New DO, campfire restrictions

[SethB]

I’ve been eyeing the GSI anodized aluminum camp dutch ovens forever. I know it seems like sacrilege, rest assured my cast iron collection remains extensive.

A local retailer is having a retirement sale, and there was a 14” anodized, retails $165, for $60. Sold! (Sorry, only the one)

Reading and watching I came across this: No Campfires!
Camp Chef has a dome made of fire blanket that allows proper cooking with dutch oven on a propane stove!

Dutch oven has been difficult in the PNW for the last several years because of fire restrictions from about July 1 to September 10 this year. I’m expecting that I can get back to dutch oven cooking year-round, including camping season!

About the anodized aluminum ovens… so light! Even a 14 is under 10 lbs. No seasoning to maintain! No rust when left out in unexpected drizzle. Quick pre-heats!

Did I mention the weight? A Lodge 14 is 25.5 Lbs. My lodge 12 is 18 Lbs. The new GSI 14 is 8.75 Lbs. Of course the thermal mass is much lower too, experience will tell whether that’s an issue, but I think it won’t significantly affect my cooking…

Hard Anodized Dutch Oven in 10", 12" or 14" | GSI Outdoors

The lightweight cast GSI Outdoors Hard Anodized 10 inch Dutch Oven construction brings premium performance to a camping cookware classic. Opens new world of outdoor culinary options, from eggs and biscuits to beef stew and home-baked bread.

gsioutdoors.com

Dutch Oven Dome - Black and More | Camp Chef

By diverting, trapping and circulationg heat, the Black Dutch Oven Dome creates a convection oven for your cast iron outdoors.

www.campchef.com

 

[Sweeney]

Aluminum scares me. But I think for the money it’s worth a gamble. I’m curious how I would feel about cast-iron if I only heard about it recently. If that makes any sense.

 

[SethB]

Aluminum scares me. But I think for the money it’s worth a gamble. I’m curious how I would feel about cast-iron if I only heard about it recently. If that makes any sense.

Ah, point well taken. Raw aluminum is indeed reactive with acidic foods, and would also seem to me to be better avoided in cookware.

This line of DO’s is hard anodized and non-reactive. Anodizing is more than a surface coating, and doesn’t wear off. You can damage it though. I have some prized calphalon from the early days with no nonstick coating, in particular a stir-fry wok that is still going strong after 45+ years!

GSI also has a less expensive line of raw aluminum DOs, no thanks.

I’m much more concerned about non-stick coatings… My hyper vigilant nephews always bypass my ceramic frypans for my old calphalon anodized when they visit.

FWIW! I’m looking forward to seeing how the new DO performs.

 

[Tour 931]

At home I cook almost exclusively with cast iron. They are the best on induction cooktops.

 

[Sweeney]

Ah, point well taken. Raw aluminum is indeed reactive with acidic foods, and would also seem to me to be better avoided in cookware.

This line of DO’s is hard anodized and non-reactive. Anodizing is more than a surface coating, and doesn’t wear off. You can damage it though. I have some prized calphalon from the early days with no nonstick coating, in particular a stir-fry wok that is still going strong after 45+ years!

GSI also has a less expensive line of raw aluminum DOs, no thanks.

I’m much more concerned about non-stick coatings… My hyper vigilant nephews always bypass my ceramic frypans for my old calphalon anodized when they visit.

FWIW! I’m looking forward to seeing how the new DO performs.

I saw a guy with a raw aluminum dutch oven at camp a few yeas ago...I'm with ya, no thank you. His aluminum dutch oven was a lodge as well -- very strange since it was identail just alumnum instead of black carbon. I found it rather interesting how light it was compared to the identiical cast iron --- It really became veyr apparent how heavy iron is. But, ya. No way Jose.

Anodization may be different - I don't know the chemstry, and what the risks are of anodized. But even if 'research' tells me its ok, I've become suspect of too many things, too many claims that something is safe and effective that later turned out to be either an out and out lie, or, at least completely misrepresented the actual truth.

Share the concern over plastics, teflon, ceramic, and other coatings. Growing up as a kid, it scare me to think how much teflon I ate -- my Mom and Grandmothers wizz-bang that you could cook an egg on without grease (twice..when it was new) quickly became scratched becuase the whole understanding of plastic spatulas was still not well undestood.

I pretty much exclusivly use cast iron or stainless steel. Then again, what crap did the chinese manufacturer mix into the cast iron on those weber grill grates...

 

[Jenn]

I saw a guy with a raw aluminum dutch oven at camp a few yeas ago...I'm with ya, no thank you. His aluminum dutch oven was a lodge as well -- very strange since it was identail just alumnum instead of black carbon. I found it rather interesting how light it was compared to the identiical cast iron --- It really became veyr apparent how heavy iron is. But, ya. No way Jose.

Anodization may be different - I don't know the chemstry, and what the risks are of anodized. But even if 'research' tells me its ok, I've become suspect of too many things, too many claims that something is safe and effective that later turned out to be either an out and out lie, or, at least completely misrepresented the actual truth.

Share the concern over plastics, teflon, ceramic, and other coatings. Growing up as a kid, it scare me to think how much teflon I ate -- my Mom and Grandmothers wizz-bang that you could cook an egg on without grease (twice..when it was new) quickly became scratched becuase the whole understanding of plastic spatulas was still not well undestood.

I pretty much exclusivly use cast iron or stainless steel. Then again, what crap did the chinese manufacturer mix into the cast iron on those weber grill grates...

