I inherited my grandmothers dutch oven (center), it's probably 70 years old now. Still cooks up a storm!
Then I found I lived an easy drive from an outlet store and, well, yeah, that happened. :)
I use it regularly, I used to be in the Le Creuset sub on reddit, but then reddit went to hell. :(
So... any other fans out there?
Oh man, I wish I could afford these. I always cheap out with cookware and it never lasts.
But until I can afford the real thing, does anyone have any recommendations for decent knock-offs or imitations?
I used to recommend Anolon, but unfortunately they discontinued their enameled cast iron. I much prefer the slightly rough, black enamel style of Staub. I find it sears much better, at the cost of being a bit tricky to keep clean.
You can often find sales on individual Le Creuset and Staub pans on Amazon, bringing them down to around $100. I do have my eye on a Le Creuset skillet that has a black enamel.
All-Clad often has individual D3 pans on sale on their site, and they regularly have factory seconds and packaging damage on sale at https://homeandcooksales.com/. You can subscribe and get notified when they have an event, they don't go overboard with emails.
Don't feel like you need to buy everything at once, or even stick to one brand. You might get a 9" skillet here from All-Clad, see a Fissler Original-Profi sauce pot on sale there. Then decide you want to splurge on a saucier, because a saucier is worth splurging on, from Falk when they have a 15% sale. There's something to be said for having the bulk of your collection from a single brand for the sake of lid interoperability, but there's also something to be said for sniping the best in class for each piece when you find a deal.
Just don't buy sets, it's a sure way to get stuck with pans you don't really use.
Man, very helpful! Thank you. :)
Lodge's enameled cast iron pots are great. The enamel is made in China, but surprisingly so are some staub and Le creusets.
Ill have to check them out. I bought a cast iron lodge years ago (and I ended up wrecking it, hehe) but it was great while it lasted. Didnt know they did enameled stuff!
How does one manage to wreck cast iron?
I left it to soak after making bacon. It became a greasy rusty mess... (of course now I could have saved it) but at the time i tried steel wool and gave up. The experience has led me to buy enamel coated iron instead
If you are located in the US, you might be able to get a good deal at one of the outlets. I got some trivets and a dutch oven a few years ago. The pan has a small dent in the side (works fine, and you don't really see it). https://www.lecreuset.com/outlets.html
Try to buy a used one!
Lodge works just as well, but you can also get on Le Creuset's mailing list for discounts and they have outlet stores with deals too, that's how I built this out. Sales + free shipping.
https://www.lecreuset.com/stores
Thanks! :)
America's Test Kitchen recommended Misen as an alternative for the Dutch oven: https://misen.com/products/dutch-oven
I got it, it works well, and I like it. I think we made bread in it a few times before. Small disclaimer though, we're pretty casual cooks and had a World Market brand Dutch oven for several years before this one.
Outside of that we got a knife block and their scissors but I haven't tried anything else of theirs (Misen).
They rated the Cuisinart one highly as well and it's the one they use in the demos on the most recent seasons.
https://youtu.be/KDfNwXXESiU