Of course, knowing you want a Dutch oven is just the first step. After that, you need to choose which size, and this all depends on how you answer the questions: “what do I want to cook?” and “who am I going to be cooking for?”
Whether you dream of recreating grandma’s famous roast, working on your sourdough bread recipe or spending a day preparing a month’s worth of meals, there’s a perfectly sized Dutch oven for you.
A rule of thumb you might see around is to have as many quarts as you have people to cook for, and then go a little bigger. This means a 5.5 quart Dutch oven should comfortably make enough food for five people, maybe a little more.
But this calculation can be less than helpful if you like to batch cook, have friends and family around for big feasts, love to feed your housemates or tend to cook for yourself.
This article is about helping you choose the best size Dutch oven to suit your kitchen and your style so that you can get the best out of your cast-iron cookware for years to come.
But first, some frequently-asked questions.
