Customer Reviews

Emile Henry Flame Top Round Oven

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

I had put off buying a dutch oven for quite some time, just because they are always SO heavy and SO expensive (the good ones, anyway).

I was at Sur la Table looking at dutch ovens when I lifted the lid off a Emile Henry Flame Top and very nearly threw the lid backwards over my shoulder because I expected it to be about twice as heavy as it actually was. I was dubious; a ceramic dutch oven? It was on sale so I bought it, thinking that I could return it if I didn't like it.

I don't like it. I LOVE it. So far everything has cooked absolutely perfectly in it. The ceramic retains and radiates heat better then metal, excellently searing pot roasts and then simmering evenly on the very lowest gas heat setting. If my Flame Top went missing today I'd buy another one without hesitation. This is 100% heirloom cookware: it's going to be in your family, being used, for a long time.

To address the complaint that the Flame Top retains odors, all I can say is that I never had this problem, but with two caveats. The first is that the reviewer didn't state if she seasoned her Flame Top as recommended by the manufacturer (instructions are both in the box and on the website). The ceramic glaze needs to be "set" by simmering either milk or water with dry rice in it before it's first real use. If this step is skipped and the pot is instead seasoned with tomato sauce, then I imagine there would be a problem. The second issue is that of tomato sauce in general. Highly acidic foods cooked in any lightly porous cookware are going to leave an odor behind, at least for a little while, that's why tomato-based sauces should always be cooked in steel. Like I said, I've cooked a range of stinky, odorous foods in my Henry pot and it doesn't smell at all.

I've used a lot of different types of cookware through the years---cast iron, clad cast iron, aluminum clad, teflon coated, etc (both lower and higher priced). The FLAME TOP series are the only ones that can go in the oven, on the stove top, in the fridge, microwave, etc. Fantastic heat distribution with no hot spots or burning. Extremely easy to keep clean. Due to higher cost, I've accumulated a set over the recent past and have donated all of my other cookware! Buy one and try it, you WILL be amazed!

I am completely satisfied with this product. I find that I am using it everyday for all of my cooking needs. I even cook rice in it! Fantastic for browning meat, draining and popping in the oven with other ingredients.

It keeps food warm through the whole meal, so going back for seconds is great.

Cleaning is a breeze. If anything sticks, just soak and it comes right out.

I have prepared 2 dishes using this oven and I must say that I am thoroughly impressed. I prepared a swiss steak recipe by Alton Brown using some venison steaks and some sweet smoked paprika that I also ordered from Amazon. I also prepared a variation of chicken cacciatore by imitating a recipe by Rachel Ray using pine nuts as the coating. This oven cooks great and cleans up with no problem.

I love this pot. I can't use the enameled cast iron pieces because they are too heavy, but this pot has great features that meet those needs for me. The red is a deep rich shade that is inviting to look at and to serve from. I found it more attractive than it appears in the picture, more old-worldly, as though you'd had it in your Tuscan Kitchen for a hundred years. The finish is smooth, but with a bit of texture which I find more appealing than the slick enamel finish of the cast iron pieces.

It's an ideal size for a pot roast, family sized casserole, chicken stew or even baking a large loaf of bread, all of which I've done so far. I've found it cleans easily when I first spray it with olive oil. It does get really hot so good pot holders are essential for handling it, but the side handles and the top handle are a good size and I've never felt insecure taking it out of the oven.

It is sturdier than I expected and after using it several times and running it through the dishwasher I no longer worry about it being fragile. I followed directions to 'season' it by boiling some milk in it before first use and have not had an issue with retained odor.

If, like me, you can't deal with the heavy cast iron pieces, you may find this is the perfect alternative. Highly recommended.

I love this pot. I make soup in it every Sunday during the winter and it is heavy enough to cook a good soup, light enough to move easily, and it cleans easily in my dishwasher. I intend to buy other sizes.

I brought this item after reading Jim Lahey book " My Bread". It really makes baking easy and does exactly the job it was brought for. Perfect bread!!!

Pot work very well. Conducts heat almost too well! If you are making a chowderor other milk based soup/stew and you have it on your micro simmer burner. If you leave it unattended for two or three minutes it will burn! And you cannot even see the flame on the cook top! Cleans up well there is little to no sticking. No residual odor left in the clay pot. Again an awesome pot.

Bought this here on Amazon probably 4 years ago. Bought it primarily for a specific recipe - Alton Brown swiss steak. By the way, if you are not using the smoked paprika - also found here on Amazon - you are really missing something in your cooking.

We cook on gas.

Wife is using this one to make the date nut ball batter and her own homemade ricotta cheese. she says it has a heavy bottom and works great.

We've made the swiss steak and pork cubed steak in it. It turns out to be so tender and flavorful.

Recommended.

Pros: Nice to look at, cleans up easily, can be frozen and nuked (at least so says the literature - I did not try this).

Cons: Enamel coating flakes off (on rim and bottom of pot), sharp bumps around lid handle, expensive.

I used this pot 3 times - 2 meat stews and one loaf of bread. After the 3rd time it came out of the oven, the coating started to flake/chip off the rim of the pot.

I brought it back to Sur la Table, and they blamed me for roughly handling and chipping the pot. After they "agreed" to exchange the pot, the next new-in-box pot showed the same chipping/flaking on the bottom of the pot. I requested my money back.

Overall: Nice looking cookware, but poor quality or maybe a bad batch, or just too fragile.