Why is a Dutch Oven Called a Dutch Oven?

GadgetGuy

GadgetGuy

(Formerly Shermie)
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Does anyone know the answer to this question? I've wondered about this a lot, but don't really know the answer to it. :unsure::headshake:
 
The Netherlands, 1710, a cookware and brassware manufacturer by the name of Abraham Darby created a less expensive versión of the Dutch ovens, a thick walled cooking pot with a tight fitting cover or lid.

Many google websites also cover the history of the English and the Americans as well as the numerous Dutch former colonies in reference to this type of cooking vessel.
 
Here is the most thorough definition I could find - based on the book “Dutch Ovens Chronicled, Their Use in the United States” by John G. Ragsdale.
https://www.cookingbites.com/threads/why-is-a-dutch-oven-called-a-dutch-oven.11604/

a large, heavy pot with a tight-fitting lid. The classic Dutch oven also has legs, a sort of built-in trivet, allowing it to be stood atop a pile of burning coals, and a rim on the lid where more coals can be placed. Modern Dutch ovens, without legs, are usually made of cast iron and can be used either in the oven of a home stove or up top on the burners. It is apparently possible to cook just about anything in a Dutch oven, though stews, casseroles and the like are most often associated with the cookware.

Dutch ovens have been in use for hundreds of years, and were popular in both Britain and the American colonies in the 18th century. According to what is considered the definitive history of the contraption (“Dutch Ovens Chronicled, Their Use in the United States” by John G. Ragsdale), the impetus to their popularity in the UK and America was a visit to Holland in 1704 by a certain Abraham Darby, who studied the casting process used by the Dutch to make a superior type of cast iron pot. Darby adopted the process in England and shipped his “ovens” all over Britain as well as to America.

In his book, Ragsdale offers three theories for the “Dutch” label: the adoption of the casting process from Dutch manufacturers, itinerant Dutch salesman pushing the pots, or the popularity of the cookware in “Dutch” (actually German) areas of Pennsylvania in Early America. Of these, I think the first, that the ovens themselves were developed in Holland, is the most likely to be the original source of the name. Among other things, it would explain the use of the term in Britain. Traveling Dutch salesmen are certainly possible, but it was Darby’s company that really popularized the pots in England, probably using the “Dutch” label to lend humble pots a cachet of sophistication. And while the Pennsylvania “Dutch” certainly used “Dutch ovens,” it’s unlikely that folks in England, who had been using them for years, would adopt a name based on what the colonists called them.
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Francesca said:
The Netherlands, 1710, a cookware and brassware manufacturer by the name of Abraham Darby created a less expensive versión of the Dutch ovens, a thick walled cooking pot with a tight fitting cover or lid.
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Abraham Darby was not from the Netherlands (I don't know if that was what you meant - but that is how the sentence reads, grammatically). He was a British iron making pioneer who set up in Coalbrookdale, Shropshire in 1708 (this was effectively at the beginning of the industrial revolution). It seems he visited the Netherlands in 1704 and studied the casting processes used by Dutch manufacturers which he then adapted to use in Coalbrookdale.
 
morning glory said:
Abraham Darby was not from the Netherlands (I don't know if that was what you meant - but that is how the sentence reads, grammatically). He was a British iron making pioneer who set up in Coalbrookdale, Shropshire in 1708 (this was effectively at the beginning of the industrial revolution). It seems he visited the Netherlands in 1704 and studied the casting processes used by Dutch manufacturers which he then adapted to use in Coalbrookdale.
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He was in The Netherlands in 1710 also according to several Google on line websites .. I did not refer to him as being Dutch .. He was interested in selling his products and created cast iron Dutch Oven Pots from this material in The Netherlands, as it was cheaper than the materials elsewhere.

Have a nice day ..
 
Shermie said:
Figured that it had to be someone who was Dutch to come up with the name. Hah! :wink:
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@Shermie

The manufacturer was British but he travelled to The Netherlands and further developed the Dutch Oven Pots with cast iron which was less costly than those made in England at that time ( 1710 and prior ). You should do a google search on this Manufacturer ..
 
My Heritage cookware is often wrongly referred to as Dutch Ovens. In reality I think the term is loosely applied to any heavy gauge metal cookware.
 
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