A Dutch oven is simply one of the most versatile tools that you can have in your kitchen; this heavy duty pot can be used for everything from a deep fryer to a pot to bake casseroles and beans in and can go from oven to stove top for any job you could possibly imagine. Buying a good quality Dutch oven such as a Le Creuset Dutch oven can provide even more flexibility as the even heat distribution and heavy sides and bottom can provide a much more even cooking for anything. The Le Creuset Dutch oven is much larger than most other pans in your cupboard, while they come in several different sizes and shapes in general these Dutch ovens are twice as wide as they are tall enabling you to have more browning surface a key job for the Dutch oven. Dutch ovens are perfect for cooking roasts, making soups, and baking beans for this reason. Made from cast iron the heavy duty Le Creuset Dutch ovens does not have too many jobs that it is not capable of doing. You can use this pan to bake, broil, braise, sauté, marinate, refrigerate and freeze. Because it has a porcelain enamel finish foods will not interact with the surface of this Dutch oven meaning that you can put any type of food in it without worry about the results. Enameled cast iron has received a reputation for being one of the most forgiving materials to use while cooking because it does such a good job of retaining heat, while promoting gentle cooking at low heats. There is something about cooking in a cast iron pan that brings out the natural flavor of the ingredients as well making it ideal for meats, potatoes, beans and more. If you are using your Dutch oven for cooking soups and stews you will want to buy a 6-8 quart pot, which is also perfect for cooking large pieces of meat in. Be sure that your Dutch oven has the enameled coating as this coating is especially good for minimizing sticking and scorching of foods and makes clean up easy. The Enamel interior pot may cost you a bit more but you will never need to replace it so it is an investment well worth making. The Le Creuset Dutch oven is the all around favorite for any job that you can possibly imagine doing in a Dutch oven; you will love it so much you may never use other pots again.