Customer Reviews

Lodge Color 3-Quart Dutch Oven, Island Spice Red

5 star:		(40)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Let me begin by stating that I am the proud owner of over one dozen pieces of Le Creuset, and they are fabulous. My in-laws asked me to purchase a few Lodge Enamel pieces for them, and after an initial inspection, I was blown away by their quality and value. Simply gorgeous. To the untrained eye it would be difficult to differentiate between the two brands.

As for performance, I conducted a side-by-side evaluation. Simultaneous preparations of cassoulet, one in a 3 QT Lodge Dutch oven and another in a 3.5 QT Le Creuset French oven. The results - indistinguishable. Clean-up was identical.

Bottom line; I could have purchased the same performance for 1/4 of the price.

This dutch oven is everything I hoped it would be. Although smaller than the typical dutch oven, the thermal mass of this item still does a great job of maintaining even heat throughout the pot, and therefore, results in cooking performance comparable to the larger dutch ovens. It is now a pleasure to be able to cook for just my husband and me without having five pounds of leftovers to store, refrigerate, and eat for 2-3 days more. AND, it cleans up so easily you would think it was teflon coated! I just love it and use it every week.

I'm a great fan of Dutch Oven cooking and find my 6 qt Lodge Enamel pot indispensable for company or making large meals. I purchased this item to have a smaller version for "just the three of us". I am disappointed that the lid does not fit as tightly as advertised and because of that requires more watching in the oven. It's OK, but not what I've come to expect from Lodge.

This is a fairly good dutch oven for the price. You just need to baby it a little. My experience after a year of regular use according to the instructions included with the pan -
Pros: cooks evenly, holds the heat, nice size, attractive
Cons: lid does not sit tightly on pan (good for slowly reducing, but not for retaining moisture in the oven) stains easily, enamel cannot tolerate the heat of browning meat, after a while in use cannot be soaked because tiny enamel faults start to rust - especially around the rim
I brown meat and vegetables in another pan, and then make the stew/braise in this pan if I want a long, slow reduction of the liquid. I do not think it equal to a LeCreuset, but the price seems fair for what it is.

I love this item. It is nice and heavy, attractive red color and a breeze to clean. I'm trying to change my diet and needed a Dutch Oven for most of the healthy recipes. This is the perfect size for cooking for two people and having some leftovers. Great deal too!!!

...as long as you replace the plastic knob with a metal one. That's easy enough to do; I picked up a pair of nice satin-finish metal drawer knobs at Walmart for $4.89. Just finished my first "pot boule" loaf (Kalamata olive/rosemary bread from Nancy Baggett's book "Kneadlessly Simple "), and it came out perfect!

The only reason I'm not giving this five stars is that as with some others here, mine arrived with a small chip (about 1/8" by 1/2") on the rim of of the lid. I smoothed it with an emery board, and I'm not worried about it; I know from experience that sooner or later, all enamelware gets chipped in use.

My advice: don't waste your money on Le Creuset's overpriced pots. I've owned them. They're good, but they're no better than this.

The pan has met all of our expectations, but! We purchased the pan to make bread, and the handle has a temperature limit of 400 degrees. Our receipe calls for putting it in a 450 degree oven. So I rolled a piece of strap metal in about 1-1/4 circle and put the screw throught a drilled hole in the strap metal. It works great. maybe not as pretty as the original, but not bad. The circle makes it easy to pick it up with anything that is less than 1-1/4" wide and keep hands away from the hot metal.
Maurie Leising

I purchased this Lodge 3 Quart Enamel on Cast Iron Dutch Oven for my Mom. She had been wanting a smaller dutch oven. She just loves it. She wanted a red one and the Island Spice color was just perfect. We have used Lodge cast iron products for many years. I highly recommend Lodge to all my friends and relatives.

Perfect size for singles/couples or for side dishes for families.

The cast iron is great for heat retention and durability. The enamel coating allows for more versatility than regular cast. The red is a beautiful color. I have the 3 qt. and the 6 qt. in red and the emerald. I have also bought these as gifts.

I love the fact that you can start a dish on stovetop and then transfer to oven, all in one pot. Food tastes delicious and cleanup is a breeze. You can also store your food in the refrigerator in these. It is so easy to use these pots.

Some tips from the brochure:

The porcelain surface eliminates the need to season cast iron. The black rim on the pot and lid are matte porcelain, not exposed cast iron.

The knob is oven safe to 400 degrees.

Hygienic porcelain enamel is non-reactive with food.

Use for any cooking technique, as well as to marinate, refrigerate, and freeze.

Lodge Color Porcelain Enamel on Cast Iron cookware can be used on gas, electric, ceramic, and induction cooktops, as well as in the oven. It is not recommended for use on outdoor grills, or over open outdoor flames.

Do not use in the microwave.

Cleaning and Care Tips:

Hand wash with warm soapy water. Use plastic scouring pads to assist in cleaning.

For persistent stains on Lodge Color Porcelain Enamel on Cast Iron cookware, soak interior of the cookware for 2 to 3 hours with a solution of bleach, consisting of one teaspoon of bleach per pint of water.

If there is baked on food on the cookware, boil a mixture of 1 cup of water and 2 tablespoons of baking soda in the cookware.

I love my mine and use mine everyday. Highly recommend.

this is just about the cutest thing i have in my kitchen! it's a beautiful color (i also have the larger 6qt dutch oven in blue, and as beautiful as that is, the island spice is even prettier!), and it's much smaller than your ordinary gonzo dutch oven.

i've used it for small batches of pasta sauce, and making risotto (PERFECT for risotto, where you want really even heat control--since we're cooking on electric, risotto really needs enamel cast iron!). would also be really good for smaller braises, e.g. cutting recipes in half!

and, seriously, the price cannot be beat. i cannot BELIEVE that they are offering enamel cast iron at this price. it works amazingly well, and frankly how many of us can afford le creuset? i am lucky to have DRU enamel pieces handed down from my grandmother, but the collection is not complete, and i needed to add my own dutch ovens. also, i plan to buy a casserole from lodge, but having already spent $80 on these two pieces i must wait responsibly for a while. (But, $80 for two enamel CI pieces is just incredible!!)