Aluminum question

[Joamon]

I had a chance to buy an aluminum dutch oven today. I was wondering are there any advantages disadvantages to
aluminum. How do you care for it? Does it have to be seasoned. What about heat. I have quite a few pieces of cast iron, I just found this interesting.
Thanks for your thoughts.
Keith

[ironhead]

I had a chance to buy an aluminum dutch oven today. I was wondering are there any advantages disadvantages to
aluminum. How do you care for it? Does it have to be seasoned. What about heat. I have quite a few pieces of cast iron, I just found this interesting.
Thanks for your thoughts.
Keith

From Byrons introduction to Dutch ovens website..http://papadutch.home.comcast.net/~papa ... htm#Select
Here is a comparison of the two types:

Aluminum is lighter than cast iron. A 12" aluminum oven weighs about 7 pounds as opposed to about 20 pounds for a cast iron oven.

Aluminum is easier to care for. Because it doesn't rust you can wash aluminum ovens in mild soap and water. Cast iron, however, requires protection from rust. Bare cast iron rusts very quickly so it must be "seasoned" to protect the metal. This seasoning is usually done by burning some kind of oil or animal fat into the pores of the metal forming a hard protective barrier. Soap should never be used to clean a seasoned oven because it will dissolve the formed protective barrier and embed itself into the pores of the metal where it will return to taint your next meal.

Aluminum reacts quickly to temperature changes. Aluminum Dutch ovens will heat up much faster than cast iron ovens, but they also cool down much faster after removing them from heat. Aluminum ovens are ideal for cooking foods that need to be cooled down quickly. Cast iron Dutch ovens react more slowly to temperature changes so you don't burn food as easily in them. Cast iron ovens also retain their temperature for quite a while after they have been removed from heat.

Because aluminum reacts quickly to changes in temperature it is much harder to keep at a constant temperature on a windy day. Cast iron, on the other hand, because it retains heat well, fairs better in windy weather.

Aluminum ovens can melt if too much heat is applied to them! The melting point of aluminum cast alloy is around 1200° F. as opposed to cast iron's melting point of over 2000° F. It is possible to reach temperatures of 1200° F. if too many coals are used during cooking, or if the bottom of the Dutch oven is in direct contact with the coals.

When weight is not an issue, I prefer to use a cast iron Dutch oven over an aluminum oven.