Le Creuset Enameled Cast-Iron 7-1/4-Quart Round French Oven, Cherry Red
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List Price: Our Price: $279.95 You Save: $95.05 (25%) Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Buy Used: from $238.00 (click here) Category: Kitchen See more product details |
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Kitchen and Housewares Reviews of Le Creuset Enameled Cast-Iron 7-1/4-Quart Round French Oven, Cherry Red
Customer Review: I thought I wanted All-Clad
Summary: 5 Stars
Let me just say this: I thought my dream kitchen set was a basic 10-piece set from All-Clad, and one Le Creuset dutch oven.After 10 years of wanting my dream collection, I finally decided to plunk down for the Le Creuset portion of it. (If you can buy at an outlet store, all the better. I paid $125 for this 7.25 qt. in French Blue).
So as I approach the register to pay for my purchase, I tell the ladies at the Le Creuset store about my dream collection ... and they just looked at me like I was a moron.
Them: "Why would you need All-Clad?"
Me: "Because everyone needs a stainless steel frypan, right?"
Them: "I only cook in LeCreuset! I even bake my cakes in it!"
Me: "What? Bake a cake in a roasting pan?"
Them: "Why not? They cook beautifully!"
So began my adventure. In a crazy, impusive moment, I got a small roasting pan ($90), a enamal coated stainless steel stock pot ($50), 2 small sauce pans (1 qt, 2 qt), and a grill ($50).
Let me tell you: This is the dream set I never knew I wanted. Not only do I have a set of BEAUTIFUL pans, but I think I won't need to buy as many fancy serving dishes now that I can cook and serve in the same Le Creuset pot!
It's true: the full cast iron allows for food to cook beautifully. Your pot roast, rice pilaf, casseroles, risottos never tasted more rich, flavorful and tender.
Imagine how you'd make a roast: First, in a fry pan, you'd brown it. Then you'd transfer to a Pyrex dish and bake. And if you have company over, you'd transfer to a third serving dish. All those dishes! What a mess!! With Le Creuset -- you cook & serve all in one pan. And it cleans up super easy, and even in the dishwasher for those who are lazy. Instead of 3 dishes, you use one -- gotta love the efficiency!
Plus -- with this cast iron, you cook on low heat, instead of high heat like you have to with stainless steel & aluminum. I never knew so much heat was lost into the atmosphere from my old stainless steel pans. The cast iron core of Le Creuset gets hot and stays hot -- Anyone can cook French cuisine like Julia Child, even on a hot plate!
Le Creuset is going to save me from buying a ton of serving dishes. I think I will cut my "dream kitchen" dish needs down by 2/3 with these Le Creuset investments.
I was really nervous the first week to make such a big commitment to a cookware set I didn't know much about. But as I try all my favorite recipes, and as I clean up the most stuck on mess at the bottom of the pans in seconds, I wonder now how I could have wanted anything else.
Le Creuset was the best gamble I've ever made. Now, I tell all my friends to forget all the other cookware -- Le Creuset all the way!!
Customer Review: The Perfect Piece of Cookware - period.
Summary: 5 Stars
I forget to pull out this piece because, yes, it is heavy, and because yes, it is big (which was deliberate when I selected it.) That said, I'm finally going to buy a 2nd piece in smaller size. What reminded me how much I love it was last weekend, when I made osso bucco for 8. Each veal shank browned so beautifully with a dark crust, and very little oil in the pan. Then when sweating out the mirepoix, the onions, carrot, and celery were perfectly tender and leaving a golden glaze everywhere, but never burning or getting the extra black spots that you get when browning in a pan that heats unevenly. I deglazed it with a glass of white wine and all the browned bits dissolved so easily with the gentle help of a wooden spatula. Then back went the shanks and chicken broth to cover it. Once it boiled, it went into the oven covered at 325. Three hours later, when I took off the lid, I was amazed at what I found. All the meat slightly exposed over the surface had browned beautifully. There was a dark glaze of concentrated juices stuck all over the inner sides of the pot. The liquid had simmered down into a thick sauce, yet all the veggies still held their shape. (Again, no mushy mess that you get in braising in a pot which gets too hot close to the bottom where the veggies congregate.) I used a little silicone pastry brush to paint some of the sauce on the sides which immediately deglazed the sides. All that flavor just slipped back down into the pot. I set the whole thing aside to cool to serving temperature and made a saffron risotto in a separate pan. By this time, the shanks were ready to plate up over the rice. The barely warm pot, filled with hot soapy water, cleaned up with no effort or scrubbing at all. Just the soft side of a basic kitchen sponge. Aside from dicing the veggies, the osso bucco was so simple. All that flavor was achieved just by braising with a good pot that browns/heats evenly and seals up tight to keep moisture in. I have used it for delicious chili, bean soups, bouef bourgogne, and even a large batch of polenta. (Again, when doing polenta, you need the pot hot enough to keep it bubbly but without burning/sticking on the bottom. Because it heats so well on the sides, you don't need the burner as hot as you would with other pots in order to keep the polenta bubbling while you whisk it into creamy oblivion. Now I just need to save up for a 5 1/2 quart so I can do smaller jobs without needing to add as much liquid to cover the solids.Customer Review: The Best Dutch Oven You'll Ever Use
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought my Red, 7-1/4-quart round Dutch/French oven in the early 1990s, cooked hundreds of meals in it and it still looks as good as the day I got it. Back then I lived in an apartment and didn't have much storage space, so I was looking for something versatile. Best kitchen utensil pick I've ever made. And it takes up no storage space at all because it's never put away; it looks beautiful sitting on top of the range even when the kitchen is cleaned up and it's not in use.