Are tthere concerns about cast iron?

 

[SethB]

Are tthere concerns about cast iron?

I’m sure there are if you look for them. There’s a theory a minute. Such is our world.

I’ve heard tell that leaching cast iron is good for anemia. Who knows?

Get information, read between the lines, make your choices, take your chances. Hmm, I’m cynical this morning!

 

[rmbrowder]

Are tthere concerns about cast iron?

Living is harmful to your health as every one dies from it. One of my favorite movie scenes is from Apocalypse now where the cook mutters insanely “Never leave the boat”. So, the concern for men and post menopausal women is that cast iron cooking may cause iron poisoning.

 

[SethB]

Here is a review of studies of iron cookware to reduce anemia published by NIH:

Effect of cooking food in iron-containing cookware on increase in blood hemoglobin level and iron content of the food: A systematic review - PMC

In developing countries there is a need for simple and cost-effective strategies to reduce the prevalence of iron deficiency anemia. The objective of the current systematic review is to summarize how cooking food in iron pots or iron ingots can ...

pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

I couldn’t find any research based conclusions on cast iron toxicity, with the possible exception of those with the genetic disorder hemochromatosis who need to be careful. Note that there is plenty of information about this on the web, I just couldn’t find any research either way in a brief search.

I myself prefer research-based conclusions about nutrition, food, and health, but everybody has to make up their own mind…

 

[Jenn]

Any community thoughts on carbon steel fry pans? I have one and still working on seasoning it. I dont think it's at its peak of nonstickness yet.

 

[Sweeney]

Any community thoughts on carbon steel fry pans? I have one and still working on seasoning it. I dont think it's at its peak of nonstickness yet.

Are tthere concerns about cast iron?

As SethB suggested it is a conspiracy of the moment era. I have never heard of any health risks on cast iron, or steel except when coming at you at a high speed. A friend said it best, there is nothing more dangerous than a high-speed frying pan -- His wife threw one at him in a fit of (probably) deserved rage.

I trust 'lodge' though the quality of their castings has gone down. The grain of the iron today inn't as tight. Still, I have done some digging in the past, and Lodge sources their materials from US vetted sources, as well as maintains a quality assurance lab. 100% trust --- no. But that is an impossibility.

If you can find older Lodge (or better Griswold, and a few other vintage brands) you've got something special. Here's the trouble with that — some old-timers melted lead in them. These are now contaminated with lead, which is known to be toxic. There are test kits that detect lead, you can pick them up on Amazon and probably other places. Never just "trust" old cast iron. Also make sure it isn't cracked, if it is --- its wall art - Don't heat it up.

There are other US Based brands of cast iron I have looked at, and their metal seems very good....However, the price is also significantly higher for a similar product by lodge.

I do not trust are brands like Ozark Trails and Mainstays. Both big box brands that are made in China. While I have no problem with the Chinese people -- the government - I don't trust, and by extension chinese businesses unless they are highly supervised. Walmart does not have a godo track record of supervision. Melamine in dog food ring a bell?

OK -- rant over.

 

[Tour 931]

If cooking in cast iron will kill me it’s not doing a very good job. I’m scared of plastic water bottles.

 

[Sweeney]

If cooking in cast iron will kill me it’s not doing a very good job. I’m scared of plastic water bottles.

I’m no expert, but something’s definitely off with our food today. I’ve been mainly eating clean keto for years, keeping sugar and carbs as low as I can. My biggest splurges are occasional tuna casserole on meatless Fridays or, rarely, some pasta. But I’ve noticed a real drop in food quality, especially meat, since around 2020. Meat gets a lot of flavor from where it’s sourced, and I swear most of what’s in stores now is global, mass-produced stuff. It just does not taste right anymore unless I splurge on a high-quality cut from a local butcher—and that’s like $30 a pound. Ouch! The part that is funny, is that meat also cooks very differently. Same cut, same approximate size -- I'll have to be far more careful not to over cook the high quality stuff.

Looking back, people in the ‘50s and earlier weren’t dealing with the obesity and health issues we see today. Growing up in the ‘70s and ‘80s, I was the “pudgy” kid, but even then, it was just “husky,” not the kind of morbid obesity that’s so common now. Hardly any of my friends were overweight. So, what’s changed?

Sure, packaged foods have been around for a while. The shift to “fat-free” everything spiked sugar content—check ingredient lists, they’re loaded with “-ose” like dextrose and fructose is certaily an issue -- most of that is chemically engineered as well. Then there’s the rise of seed oils and GMOs. Could it really be that simple? If we cut out plastics, GMOs, and seed oils, would things improve? I’m also troubled by this “Generally Recognized as Safe” (GRAS) law. It lets food companies decide for themselves if an ingredient is safe without mandatory testing or FDA oversight. That feels like a recipe for trouble.

The rapid rise in obesity and health issues suggests something systemic is going on. I don’t have all the answers, but I’m genuinely concerned about what’s in our food and how it’s affecting us.

I dunno -- and we can't win because Conagra can outspend all of us, proving that once again, the US governemnt is the best government money can buy.

 

[Randy]

Go to the bakery section of your local grocery store and read the ingredients list on a package of cookies or cupcakes. I studied organic chemistry in college and can’t pronounce half of them. Makes me wonder what’s in the rest of the deli stuff which don’t have ingredient labels. I won’t buy anything pre-made from the grocery store.