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  4. Le Creuset vs. Other enamelled cast iron?

Le Creuset vs. Other enamelled cast iron?

Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved Off Key - General Discussion
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  • JodiJ Offline
    JodiJ Offline
    Jodi
    wrote on last edited by
    #4

    We have three LC Dutch ovens and two small cast iron frying pans, all hand me downs from Steve’s parents, so they have been used for a long time. They are still fantastic.

    1 Reply Last reply
    • D Offline
      D Offline
      Daniel
      wrote on last edited by Daniel
      #5

      Le Creuset is beautiful. We have only one or two pieces. I cleaned the table on the porch today. I know I picked up a piece of Le Creuset because I read it. We've been using the grill a lot because the days have turned to highs up to 80 F almost as if by magic.

      It was sitting on and kind of stuck to rancid chicken grease! My friend can cook and he can also make a real mess!

      I moved everything that had to be inside. Then I hung up clean clothes. Then I covered the table, the LeCreuset (kind of an oval pan with deep ridges you set on the stovetop or grill; it beats me what you'd call it), the metal rocking chairs, the plastic chairs, the closed grill and its adjacent metal shelves, and the porch with Dawn and
      sprayed everything down with my hose until the entire porch including the pan was sparkling clean.

      Thanks be to the universe that I am not a hoarder and that I have been able to organize and clean since I turned five years old.

      I've probably told this story already but I had a five hour routine for cleaning my room when I was five years old. I almost never timed it but it took five hours like clockwork and ended with brushing the fringe of my wool rug on both sides.

      I've learned how to ignore things that need to be cleaned and to rotate the chores that need to be done. This wasn't easy for me but it became necessary because the chores that need to be done are seemingly endless.

      I won't clean if I can't use my time to clean very efficiently and to clean to my own standard. I either do it this way or wait until I can do it.

      I have a pile of clean clothes I haven't put away. I have a pile of clothes waiting to be washed. I have lawn bags full of garbage waiting to be hauled to the dumpsters. I still haven't figured out exactly how to organize my room accounting for this huge new piece of furniture I put in my room. I'm trying (and succeeding) at being more philosophical about cleaning and maintenance.

      My friend has vowed to try harder, to organize his clothes living on our living room floor, and to help me haul garbage. This makes me glad.

      But, yes. Le Creuset is fantastic. We undoubtedly don't need it but in a perfect world would own a lot more of it.

      I'm sorry I went off on a tangent about cleaning but I'm so glad I'm not a hoarder (not a judgment), so glad I have organizational and cleaning skills (because somebody's got to have them), and just today cleaned the porch with the LeCreuset pan being the nicest thing I cleaned at least to my mind.

      1 Reply Last reply
      • NinaN Offline
        NinaN Offline
        Nina
        wrote on last edited by
        #6

        I've had LCs fail or crackle. They can't really withstand super high great, apparently. Plus they're so freaking heavy! I currently have one largish casserole and one small saucepan, and that's enough.

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        • M Offline
          M Offline
          Mary Anna
          wrote on last edited by
          #7

          We gave some off-brand enameled ironware that we got from Costco--a large- and a medium-sized dutch oven. I've had a couple of pieces of Le Creuset in the past, and I can't tell that these cook any differently. We've only had them for a few months, but I have no complaints. They're a beautiful blue that's as pretty as the Le Creuset colors, and the price difference was breathtaking.

          wtgW dolmansaxlilD 2 Replies Last reply
          • M Mary Anna

            We gave some off-brand enameled ironware that we got from Costco--a large- and a medium-sized dutch oven. I've had a couple of pieces of Le Creuset in the past, and I can't tell that these cook any differently. We've only had them for a few months, but I have no complaints. They're a beautiful blue that's as pretty as the Le Creuset colors, and the price difference was breathtaking.

            wtgW Offline
            wtgW Offline
            wtg
            wrote on last edited by
            #8

            @Mary-Anna

            Are they these Tramontina pots?

            https://www.costco.com/tramontina-4-quart--6-quart-enameled-cast-iron-round-dutch-oven-2-pack.product.4000284132.html

            I saw them in the store and they looked pretty nice. And the price was unbelievable.

