Customer Reviews

Mario Batali 6-Quart Italian Enamel-on-Cast-Iron Essentials Pot, Persimmon

5 star:		(57)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I received this pot for Christmas (but in the Espresso color--BEAUTIFUL) and I absolutely love it!! It provides very even, steady heat and only requires a low flame to keep its heat. The enameled coating is great. It browns beautifully with minimal sticking and the light color allows you to see the fond very well (little brown bits on the bottom of the pan). The braising spikes on the lid are a bonus as well. To my knowledge Le Creuset does not offer those on their pans. I love the size, too. It is very roomy, but not so mammoth that you cringe having to lug the pan out. And the clean up was very easy. I have always wanted a pan like this but could never afford the hefty price tag of the Le Creuset or the Staub. I am so grateful to Mario Batali for coming out with such a wonderful product at such a reasonable price. I am usually skeptical of celebrity cookware, but this one is a true gem. I can't wait to try some of his other cookware.

Having had a 4 quart Le Creuset dutch oven for over 20 years, I was looking for the larger size, but just couldn't justify the price right now on Le Creuset in the 6 quart size. I happened to catch the Amazon ad on the Mario Batali, and immediately went to the reviews to check out what my fellow Amazon reviewers thought of it. Priced at $64.99 it seemed too good to be true.

After reading the reviews I went ahead and ordered the dutch oven in persimmon. To my delight this pan more than fulfilled my expectations based on other reviewers opinions. The color is gorgeous!. It is a hefty pan that more than stands up to Le Creuset in most areas. The smooth enamel lining over cast iron is slow to heat, but once ready it cooks evenly and with a minimum of sticking. Spraying the interior with a light coating of PAM avoids most of the sticking problem. The enamel allows me to cook the tomato based pasta sauces I love, which require long slow cooking, without interacting with the tomato acids.

The lid is tight fitting, creating a good tight seal needed for slow braising of tougher cuts of meat. Coq au vin, chicken and dumplings or a fine cacciatore can all comfortably be created using this high quality cookware. Based on my experience with this particular pan, I am going to purchase a larger one for homemade soups, which normally in winter I start early in the morning and simmer all day. Just set it on low after the initial medium setting to sautee your vegetables, add your stock, lower the heat, and cover.

Clean up on this pan is very quick and easy. You must let this pan cool completely before washing to prevent warping-the only drawback to this cookware. But once cool, anything that may have stuck is easily removed using hot sudsy water. It comes with 2 rubber cushion plugs to place between the lid and pot when storing, to prevent cracking and chipping.

The persimmon color is perfect for serving at table in the Fall. Does it measure up to Le Creuset? Yes, in all of the areas that truly count. Even heating, stovetop to oven cooking, attractiveness and ease of cleaning. So if you can't afford your first Le Creuset, this is an inexpensive and perfectly acceptable substitute for the pricier pans. Give the Mario Batali a try, it's worth twice what I paid for it, and is already a staple in my kitchen.

B000AAYDJO

I am a big fan of Le Creuset cast iron enamel cookware, so I never thought I'd buy a dutch oven of any other sort. A salesperson at a Sur La Table store recommended this item, saying it was "amazing" and "an incredible value". No surprise it was sold out in all SLT stores in my area, so I ordered it from Amazon (do yourself a favor and save the sales tax...with the free shipping it was a no-brainer).

It was with some skepticism that I opened the box, but when I did: wow! In terms of construction and weight, it is indistinguishable from Le Creuset. It's even manufactured in the exact same manner (cast from an individual sand mold). The quality is excellent, and I absolutely LOVE the color. If you own a lot of Le Creuset, you start to get tired of the same colors (blue, flame, red, dune...).

I made a slow-braised ropa vieja last night, which turned out beautifully. I am thrilled with this purchase!

I am so disappointed in the enamel finish on this pot. It looks like a factory second. There are three small pits in the white finish on the inside bottom of the pot that collect cooking debris and make cleaning difficult. The outside finish is irregular and bumpy looking and the top edge of the pot has some irregularities. I would send this back, but have gotten rid of the box. I wish I had spent the extra money for the Le Cruset.

