Cauldron

The Cauldron was originally going to be a craftable essential block in Minecraft. It would have been used to make Potions using Brewing Recipes. It was replaced with the Brewing Stand because of the inconvenient method of brewing with the cauldron. The Cauldron will be left in game as Jeb has said he may find another use for it later. As of Beta 1.9 Pre-release 3 Cauldrons can now be crafted, and used to store water. Cauldrons can now refill Glass Bottles with the water required for brewing. Each Cauldron holds three bottles worth of water, which is equal to a single bucket.

History
Alchemy was first hinted at in July 2010, when Notch hinted that redstone dust would later be used in potions. Potion effects were introduced in Beta 1.8, and expanded on in the Beta 1.9 Pre-release.

"The reason why I don't think the potion effects will be in 1.9 is because there's not enough time to add the brewing system."

- Jeb_

"Potions are delayed because *add to cauldron, pick up, look at tooltip, pour back into cauldron, repeat* was extremely tedious"

- Jeb_

"A quick discussion with @notch led me in on a new way of doing the potion brewing. Cauldron is out..."

- Jeb_

"Look back at me! Your Cauldron is now a Brewing Stand. Anything's possible when working with interaction design."

- Jeb_

"I'm fully aware the potions are very thin (diet?), but it looks cute http://i.imgur.com/cNX6J.png (Always work in progress, of course)"

- Jeb_

Trivia

 * Cauldron cannot hold Lava or Milk but the potions that one was able to put inside had a similar texture as Lava.
 * Potions could be brewed in 1.9 Beta Pre-Release 2 by adding a bucket of water along with various other ingredients to a Cauldron which then runs them through a mathematical algorithm that can result in one of over two thousand different potions with positive or negative effects.
 * When broken, Cauldrons release no water, only the Cauldron itself.
 * When the Cauldron is being mined with water in it, the water will get cracks in it.
 * As of 1.9 Pre-release 3, Cauldrons are available in creative mode and can be crafted in Survival mode.
 * As of 1.9 Pre-release 3, Cauldrons can be used to store water within the Nether. Whether this was intended or is a bug is unknown.
 * Cauldrons are hollow with and without water, as such, Cauldrons can be used as a 'bucket block'.
 * Even if a Cauldron has water in it, a Piston can push it.
 * Even if a Cauldron has water in it, it will not extinguish you if you are on fire.
 * If a cauldron is destroyed by any tool apart from a pickaxe, it will not drop as an item.
 * In creative mode, if you attempt to fly inside a cauldron while a block resides above your head, a glitch will occur, causing you to be "stuck" in flight form without being able to lift nor lower yourself.
 * Standing in a Cauldron being pulled by a piston will cause it to go through you rather than carrying you in it.
 * In 1.0 a Cauldron can hold water while in the nether, instead of evaporating like the bucket.
 * On November 8, 2011, Jeb tweeted a reply to a suggestion for boiling food in a cauldron, saying he may consider it later.
 * Cauldrons can hold water in the Nether; it won't evaporate.