Customer Reviews

Lodge Color 11" Skillet, Island Spice Red

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I've had this pan for several months now and had previously been used to frying with regular cast iron or stainless steel. I have a flat top stove and am not supposed to use my cast iron on it so I thought I would try this one instead. I've found that the interior is better than stainless steel for cooking certain things (like over-easy eggs) with a simple clean-up and minimal sticking. It's also good for reheating left-over meals, or making pancakes.

However, when I tried cooking things like sausage, or stir-fry meat, or with any sauces that contained sugar, I ended up with charred bits that would not come off. I tried boiling the pan with vinegar, or scouring gently with baking soda and nothing works. I did of course follow the directions and have never cooked on any setting above medium (usually, I use medium low). Then I made the mistake of frying falafel in the pan. I now have a permanent layer of caramelized oil on the bottom of my pan. Add the two chips on the handle that came off within the first week of use (and I am extremely gentle with this pan), and I would have to say I am fairly disappointed.

I also own the Lodge Enamel 6 quart dutch oven, and that item is fabulous. Not a chip or stain on it, even though I use it extensively. Also, I have fried up some of the same things in the dutch oven as the fry pan - with no sticking/stains in the dutch oven, but with permanently charred bits in the fry pan. Lodge should have made this one with the glossy interior.

Perhaps I'll replace this one with the 3 quart covered casserole since it has the glossy interior.

Browns nicely, very nonstick, easy cleanup. I was surprised that the inside was a matte enamel finish that is not smooth like the the inside of the dutch oven . It works just great though. The other good news is that the lid from the 6 quart dutch oven fits it perfectly. Lodge Enamel on Cast Iron 6 Quart Dutch Oven, Caribbean Blue

Now one down side is that this thing is heavy as hell. Without the helper handle it would be very awkward to lift unless you are built like Arnold Schwarzenegger (at least how he used to be built). This isn't for your grandmother (unless she is a weightlifter).

An update. We have had absolutely no sticking problems. We cooked a salmon dish last night with a sauce that had some sugar in it. No problems (and absolutely delicious BTW) . A chicken dish with ricotta, the other day, worked great. I use a little higher heat, up to medium high, then slow it down to medium when browning. Let the food release before flipping.

No soaking, no scrubbing, just the plastic thing (on the other side of the kitchen sponges, can't think of the name), hot water, dish soap and almost no elbow grease.

I'd say it is a bargain. We have mostly Calphalon in our kitchen but are using this extensively. It looks good too.

I find the pan unusable because everything sticks so badly! I was so disappointed. I have a cheap enamel pan that I've been using for sauteing and was looking for a good quality alternative. I have other non-enameled cast iron skillets and once seasoned, they are as good as non-stick, but with better heat distribution. I would gladly exchange this for a good, old-fashioned, cast iron skillet.

I contacted the company via email explaining my disatisfaction and asking for suggestions and was asked in return if I followed the directions that came with the skillet -- I had. Not a very helpful response. The instructions also say not to use metal utensils. This makes working with the sticking skillet even more frustrating.

I was interested in reading the other reviews and in seeing that someone had gone through a seasoning process that she had found on a review for another Lodge enameled product. I'm going to search for that. I hope it helps.

I would not buy this again or otherwise recommend it.

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UPDATE! Per the recommendation of another reviewer, I seasoned that pan, the same way I would cast iron and Voila! It became a perfect skillet. I don't know why one would have to season enamal. I've sent a note back to the manufacturer, suggesting that they recommend this. The skillet is now everything I wanted it to be!

Pretty good pan. A lot easier to maintain and keep clean than a traditional cast iron pan. The "white enamel" style fry pans are more non-stick than this with liquid items like eggs. The "satin enamel" finish in this one, which is a rough cast iron type finish with a dark gray enamel coating, tends to stick less on solid items like steak and bacon.

So you may use a little more fat in this pan than in one of the ones using a smooth bottom white enamel style, which all of the other Lodge pans use.

This type of finish is also going to be a lot harder to scratch or scrape with tools, and wont show a scratch as much.

If you're going to cook cornbread and scrambled eggs 95% of the time...I might consider one of the white smooth enamel bottom. If you're going to sear a lot of meats and dont mind using a bit of fat with your cornbread or eggs, this will work great and you cant beat the price.

This product is a nice idea but designed and executed poorly. You would be far better off buying a regular cast iron skillet and "season" it. I bought this pan thinking that the inner ceramic finish would make it a breeze to cook with. In fact, the "Use and Care" instructions that come with the pan make no mention of it needing any seasoning. The only recommendation was to use a little oil to prevent sticking. Don't get me wrong; I love my Lodge Dutch ovens. The quality of the ceramic finish on the inside and outside of the Dutch ovens is extremely smooth and provides a very stick-resistant surface. That's how I was suckered into buying this pan. Boy was I in for a surprise. The food surface finish is very rough. In fact, it looks exactly like one of their "pre-seasoned" regular cast iron surfaces, maybe even rougher. The first time I tried to fry some eggs in it (and they were literally floating in oil) the eggs stuck down so badly that I had to rip and scrape them out of the pan. So now I have an expensive, yet worthless frying pan that I have to be really careful about putting into water when it's hot and dare not put over a strong flame (such as a campfire) that has a "ceramic finish" on the cooking surface that is way, way, way, worse than a properly seasoned regular cast iron pan. No thanks. Sometimes you win by buying the cheaper brand (Lodge Dutch oven vs. Le Creuset) sometimes you get stung.

