Customer Reviews

Le Creuset Enameled Cast-Iron 7-1/4-Quart Round French Oven, Cherry Red

5 star:		(66)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Anyone serious about Cooking should have at least one cast iron pot and Le Creuset is the best quality available today. The 7 quart pot is perfect for anything which requires long slow cooking either on the stovetop or in the oven: stews, baked beans, pasta fagioli, paella, cassoulet, soups, etc., etc. An iron pot takes longer to heat up than say stainless steel or aluminum but it holds heat longer than either. I have even used my Le Crueset on the BBQ to bake a cake or make cornbread so as not to heat up the kitchen in the summer. In fact, this past summer when the electricity went out, I even made all the components of Lasagna Bolognese as well as baking it complete in my Le Crueset on the BBQ. It was round, shaped like a cake but it was delicious. I've had one of my Le Creusets for over 10 years (that calculates to 91 more years on the 101 years warranty!) with no sign of any obvious wear mainly because I have taken care when using it: wooden instead of metal spoons or spatulas and using non-abrasive cleansers on the interior.

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!!

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!!!

I had seen these pots in action on all of the cooking shows, so I figured they were serious cookware. After careful consideration I finally purchased the seven quart dutch oven, in the cherry red color. This size is perfect to make enough stew for my whole family, and the cooking qualities of this pot are just as they are billed. It browned the stew meat, deglazed beautifully, heated evenly, and went right in the oven for the final cooking phase. After dinner I was thrilled to see that Le Creuset's cast-iron cookware cleans just as easily as their stoneware line. Although this pot is VERY heavy, the benefits of cast iron far outweigh this "downside". I should have bought one of these pots years ago and I recommend one to anyone who loves to cook as I do.

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.

I wanted one of these after my favorite magazine "Cooks Illustrated":
a. made me aware of Dutch ovens and their uses, and
b. rated this one heads above the dozen or so it reviewed.

Price held me back, and then my sister (God love her) gave me one for Christmas 3 years ago. Now, after a few years of heavy use, I can honestly say that if someone were to steal it from me today, I'd be out shopping for a new one tomorrow.

It heats quickly and evenly. The porcelain-enamel surface makes it very easy to clean. Plus, someone walks into your kitchen and see's this baby sitting on your stove, and they immediatly know you're not messing around.

I use it for everything from frying chicken, to stewing chili. It can go straight from the stovetop burner and into a hot oven.

My sister cooks lots of homemade soup and she loves hers too.

The only con I can think of is it might be a little heavy for an elderly person...but now that I think of it, my grandma still wields around her heavy cast iron skillet from meal to meal, so what do I know?

Highly recommend.

if you think about the life-cycle cost of this product, it is a far better value than any other cookware on the market. You can saute, deep-fat fry, roast, boil, braise, etc., etc. in this thing. should you happen to "overcook" (burn) an item - it is incredibly easy to clean without scubbing by soaking overnight in hot, soapy water. should you have to return the item under warranty (unlikely, but I have had to return one), the service is excellent and timely.

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

I already own two 6 quart cast-iron dutch ovens but I wanted a larger one. One of my cast-irons pots is a 100+ year old antique and one is new at $30.

I wanted (this was a luxury purchase) a larger dutch oven and something that would be a bit more attractive than the fairly ugly black cast-iron pot sitting on the stove.

What are the differences between an inexpensive non-enameled cast-iron dutch oven and the enameled Le Creuset that cost 10 times as much?

1. The Le Creuset requires no seasoning. A big initial time saver.

2. Easy to clean. When a non-oily stew boiled over in the oven (and baked on), the exterior cleaned up in seconds with a plastic brush. I was very surprised. I thought this was going to cost me hours in clean up time.

3. It's attractive. Due to limited storage, I leave it on the stove and it brightens up the room.

4. The Le Creuset is enameled. Even though it's fired at a much higher temperature than what other manufacturers use (in France, it's legal to fire enamel at much higher temperatures), it will eventually chip but it's nothing I'm worried about.

5. Cast-iron cookware require a lot of work to get them properly seasoned and now it cleans as easily as Teflon. Many people can't properly season cast-iron cookware which is why you often see cast-iron cookware at garage sales selling for pennies on the dollar.

6. While a cast-iron dutch oven would fit right at home on a cast-iron cook stove (which we had for quite a few years), it's incongruous on a modern stove.

7. The cast-iron dutch oven has no enamel -- it can never chip. One of my cast-iron dutch ovens is over 100 years old and will be in the same exact condition in the next hundred years. Will a Le Creuset be able to stand that test of time? The answer is yes. In Europe, they're passed down from generation to generation.

Once properly seasoned, the $30 (or even much less expensive) cast dutch oven performs just as well as the Le Creuset. We simply *wanted* a 7.5 quart enameled Le Creuset and we're satisfied with the product but it doesn't cook any better or worse than my other non-enameled cast iron cookware that costs 1/10th as much. In my particular case, both clean equally easily (but it was a nasty, bear of a job to get the cast-iron dutch oven nicely seasoned but I'll never do it again).

If I were to buy any additional enameled cookware, I would want the enamel to be fired at the much higher temperatures that Le Creuset uses. In other words, I wouldn't buy cheaper, inferior enamel cookware which is much more likely to chip or the cookware crack in half.

While Le Creuset cookware evokes the sense of uber snob appeal, I wish I listened to my wife years ago and bought this cookware instead of over $1000 (on a huge sale) of high-end no-stick Calphalon. Even with using wooden and plastic stirring utensils, the interiors are all scratched and the outside is hideously ugly and impossible to clean. They're now being stored and we're waiting for a garage sale to get rid of them.

Update May 28, 10: It's not in the Amazon listing, but there's a 9 quart and a 11 1/4 quart pot by Le Creuset. Had I known that I wouldn't have bought this size pot (but most people would find 11 1/4 way too heavy and big). I wanted a larger pot so that I can make enough for left-overs. I bought the 11 1/4 quart pot from W&S. It's huge, heavy and expensive but I can now freeze the left-overs for easy quick meals. Since the preparation for the meals takes as much time for a small pot or a giant pot, I can save some time.

I made a very large batch of shrimp gumbo in this pot yesterday that nearly filled the pot. The pot gets used often and has held up well. Fortunately for me I paid 1/3 of the Amazon price with free shipping and no tax. Should have bought more than one. I am amazed that Amazon sells this for virtually the same price as Williams-Sonoma, the price-gougers of cookware suppliers. I love Amazon but this price is too high.