No more electricity.
A general power outage on the grid. No more heat source in the kitchen. The stovetop and the oven shut down. Even boiling water for a simple cup of coffee becomes impossible.
In a few seconds, you realize just how much our way of cooking depends entirely on the electrical grid.
What if the outage were to last?
After a storm, heavy snowfall, or any other failure in power delivery, you need to be able to keep cooking: to cook a dish or even bread, and prepare full meals to feed your family. But how do you cook without electricity?
This is where autonomy becomes tangible.
Approche Libre® offers a solution adapted to this situation: robust cast iron cookware designed for wood-fire cooking, without electricity.
Approche Libre® - Techniques for autonomy.
⏱ Estimated reading time: ~ 9 minutes
Table of Contents
- The cauldron: designed since time immemorial for wood fires
- The hybrid Dutch oven: from induction to wood fire
- True fire-cooked meals: varied, family-style, and traditional
- One-piece, plastic-free: a design thought out for fire cooking
- Cast iron that meets European standards
- FAQ
- Read also
- Sources and references
The cauldron: designed since time immemorial for wood fires
The three-legged cauldron is historically linked to wood-fire cooking: its shape, its legs, and its raw cast iron allow for direct cooking over embers, without the need for a rack or tripod. The 6-liter Approche Libre® cauldron can be placed over an outdoor fire or in a suitable fireplace, allowing you to prepare stews, broths, soups, or bake bread for about 4 people.
The hybrid Dutch oven: from induction to wood fire
The Approche Libre® Dutch oven meets another need: keeping the same utensil when the energy source changes. Its entire specificity lies in a detail: its side handles are designed to receive a removable iron bail, sold separately, which allows it to be suspended over a wood fire if necessary.
As long as the grid is running, the Dutch oven stays on your induction, glass-ceramic, or gas stovetop. If the power goes out for several hours or days, it can be used on a barbecue, in a wood-fired oven, or suspended over embers. The equipment doesn't change. Only the heat source changes. This versatility distinguishes the Approche Libre® raw cast iron Dutch oven from all other Dutch ovens on the market.
True fire-cooked meals: varied, family-style, and traditional
Cooking with a cauldron or a Dutch oven is not limited to reheating a dish. All traditional recipes prepared in a cauldron can also be made in a cast iron Dutch oven.
This way of cooking is part of an ancient tradition, from Gallic cuisine to medieval recipes, and then to the French rural family cooking of the 1930s. Wood-fire cooking was the norm for a long time. The mass and thermal inertia of cast iron are a major asset for steady, controlled cooking, whether in a cauldron or a Dutch oven.
The Approche Libre® blog details this diversity in 30 historical recipes for wood fires: focused on the cauldron, this article remains just as valid for the cast iron Dutch oven.
With their cast iron lids, both the cauldron and the Dutch oven also allow for baking various traditional breads over a wood fire—a major advantage for culinary autonomy, since it remains possible to make your own bread even without an electric oven. The technique is detailed in Cast iron cauldron: how to bake your bread.
The value of these raw cast iron utensils goes far beyond emergency cooking. They allow you to continue preparing varied meals, bake your own bread, and maintain authentic family-style cooking, even when electricity is no longer available.
With this hybrid equipment, Approche Libre® aimed to create a real bridge between two uses often perceived as opposites: the comfort of a modern kitchen and the ability to cook in complete autonomy.
Rather than offering survival gear destined to stay in a cupboard waiting for a potential catastrophe, we have designed items useful on a daily basis—like an induction-compatible Dutch oven—capable of quickly switching to an autonomous mode when needed. The investment thus proves its worth all year round, not just during crises.
Discover the 6L cast iron cauldron
Discover the 5L cast iron Dutch oven
One-piece, plastic-free: a design thought out for fire cooking
Both the Approche Libre® cauldron and Dutch oven are made entirely of pre-seasoned raw cast iron, without any plastic parts, without a knob screwed into the lid, and without any PFAS coating. This design allows them to be used in more demanding cooking environments, such as a pizza oven or a traditional bread oven, where added, riveted, or screwed-on components would impose more restrictive thermal limits.
Cast iron that meets European standards
The quality of the cast iron is paramount when you want to cook healthily.
To guarantee this premium quality, Approche Libre® raw cast iron cauldrons and Dutch ovens are analyzed by independent laboratories. Inspections cover suitability for food contact, sensory examination, the potential presence of heavy metals, and screening for SVHC substances, within the framework of the REACH regulation (EC) No. 1907/2006 and European regulation (EC) No. 1935/2004. The reports indicate that no trace of heavy metals was detected during laboratory analysis.
Approche Libre® thus ensures healthy and authentic cooking in quality cast iron.
FAQ
Why is the cauldron suitable for cooking without electricity?
Because it was designed from the outset for direct wood-fire cooking. Approche Libre® cauldrons are equipped with three feet, which allow for optimal stability in the fire pit, without the need for additional tripods or racks.
How does the Dutch oven switch from induction to wood fire?
The versatile Approche Libre® Dutch oven can switch from induction cooktops to a wood fire very easily.
Thanks to its removable iron bail, sold separately, which attaches to the sturdy side handles, the Dutch oven can be suspended directly over a fire, outdoors or in a suitable fireplace. It is the only Dutch oven on the market designed for this kind of all-fire versatility.
Can you use a Dutch oven in a pizza oven, a bread oven, or a traditional wood-fired oven?
Yes, thanks to their manufacture in raw cast iron—without enamel, fragile handles, or a screwed-on lid knob—Approche Libre® Dutch ovens can be used to cook in wood-fired ovens. Their robust molded cast iron design frees them from the thermal constraints that often restrict other models on the market.
Is this cast iron safe for food use?
Yes. Approche Libre® raw cast iron cauldrons and Dutch ovens are tested by recognized independent laboratories (SGS or TÜV). The results comply with the European requirements of regulations (EC) No. 1935/2004, concerning materials intended to come into contact with food, and REACH (EC) No. 1907/2006, regarding SVHC substances. The tests confirm the absence of detectable traces of heavy metals or other undesirable chemical substances.
Read also:
→ Cast iron cauldron: how to bake your bread
→ 2 days, 1 night in the forest: the gear needed for autonomy
→ Building a fire in the rain: the effective bushcraft method
→ How to light a fire with a ferrocerium rod (practical guide)
Sources and references
→ Regulation (EC) No. 1935/2004 on materials and articles intended to come into contact with food.
→ Regulation (EC) No. 1907/2006 (REACH) concerning the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals.
→ Approche Libre — 5L cast iron Dutch oven
→ Approche Libre — 6L three-legged cast iron cauldron