When this pan arrived, I was taken aback, because the surface of the pan seemed a bit rough--like enamel over fine sand--rather than shiny smooth like Le Creuset. But during the past year, this pan has functioned perfectly. I can heat it to really high temps, add a few drops of oil, and then saute veggies, fresh fish filets, or boneless/skinless chicken with no sticking. It's not totally non-stick, but close enough. Clean up is easy. When the pan is cool, just add squirt of dish detergent, and some boiling water. Wait a few minutes, scrub quickly with a sponge/nylon scrubbie, rinse, and you're done. Unlike nonstick pans, you'll never have to worry about scratching this pan. Metal utensils? Sure. You could whack it with an axe, and I doubt you'd do any harm. I think this is a lifetime pan at a bargain price.

I love my enameled cast iron pots and dutch oven because they conduct heat like cast iron but are much easier to clean (gunk just wipes off the enamel). I also don't have to worry about cooking with tomatoes or vinegar. I bought this pan to "replace" my cast iron ones, but the inside surface of the pan isn't smooth like the inside of the dutch ovens. It's a little bumpy and rough. Not really sure why - maybe it's trying to mimic cast iron? Because of this, it's not as easy to clean and it's not as non-stick as I'd like. If I add a thin layer of oil to it before heating, it does perform wonderfully, though.

Overall, it's a good pan and I use it frequently, but you should know that the inside surface is quite different from typical enameled cast iron.

I have this pan a few weeks, and I am growing more and more pleased with it. The first thing I cooked was sliced cold potatoes in a little oil and they did stick a bit (not really a surprise). After cleaning up the pan (fairly easy), I followed the advice of a reviewer of this pan in another color and "seasoned" it, but I used a modified shortcut procedure because I did not want to turn the oven on in the hot weather: I brushed the inside with a little canola oil (no puddles) and heated on the stovetop over medium flame until it started to smoke lightly. Then I reduced the heat a little, and let it smoke lightly for 15 min. Once cool I rubbed the interior lightly with a paper towel and it was now an even smoother matte finish (it was pretty smooth to begin with, but not glassy like the inside of my old Le Creuset dutch oven).

Following this treatment, the pan has been a joy to cook with. I am finding that the even heat distribution it provides produces a very consistent and predictable result. I have even cooked larger 2-person omelettes in it. It does a great job of browning eggs without burning them. The only issue is that to turn the omelette out, I need to use an underhand grip because the pan is fairly heavy. The pan is very nicely finished, with glossy enamel covering the entire exterior surface. It has a quality feel to it, and is a joy to use.

i am really pleased, overall with my purchase. well worth it. i originally wanted a le creuset, but it didnt seem cost effective. this cast iron skillet is wonderful and a great price. the only warning is that if you are using it for some time, the handle does get hot, so be aware of that! also, sometimes it doesnt seem to clean up completely, but when i use it again and wash, it comes out clean. so no staining or anything has been noticeable yet. i let it soak for a little while but because its cast iron, it should be washed soon and dried immediately. however, i have left it in the sink with water in it over night and it didn't show any signs of rusting, probably because of the coating on the surface. it isnt nonstick, so i use olive and canola oils generously, but i dont have to worry about chemicals like that from nonstick cookware, getting into my food. if they made a larger one, i would purchase that one too. i bought a splatter screen for when i am cooking bacon and such as it has no cover. oh,and i do have a glasstop stove. no problems, but definately be careful when placing it on the stove, its a heavy skillet. i use both handles. the second one was a great idea from whoever designed it. if you purchase a different brand make sure it has a handle on both sides. you will be thankful in the end!

hope this helps everyone...and the blue color is really pretty.

update (4-16-09): it is not nonstick and after using for a year it still is not nonstick (as cast iron usually becomes after use) so i use it mainly for cooking bacon and browning meat. not the best for cooking eggs. also, over time the finish has worn a little and the outside enamel has chipped but overall it still looks and cleans up well. i do wish it did not have the enamel coating on the inside though because then it would have seasoned and become more nonstick. however, the inside hasnt gotten chipped or scratched and i have occasionally used metal utensils with it. the center does have surface distortion though, not sure why.

This is a decent pan but it's not a substitute for real (i.e. seasoned) cast iron. I have a halogen smooth top cooking surface which I generally love, however it's not compatible with traditional cast iron skillets. True cast iron has two important properties, it's non-stick and it's indestructible, this pan lacks both of those features. Instead of having a seasoned cast iron cooking surface it has a rough enamel coat which isn't any less sticky than stainless steel and it's much less durable. The coating is as delicate as teflon, the instructions say to use silicone instead of steel tools with it, and not to put the pan in a dishwasher. So far cleanup with a sponge and water has been fine, however I've been very careful not to burn anything onto the pan. We all know that burning something is inevitable, with stainless steel and true cast iron you can use steel wool to clean up the worst mess, I wouldn't dare try that with this pan. I've also found that heat distribution isn't quite as even as it is with good stainless (i.e the sandwich bottom type).

As far as I can tell nobody makes a proper smooth-top compatible cast iron pan, i.e. a flat enameled bottom and a seasoned cast iron interior. I don't know why this is so hard, but if someone were to sell a pan like that I'd buy it in a second.