Curing is a very simple process, which it’s important you do properly; this process applies to all non cured cast iron pans.

What is this process of curing? Why is it necessary?

Curing helps cast iron cookware avoid becoming rusty and as a bonus,because it coats the cookware, it stops food from sticking to it. A well seasoned ‘ Dutch oven is the perfect non stick pan!

But let me step back a minute. Perhaps you haven’t bought a new piece of cast iron cookware, maybe you’ve picked up an old piece that was a real bargain at the local market. Or perhaps you’ve found Grandmother’s old skillet lying forlorn in the garden shed. Whatever, fear not, in almost any state a quality piece of cast iron cookware is nearly always suitable for simple renovation and subsequent curing.

Lets start with your old piece of cast iron cookware. No matter what state its in give it a really good rub down with sandpaper so that you can see the original surface; thats to say as it was when it first started out in life.

Cast iron cookware is ideal cookware for outdoor cooking; indeed I’d venture to say its the best. But why?

1. Cast iron cookware is inexpensive when compared to its alternatives, given the length of time it will be in use. Most well cared for cast iron will last a family for generations and in of itself it becomes an heirloom;

2. Cast iron cookware is a superb cooking medium to cook with outdoors. With its ideal heat conduction as well as heat retention and its lack of hot spots its an outside cooks dream tool;

3. Cast iron cookware can be used to cook nearly all types of food;

4. Its really healthy to cook with cast iron cookware. Why? Because you can cook fat free! …Impossible?… No! A properly seasoned skillet or pan is ‘stick-free’ so requires no oil for cooking. [Note: Seasoning means filling the cracks, holes and small cavities in the pan with grease in a hot oven. The grease then gets cooked in providing a smooth surface on both the inside and outside of the pan.

5. In cast iron cookware your food slides easily & freely in the pan.

Dutch ovens lie at the heart of the American tradition and whilst many these day spurn them for modern ‘tat” many are now returning to these wonderful tools that lie at the very heart of great cooking outdoors;

Its easy to get it wrong when buying a Dutch oven; it really is important that you buy the best you can; quality counts. For the best choice and value its advisable to go online.

First decide whether you want to use your Dutch oven on a campfire or on a grill. For the campfire chose a Dutch oven with 3 legs and a lid that allows coals to be put on the top; but for the grill chose a flat bottomed version.

So what makes for a good Dutch oven?

1. The oven must be a standard thickness throughout; inconsistency in the walls of the oven can lead to hot or cold spots, warping or cracking! Don’t worry about a rough texture in the cast iron; this is not a problem; over time it will flatten as you continue with the seasoning; if the ovens surface is too smooth the seasoning will not take so a smooth is not good!