I own two such pots, one Le Cruset and one Mario Batali. I purchased my Mario Batali on sale for $69. At $69, it a great deal. At $99+ it's okay. By comparison, the porcelin finish seems thinner as does the side walls of the pot itself. The finish is not quite as fine as the Le Cruset. The transiton from bottom of the pot to the sides is much sharper on the Batali as opposed to the more curved transition of the Le Cruset. Thus, the transfer of heat up to the side wall isn't as effective and heating isn't quite as even. The lid fits well and is very efficient. None of the issues I pointed out will likely hurt the performance of this pot for you. This all being said, if you are looking for a good performer at a competitive price, It's a very good choice. It's a better choice on sale though.

This 15 lb. unit rates, apparently, rates quite highly for it boasts of several features not found in units costing well over twice as much. Features such as:

1) HEAVY enameling over interior & exterior. Sharp bones posed no problem as does a hard scouring w/ "firm green pad". Enamel didn't chip when the dome lid was dropped onto a very hard tile floor.

2) Dome lid is impregnated with "spikes" to provide a means of self-basting when droplets of fluid condensation/evaporation fall back into the pot. A well accepted function.

3) Three plastic inserts which, when draped over rim of pot, will suspend inverted dome from touching oven thus preventing scratching the enamel when stored.

4) Withstood 500 degree temperature without realizing any loss of performance.

5) Even heating throughout. No dead spots.

6) Washes easily and does not stain after eight uses of tomato based recipes.

7) Heavy cast iron keeps food warm for quite a while w/o any heat induction. You may enjoy warm second helpings!

8) I will consider this item as a gift to my serious cooking friends and wish I had bought this unit earlier than I did. Very pleased!

I purchased this pot and was initially excited about the heaviness of it and the low price compared to Le Creuset.

The first time I used the pot, it stained on the inside. All I did was cook potatoes and I ended up with a yellow cast on the inside up to the level of the water.

I have never had an issue like this with my Le Creuset. I realize pots and pans are going to eventually start showing signs of use, but I don't expect it to happen the first time out.

Very disappointing.

This dutch oven is very hefty, though the quality assurance could use a little improvement. Unlike Le Creuset, which offers an outlet for their factory seconds, my Batali unit (well, not really him, it's just a license we all know) came through with a 1 inch crack in the interior that was glazed over (maybe a cover-up, Bataligate).

Amazon customer service was there for me though. I called Amazon, they *overnighted* me a new one (this is not cheap to overnight as it weighs a ton, and I didn't request that they do) and sent me a return shipping pre-paid UPS label for the old one. Wow.

The pot is great, it heats very, very evenly, and its thickness means that it maintains that heat even when the stovetop is set to its lowest temperature. I made chicken cacciatore (Batali's recipe, it seemed fitting) and it came out outstanding. Cleanup was also a breeze, considering that I did two batches of browning at med/high heat, popped leftovers in the pot into the fridge, heated it up again on the stovetop, and finally started cleaning it two days later.

Hopefully my "factory second" was not the norm, and judging from the reviews I'd say it wasn't. But regardless, you can feel assured of purchasing this, especially from Amazon and their infallable customer service.

Very good! I have used this on my ceramic stove top and in the oven regularly. It produced the moistest turkey breast I have ever made (and I'm old enough to have tried just about every method and cookware). I also use this to make the sauce for family get-togethers. It cooks perfectly and is bellissimo on the stove top. Unless you have money to burn, do not spend twice or three times as much for Le Creuset as this is just as well made.

I'd been agonizing for months over whether or not I could justify paying the $200+ for a Le Creuset enameled dutch oven. When I came across this Mario Batali dutch oven, I was a bit skeptical. How could he be charging half as much and still maintain a high quality piece of cookware. The answer is...I don't know. But, I got mine two days ago and have made two different meals. It cleans up very easily with just a bit of soap and water (and a bit of scrubbing with a wash cloth). Also, the color I ordered (Persimmon) is absolutely beautiful! It's going to sit out on display on my stove top. If you want a great, all-purpose piece of cookware, but don't want to pay Le Creuset prices, I would definitely give this a try.