Dutch Oven vs Braiser – What’s The Difference?

In the previous era, cooking was a piece of cake. Put all the ingredients in one cooking dish and put it on the stove to cook. But now making one dish recipes many utensils and cooking vessels. Especially cooking the right food item in the right utensil also matters now.

Similarly, if we talk about Dutch oven and Braiser, most of you would think it’s the name for the same thing. Nah! It’s not fellow; the Dutch oven and Braiser looks the same but with a slight difference. In appearance, they are different on the basis of height and side.

Also, we can say that both pans are used for different cooking methods. As Braiser is used for simmering foods while Dutch oven is used for making stews and soups. It is said that a Dutch oven can act as a substitute for Braiser, but a Braiser can’t be used instead of the Dutch oven.

To help you know better about Dutch oven and Braiser, we will dig in-depth related to Dutch oven, and Braiser uses, build-in and capacity.

Dutch Oven

Dutch Oven is made from enameled cast iron which contains five quarts. It comes in various shapes, sizes and specific forms according to the buyer’s need. There exists two main types of Dutch ovens indoor Dutch oven and outdoor Dutch oven.

Outdoor Dutch Oven

The outdoor type is made from strong cast iron with a heavy base and a sealed tight lid. These Dutch ovens are large in size, and round pots have more capacity. The bottom of these pots is flat so that one can place it directly on the coal or have small legs to maintain distance from coal.

Outdoor Dutch ovens are designed for long term cooking on low or medium fire type heat sources. These ovens are made from stainless steel with a highly colorful coating, so rusting cannot occur. These Dutch ovens are used by food vendors and for outdoor kitchen service.

Indoor Dutch Oven

There exist many indoor Dutch ovens with a stylish appearance and high durability. These Dutch ovens are used for cooking food for a longer time period. The build-in of indoor Dutch ovens is of cast iron with a porcelain-enameled nonstick base.

Porcelain comes in various colors, so you can buy any Dutch ovens that match your kitchen coloring. Indoor Dutch ovens have flat bottoms and gripped handles to move them without burning your hand. The sizes and shapes vary, and you can buy any Dutch ovens that suit you.

Uses

Dutch ovens are used for many purposes, out of which some are mentioned below:

1. These are used to stew meat.
2. A Dutch oven is a great choice for slow roasting larger meat pieces, broiling meat and broiling food.
3. It can also be used for baking casseroles and baking stuff like bread, cake etc.
4. Dutch ovens are also used to make soups, sauté veggies and sauce preparation.
5. One can also cook pasta in it for several people.

Since you have known all about the Dutch oven, now let’s learn some interesting facts about Braiser.

Braiser

Braiser is sometimes mixed with Casserole pan. Braiser is made from enameled cast iron from Buntmor, which is considered a high-quality pan and holds up to 3.8 quarts. We can say that Braiser is the type of Dutch oven with the only difference in height.

For your better understanding, let us make it simpler. Braiser is made with cast iron but is no porcelain enamel. It comes in various shapes, sizes and styles just as you like, and it consists of a heavy lid with comfortable grip handles.

One of the cool features Braiser includes is that you can put it in the oven but make sure you don’t apply direct heat to its base as it is made for indoor use only. The sides of the Braiser are lower as compared to Dutch oven sides, which makes it at a curved angle. Well, the functioning is also very unique.

As Braiser contains lower heighted side, so its cant holds much amount of food. As the name indicates, Braiser is best for cooking or braising foods. They contain a large surface area but shallow height, more air can circulate in t and sauté of veggies can be done effectively.

Uses

Just like we mentioned some uses of the Dutch oven, we would like to mention some uses of Braiser.

1. Braiser is also used for browning food items as it contains a large surface area and a better ventilation process.
2. The food is cooked more evenly in Braiser.
3. Braiser is placed on the stovetop to prepare curry foods.
4. One can easily make sauces and dip in them.
5. The main function a Braiser can perform is to braise meat and meat products.

So what’s the difference between Dutch Oven and Braiser?

To summarize the points mentioned above, we will mention below key points to help you understand the major and minor differences between the Dutch oven and Braiser.

1. The difference between a Dutch oven and a Braiser is the height and sides in physical appearance. Dutch ovens are tall with straight sides, while Braiser has sloping and low sides.
2. A Dutch oven can hold more capacity food as compared to Braiser.
3. Braiser contains more ventilation as compared to Dutch ovens.
4. Dutch ovens come in two types: outdoor and indoor, while Braiser is only suitable for indoor uses.
5. In Dutch ovens, one can bake stuff like cake, bread and other food items, while Braiser is suitable for browning food but not good for baking.
6. The bottom of the Braiser is flat, while the bottom of the Dutch oven can be flat and with peg legs.
7. The handle is mostly a Bucket handle for the Dutch oven, while Braiser contains two grab handles.
8. The Dutch oven’s build-in is cast ion with porcelain coating, but Braiser is made from cast iron without a porcelain coating.
9. A Dutch oven is best suited for stewing, roasting, baking, while Braiser is used for boiling, braising and browning.

Sources:

• Thekitchn
• Cookwareinsider