My favorite cocotte: Le Creuset Doufeu

One of my favorite cocottes , the one I always use on special occasions , is theLe Creuset Doufeu cocotte . The origin of its name is a nice combination of the French terms "doux" and "feu" which mean " soft " and " fire ". According to documentation that the brand itself has, it was patented by Le Creuset in 1934.

The main difference with the rest of Le Creuset cocottes is that the lid is designed to be able to put ice on it during cooking. When the lid cools, the steam inside , that of the cooking itself, condenses and returns to the food in the form of rain thanks to some small "spikes" that the lid has on the bottom. This means that the food is constantly bathed in its own juice, and everything is more tender and even tastier .

It is an exceptionalcocotte , capable of preparing incredibly good recipes , which unfortunately is not given much attention as it is not as appetizing as its popular sisters with the "normal" lid: it is more expensive, it does not have as attractive a design and it weighs considerably more because more iron is used to build the lid. That is the first impression, but if we get past these prejudices, the truth is that the people who have it are impressed .

We have had the opportunity to compare some stews cooked in a normal cocotte and adoufeu with ice and really we have always obtained more tender meats and with more juice in thedoufeu cocotte . It is a very efficient process that achieves a continuous flow of the juices inside thecocotte , intensifying the flavors, especially in slow cooking. As one of the classic Le Creuset advertisements says, time is one of the most important ingredients in the kitchen.