Um, what exactly does one do with one of these Lodge Double Dutch Ovens? What’s so special about them? 
Great for stews, soups, roasts, casseroles, etc. Stuff that should simmer slowly. Simmering slowly is tough with thinner pots especially with gas stoves. Also you get iron naturally from cooking with these.
No sour cream in Yonghe!!! It’s TEOTWAWKI!!! 
Should be this one:
amazon.com/Lodge-5-Quart-Dou … B000LEXR0K
Although the company pre-seasons them, and the pre-seasoned items I’ve gotten from them were well done, a single seasoning is not adequate for cast iron anyway, so just assume they are unseasoned, and give it at least two or three seasonings before using (e.g. brush with a very thin coat of melted Crisco shortening, then bake for an hour at an intermediate oven temp; repeat once or twice. The investment is really worth it.
They’re very thick, very heavy. Thin pots result in burnt material on the bottom (and a burnt flavor throughout) when you let something stew for a long time, and also cool down when you add new stuff. Thick, heavy pots do neither. Thick all-iron pots add iron to your food (important for women and especially vegetarian women), and if you want to bake artisan bread in one at, say, 500 degrees F (250C), you can use a fully preheated one to get incredible oven rise and an excellent crust, something hard to achieve without a cloche or D.O. or a hotter oven. The lid of the Lodge Double DO has no handle on top, so it doubles as a skillet, or better yet, as a deep dish pizza pan. Preheat that for an hour at 500F, then drop your thick pizza dough in, parbake, remove then fill, and bake again, and you get an incredible deep dish pizza. It’s really two vessels in one, a double-handle skillet and a large stock pot.
Since the 500F burns off any seasoning, I have two (four), one (two) for super hot baking and one (two) for regular stews etc.; at $1050, it’s worth getting two (four), as the normal market price in Taiwan is $3500+ for just one (two).
Would olive oil be as good as shortening for seasoning the pot?
No, AFAIK, the smoke point is too low, and you’d be wasting a pricier product.
Ah, smoke point. Right, forgot about that. Oh,btw, PM coming your way.
If you don’t have Crisco at home you can get some vegetable shortening at your local baking supply; if you wouldn’t use it up in other cooking, then just use some neutral, high-smoke-point vegetable oil (e.g. highly refined safflower oil) rather than olive oil. Or just don’t worry about smoke points, and use whatever cheap vegetable oil you have on hand.
I have no cheap ingredients on hand in my kitchen thank you very much. 
Hmm, will have to hit up one of my less refined friends or neighbors for a handout of lard.
They sell pig lard in restaurant supply shops by the tub, quite cheap (I think it was $80 for a tub where I saw it)
Omg, I really don’t want a tub of the damn stuff around. I need a couple tablespoons and then the rest is garbage. 
Yeah, sure, lard’s probably fine, or even bacon grease.
Just what the hell do you people think I eat? Can I maybe rub a lentil poultice on it?
They also sell fresh pig lard at the butcher stands in traditional markets. You can choose the amount. 
The DK “Illustrated Step by Step Baking Cookbook” is very cool. It has step by step photograph guides to a lot of the basic recipes. A quick look and I knew I wanted it. Came home just now to find my 11-year-old making a German apple cake from it, potentially worth the $760 already 
Their “Illustrated Kitchen Bible” is great too, got it there as well.
They also sell fresh pig lard at the butcher stands in traditional markets. You can choose the amount. [/quote]
Hmm, there are a couple butchers not 300m from where I live. Also Green Hornet must have some.
How do you say pig lard in Chinese?
Of course I don’t even have the oven and I am reluctant to go to Costco now as I leave for 3 months in China in 2 weeks and really don’t need to stock up on food and cookery items.
“zhu you” (pig oil)
[quote=“Tempo Gain”][quote=“Muzha Man”]
How do you say pig lard in Chinese?
[/quote]
“zhu you” (pig oil)[/quote]
Oh, that was easy. 
I point to the white sticky stuff. It is used in Spanish recipes for making cookies, after reducing it to solid lumps.
Thank god the new batch is in.