to evaporation, the condensation settles back onto the food, enhancing taste.
– This seal is also perfect for bread baking: the Dutch oven creates a super-insulated environment that captures moisture as it evaporates from the bread dough, mimicking the steam injection ovens of professional bakeries. This encourages better browning as well as a chewier, more flavorful crust.

A Dutch oven is very durable and can be moved directly from the stovetop to a high-heated oven, buried in coals, or put on a campfire.
For a slow-cooked braise or tomato sauce, you can start the process on the stove and then move it directly into the oven for a few hours, all with one pot.

Why this particular Dutch oven from Staub? Two things: First, the quality. There are also cheaper Dutch ovens to be found. Serious Eats reviewed 20 different Dutch ovens (they really do some serious testing), ranging from 45 EUR to 400 EUR. They found one Dutch oven for a third of the price of the Staub oven to perform very well (besides the fact that food stuck a little bit more on the bottom surface and that it does not have as generous handles). Although it also has pretty good online reviews overall, a few report chipping in the enamel coating and an unsatisfactory warranty. The nice thing about Staub is that it has a proven track record. You can be sure these ovens will be very reliable for many years to come. Also, they are produced in France in their own factory, instead of in China. This means the process can be controlled much better. For instance, at Staub, the sand where the molds are made from gets measured every day and adjusted accordingly.

Then there are Le Creuset and Invictus Dutch ovens. Both are definitely at the same level of quality as Staub, but there are a few things I prefer about the Staub:
I find the Staub oven more beautiful. For the enamel coating a special method "Majolika" is used, which creates a wonderful depth. And this dark green colour! Also, the metal lid handle doesn’t feature a logo and has a more refined shape. And the interior is dark, which lets it age better, as baked-in spots that come with time will be less visible. But to be fair, I also need to mention that this dark interior makes it a little bit harder to see the development of a fond.

You don’t necessarily need a Dutch oven in the kitchen. While it is not very efficient for boiling pasta water, as it takes more time to heat up, it is a very versatile tool for many other cooking tasks. So if you have two larger pots, one of them should definitely be a Dutch oven. And it should be a Staub.

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