            When the world wearies and society ceases to satisfy, there is always the garden - Minnie Aumônier

            1 Reply Last reply
            • M Mary Anna

              We gave some off-brand enameled ironware that we got from Costco--a large- and a medium-sized dutch oven. I've had a couple of pieces of Le Creuset in the past, and I can't tell that these cook any differently. We've only had them for a few months, but I have no complaints. They're a beautiful blue that's as pretty as the Le Creuset colors, and the price difference was breathtaking.

              dolmansaxlilD Offline
              dolmansaxlilD Offline
              dolmansaxlil
              wrote on last edited by
              #9

              @Mary-Anna said in Le Creuset vs. Other enamelled cast iron?:

              We gave some off-brand enameled ironware that we got from Costco--a large- and a medium-sized dutch oven. I've had a couple of pieces of Le Creuset in the past, and I can't tell that these cook any differently. We've only had them for a few months, but I have no complaints. They're a beautiful blue that's as pretty as the Le Creuset colors, and the price difference was breathtaking.

              This is my wondering! My off brand ones were from Canadian Tire and other than a few small external chips I really have no complaints.

              I will definitely check at Homesense though and see if I can find some LC for a more reasonable price. Unfortunately the braiser that I want doesn’t seem to be a popular piece (the 4.7… it’s only available in the few most popular colours). So I don’t know if I’ll be able to find it at much of a bargain.

              M 1 Reply Last reply
              • wtgW Offline
                wtgW Offline
                wtg
                wrote on last edited by wtg
                #10

                @dolmansaxlil Costco carries a bunch of cast iron. Don’t know if you’re a member.

                https://www.costco.ca/s?langId=-24&keyword=cast iron

                Have you considered Staub?

                https://www.foodandwine.com/staub-vs-le-creuset-comparison-8705472

                When the world wearies and society ceases to satisfy, there is always the garden - Minnie Aumônier

                1 Reply Last reply
                • P Offline
                  P Offline
                  pique
                  wrote on last edited by
                  #11

                  I have a LC large casserole that was my grandmother's, so it's been used hard for many decades. She used to make frankfurter goulash in it (she was Hungarian). It is definitely a bit worse for wear--the finish does lose its integrity over time. I haven't tried any of the knockoffs. Nice cookware is pretty far down on our priorities list. We don't do a lot of cooking.

                  fear is the thief of dreams

                  1 Reply Last reply
                  • P Offline
                    P Offline
                    pique
                    wrote on last edited by
                    #12

                    We do enjoy using cast iron cookware and have several very durable pieces, but they aren't enameled. We usually buy them in thrift stores or junk shops. On the whole, even though the enamel is very pretty, I think the unenameled cast iron is a lot easier to keep looking nice.

                    fear is the thief of dreams

                    1 Reply Last reply
                    • dolmansaxlilD dolmansaxlil

                      @Mary-Anna said in Le Creuset vs. Other enamelled cast iron?:

                      We gave some off-brand enameled ironware that we got from Costco--a large- and a medium-sized dutch oven. I've had a couple of pieces of Le Creuset in the past, and I can't tell that these cook any differently. We've only had them for a few months, but I have no complaints. They're a beautiful blue that's as pretty as the Le Creuset colors, and the price difference was breathtaking.

                      This is my wondering! My off brand ones were from Canadian Tire and other than a few small external chips I really have no complaints.

                      I will definitely check at Homesense though and see if I can find some LC for a more reasonable price. Unfortunately the braiser that I want doesn’t seem to be a popular piece (the 4.7… it’s only available in the few most popular colours). So I don’t know if I’ll be able to find it at much of a bargain.

                      M Offline
                      M Offline
                      Mary Anna
                      wrote on last edited by
                      #13

                      @dolmansaxlil I've had a Le Creuset casserole chip, too. They may--or may not, I don't know--use a heavier or more durable enamel, but it has its limits.

                      Muffin's Sister went to a Le Creuset event in Phoenix that apparently travels from city to city. It was held in a warehouse in a part of town where she was a little nervous to go, but she and a friend went together for solidarity and personal protection. When they got there, they found tons of bougie people like themselves. 🙂

                      They both got mystery boxes. (I'm not sure if they also offered regular sales where you got to pick what you were buying.) She said the boxes were curated pretty well, with each one including some staples like frying pans or dutch ovens, plus some more unusual pieces. Everything in each box wasn't the same color, but the colors were chosen to coordinate. She said there was a bustling black market in the parking lot where people were trading what they got in the mystery boxes for the pieces and colors they wanted, which sounds like a whole lot of fun. We have more kitchen gear than two humans could possibly need, and that makes me a little sad, because I would totally enjoy the Le Creuset black market.

