Question For The Dutch Oven Guru's Out There?

[Deuce]

And Deuce, I have taken a vow of no trash talking about the Vous DO Challenge!! Now, I need to go check my ironware arsenal.

As long as you're there cooking it's all good.

[Moniker]

All this Dutch Oven conversation is interesting. Sometime during most rendezvous I've attended over the years there has been someone cooking in Dutch Ovens, as well as cooking competitions. I think I will pay more attention in future to what's being cooked and techniques.
All of my adult life I have enjoyed cooking in general but have never persued camp cooking as anything more than an extension of kitchen cooking or backyard grilling, I may have to change my ways. When I started college forty years ago, and moved to the family farm, my Aunt Virginia gave me a Dutch Oven that must be over a hundred years old by now. The Dutch Oven she gave me is 10" X 4" and one of the smooth bottom ones for using in the oven rather than on the ground outside. I used this Dutch Oven yesterday when I brought a batch of her recipe of baked beans to the Surf&Turf lunch, as I have every year at S&T. Considering all the years I've had this Dutch Oven the finish still looks and preforms very well.
This discussion leads me to a find I have stored out in the shop. Several years ago Marlo and I were cleaning out her moms house when I came across a Lodge Dutch Oven, still in it's original box. When I quizzed Marlo about it she said her Dad purchased it from The Herders Co about 1970 when they were in the father-daughters camping era. At any rate, this Dutch Oven is one of the camping models w-feet and lipped, flat lid. The DO has a #12 embossed on the lid and is 12" X 4". At the time I found it I thought it might be fun to try cooking in it sometime but never have over the years. It appeared to me to be brand new and never used but when I went out to the shop and looked at it just now I see the lid still looks light gray and unseasoned as does the exterior of the oven but the interior of the oven looks like they did cook something in it a time or two. Perhaps it's time I give it a proper seasoning and try and use it sometime.

Best Regards
Jim

Jim,I've found the guide that comes with a new Lodge DO to be very helpful.It has a few easy and tasty recipes along with tips on seasoning,care and temperature control.If it isn't in the box with the oven it shouln't be hard to obtain.Another book I like is "Cast Iron Cooking for Dummies"from Wiley Publishing Inc.It has the same info as the Lodge guide plus recipes for other cast iron cookwear.
Just be aware of the drawbacks,after the first time you flip the DO over and then lift it to reveal a perfect Pineapple Upsidedown Cake you can't stop.If you show up at a campout without your DO you'd best have a good explanation as to why you didn't bring it."Now where did i put that?"
Don L.

[Jim Krueger]

Thank you Don, and Dave, good advice, both of you! The prospects for using this camping model Dutch Oven are certainly interesting. Usually when I'm at the Rendezvous, I seem to be a glutton for the river float each day so I probably wouldn't take the time away from that in the afternoon to participate to the extent needed to do justice to the cooking event for now.
Don, I had the original box the oven came in, but no booklet with it. My wife though is a true book worm, and when I mentioned it (Dutch Ovens) she quickly produced two nice books she ordered some years ago. One book is titled;' Field Guide to Dutch Oven Cooking- from novice to champion' by the International Dutch Oven Society. The other book; 'A Skillet Full of traditional southern Lodge Cast Iron recipes & Memories' by South Pittsburg Tennessee Historic Preservation Society, Hometown of Lodge Manufacturing Company.
For the time being, I think I'll read more, and experiment a bit more, but will certainly also pay more attention to the Dutch Oven procedings at this year's Rendezvous if I'm able to attend.

Best Regards
Jim Moose

[Richard]

:myday" When Johnston's Army was finally allowed to enter the Salt Lake Valley during the Utah War they were desparate for food and other provisions. My great-great grandmother ended up with one of their DOs. I wish I had that now.

Having said that, I love my anodized aluminum DOs. No sandblasting needed. No . . . uh . . . Ooooops. I think I am speaking to the wrong crowd. Sorry . . .

Ohhhhh maaaannn . . . how do I sneak outa here. . .

[Deuce]

Mr. Richard, I'm not ashamed to say it. When it's pineapple upside down cake time out comes the anodized aluminum oven. I never recall anyone asking whether it was made in a Lodge or a GSI. In fact, there's rarely any talking at all, at least for a couple of minutes.

[Jim Krueger]

From my first year in college, when I took the course; Ecology and Man, I have refrained from using aluminum cookware
of any sort, especially the two or three old, thin, dented aluminum pans I had in the kitchen inventory at the time. A friend of mine had mentioned that this cookware would produce aluminum oxides when heated. I don't know anything about the more modern anodized cookware and if this type of aluminum solves the oxidation problem. What are your thoughts?

Jim

[Deuce]

My understanding is that isn't an issue with the modern stuff.

[okieboater]

If eating food cooked in all aluminum pans would kill a person, I should have died from it several decades ago. Maybe I have just been lucky.

On the other hand, a lot of folks are hesitant to eat from aluminum cook ware and I support their right to have and exercise that opinion.

[Richard]

:myday" Did you know that Aluminum is the third most common crustal element and the most common crustal metal on earth. We are surrounded by it.

Now this from the people who should know:
(Jim, you, me and a lot of others were misled by well meaning but misinformed people.)

Myth 4: Drinking out of aluminum cans or cooking in aluminum pots and pans can lead to Alzheimer’s disease.
Reality: During the 1960s and 1970s, aluminum emerged as a possible suspect in Alzheimer’s. This suspicion led to concern about exposure to aluminum through everyday sources such as pots and pans, beverage cans, antacids and antiperspirants. Since then, studies have failed to confirm any role for aluminum in causing Alzheimer’s. Experts today focus on other areas of research, and few believe that everyday sources of aluminum pose any threat.
http://www.alz.org/alzheimers_disease_m ... eimers.asp" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Uh . . . for those who are still afraid to use Aluminum . . . see below.

[summerbee]

I have so many DOs, I've had to jack up foundation of my house.

[Richard]

have so many DOs, I've had to jack up foundation of my house.

:myday" One more reason to go aluminum.

[summerbee]

I use them as boat anchors and weapons of CAST destruction.