I've used it for braising, deep frying, poaching, oven roasting and making stews, soups and sauces. I've used it to cook beef roasts, just about every cut of pork available, whole and cut-up chickens, ducks and rabbit. It works equally well on top of the range or in the oven. It's perfect for pot roasts with the veggies cooked alongside the meat. You can render beef fat in it and make perfect oven-browned potatoes, starting on a range burner and finishing in the oven without having to use another pot or pan. For big batches of chili or jambalaya, this is the answer -- after you make it and have a meal, you can put the lid on and put the whole thing into the refrigerator. The next day, put it on top the range and let it stand for 20 minutes to shake off some of the chill, then fire up the burner on low and stir from the bottom with a wooden spatula. It reheats perfectly without scorching. It's great for frying anything because the sides are so high there are no grease splatters, making cleanup a snap.
Food will stick to the enamel lining, but it comes off easily with dish soap and a Scotchbrite sponge. Also, there's no problem putting either pot or lid in the lower rack of the dishwasher. Mine doesn't have a scratch or any discoloration after all this time. Just take reasonable care of it and use only plastic or wooden utensils, it'll last a lifetime. Heck, it'll probably last your children's and grandchildren's lifetimes too, giving full value for that 101 year warranty. Don't even think twice about getting one -- put it in your Shoppping Cart and just do it. In fact, you'll also want it's 5-1/2 and 3-1/2-quart cousins for those times when you need the same versatility but with smaller quantities of food. So you might as well order all three of them and get it over with. Yeah, your credit card will be smoking for a few months, but you'll quickly forget about it when you discover how nice it is to cook with enameled cast iron -- enjoy!!!
Customer Review: The lid wobbles and would let the steam out
Summary: 2 Stars
I was so excited to finally have a Le Creuset dutch oven, and I ordered the 7 1/4 quart round one. I noticed right when I opened the box that the lid wobbled. I rotated the lid an inch at a time and kept retesting to see if maybe it needed to sit a certain way to fit correctly. It wobbled in every possible orientation. I examined the lid and there were three 'lumps' in the lip which apparently were causing it to not sit flat on the pan. I went to a local cookware store and was able to examine their Le Creuset ovens on display. Every one of theirs which I tested that was a round 5 1/2 or 7 1/4 quart size wobbled just like mine did. They did have a 9 quart round one whose lid did not wobble. I'm not sure what this means. Has Le Creuset quality gone downhill? Do certain size ovens have more of a problem than others? Should this particular oven have been sold on the 'seconds' market in an outlet store and somehow it got past their quality control? If I order another one, what are the chances its lid will also wobble? Mine also had a few pinholes in the enamel. If I had gotten mine at a sharply discounted 'seconds' price, I would have put foil over the pan before putting on the lid to make a nice tight fit and never given it a second thought. After all, if you're going to cook in this type of oven, you don't want all your steam to escape while cooking because the lid doesn't sit right. But for a first quality oven sold for a first quality price, I was very disappointed and I returned mine. Now I don't know what I'm going to do about it. I want a cast iron dutch oven like this one where I can be certain the lid will fit properly.Customer Review: Great, Versatile Cookware for a Lifetime
Summary: 5 Stars
Le Creuset enameled cast iron cookware has been manufactured since 1925 in Fresnoy-Le-Grand in Northern France. Generations of professional, gourmet and home cooks have experienced the pleasure of using this versatile and adaptable French cookware, making it a classic in every kitchen.
The beauty of Le Creuset cookware is that it holds heat and distributes it evenly for a long period. The enameled cast iron material is hygienic, resistant to acids, and very easy to clean. Because of its beauty and versatility, it can go from oven to freezer, and from stove top to table top. Le Creuset is sturdy enough to last a lifetime or longer under normal use, and it carries a lifetime limited warranty.
I remember my mother cooking wonderful stews, chili, roast chicken, and pot roasts in the Le Creuset French oven she had in the flame color when I was a child. That piece of cookware lasted many, many years and would have been handed down to me, had it not been lost. I was lucky to receive this piece when my husband surprised me with an early morning trip to a Tuesday Morning sale in our area. We have already enjoyed cooking a wonderful pot roast and vegetables in the French oven, and we look forward to many more family meals created in our Le Creuset French oven.
- Victoria Austin