                      1 Reply Last reply
                      😲
                      • wtgW Offline
                        wtgW Offline
                        wtg
                        wrote on last edited by
                        #14

                        @Mary-Anna Cool!

                        https://www.lecreuset.com/factory-to-table-sale.html

                        When the world wearies and society ceases to satisfy, there is always the garden - Minnie Aumônier

                        dolmansaxlilD 1 Reply Last reply
                        • wtgW wtg

                          @Mary-Anna Cool!

                          https://www.lecreuset.com/factory-to-table-sale.html

                          dolmansaxlilD Offline
                          dolmansaxlilD Offline
                          dolmansaxlil
                          wrote on last edited by
                          #15

                          @wtg so sad - the page doesn’t exist on the Canadian site.

                          1 Reply Last reply
                          • wtgW Offline
                            wtgW Offline
                            wtg
                            wrote on last edited by wtg
                            #16

                            @dolmansaxlil Odd, it works for me.

                            Try going to costco.ca and enter "cast iron" in the search. There are LC and Staub and Tramontina products available on the Canadian Costco site that aren't on the US site.

                            When the world wearies and society ceases to satisfy, there is always the garden - Minnie Aumônier

                            1 Reply Last reply
                            • C Offline
                              C Offline
                              CHAS
                              wrote on last edited by
                              #17

                              Have a blue Dutch oven and I think something else. Don had to have it. He was a great cook. Don't think it has been moved since we lost him.
                              Bob and I cook easy things and go out too much.

                              “I’m at an age when remembering something right away is as good as an orgasm.”—Gloria Steinem to Julia Louis-Dreyfus on Wiser Than Me

                              1 Reply Last reply
                              • JodiJ Offline
                                JodiJ Offline
                                Jodi
                                wrote on last edited by
                                #18

                                We have recently switched to a lot of cast iron cooking - mostly switching out the non-stick frying pans for the desirable vintage ones you find at antique stores - but also using the Dutch ovens on the stovetop more. I was worried because we have a glass cooktop, but it’s been fine. Steve is the breakfast maker and he keeps the un-enameled cast iron skillets seasoned to perfection, they really are nice to cook in. I need a different kitchen where I can start hanging all these skillets on the wall…

                                1 Reply Last reply
                                • AdagioMA Offline
                                  AdagioMA Offline
                                  AdagioM
                                  wrote on last edited by
                                  #19

                                  I have a Lodge enameled cast iron dutch oven. I don’t use it often; it’s HEAVY. I use my Farberware stainless steel pots and pans daily for the past 42 years.

                                  1 Reply Last reply
                                  • M Offline
                                    M Offline
                                    Mary Anna
                                    wrote on last edited by
                                    #20

                                    When I've got one of those dutch ovens loaded up with food and I have to get it into the oven, I really struggle. I have to drop into a wide-based squat to manage it. I'm sure it's good for my glutes. 🙂

                                    I'm of two minds about cookware. Expensive stuff that's heavy and pretty attracts me like a magpie, but it's very hard on my arthritic hands. Quirt had so much cookware that I haven't bought any in years, but when I did, I avoided the heavy stuff.

                                    1 Reply Last reply
                                    • wtgW Offline
                                      wtgW Offline
                                      wtg
                                      wrote on last edited by
                                      #21

                                      How about a cast iron magpie? 😁

                                      alt text

                                      https://www.thesingingwhale.com.au/shop/unique-gifts/cast-iron-magpie-hook/

                                      I used to have a bunch of cast iron but we got rid of it a while ago. It's good for muscle building, but Mr wtg has pretty serious arthritis in his hands and using heavy pots didn't work too well.

                                      When the world wearies and society ceases to satisfy, there is always the garden - Minnie Aumônier

                                      1 Reply Last reply
                                      • M Offline
                                        M Offline
                                        Mary Anna
                                        wrote on last edited by
                                        #22

                                        I love the cast iron magpie!!!!

                                        1 Reply Last reply
                                        • AdagioMA Offline
                                          AdagioMA Offline
                                          AdagioM
                                          wrote on last edited by
                                          #23

                                          Speaking of cast iron magpie, I kind of want the Lodge Dolly Parton skillet, but I don’t need it.

                                          IMG_7320.jpeg

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