Cookware Reviews

I LOVE THE LE CREUSET WINDSOR PAN, I ALREADY OWN ONE AND WANTED ANOTHER. SINCE THIS PARTICULAR PAN IS HTF, I WAS EXCITED ABOUT FINDING IT ON AMAZON. HOWEVER WHEN I RECEIVED IT I WAS VERY DISAPPOINTED THAT IT WAS DEFECTIVE AND THE PACKAGING WAS EXTREMELY DIRTY, (NOT THE FIRST TIME I RECEIVED VERY DIRTY PACKAGING FROM AMAZON) DON'T THEY OWN A DUSTER? I WOULD LIKE TO RE-ORDER THE SAME PAN, HOWEVER I AM AFRAID THE RESULTS WILL BE THE SAME, BUT THE PRODUCT ITSELF IS SUPERB!

Le Creuset is the best! I recommend just getting a few pieces as a start and go from there.....you will love them!

This pan is well worth the money. The interior looks and feels like a seasoned cast iron skillet, although it is actually satin enamel. No pre-treatment is needed (just wash with soapy water and dry prior to first use). The blue exterior is attractive and matches other other blue Le Creuset cookware. The pan goes from stove to oven because of the metal handle. Because it is heavy, the helper handle design works well. This pan does a great job on frittata and paella. Clean up is very easy, I use a soft dish brush for cleaning. I would definitely recommend this pan.

The pan fry's very well. It is HUGE and HEAVY. Food cooks on cast iron (not enamel covered cast iron). The pan conducts heat so well that I can put my burner on very low--which saves a little $$ on energy cost. The cast iron isn't smooth. Kinda tears up my plastic cooking utensils. Still would give it 5 stars.

I held off purchasing this behemoth--I thought I would never have a use for such a large "French oven." However, having taken the plunge, I find myself doing all sorts of new things in the kitchen. I have created vast amounts of jams and preserves, and have used this several times for giant family get-togethers (something I never did before).

My latest adventure was packing it up for a big family camping trip! I had a blast--the cast iron makes it very heat-efficient, so the unsteady heat of a campfire is no longer a cooking liability. Clean-up down at the stream was a breeze due to the super-hard porcelain enamel finish. The campfire did make a smoky mess of the exterior of my pot, but this was as easy to clean as the interior. Everyone thought I was crazy for lugging this giant on a camping trip, until they tasted the results: Lip-smacking-good campfire food, with a little gourmet pizzazz!

I cook all the time, and love it. My 13qt lecreuset dutch oven is on my stove at least twice a week. It's simply the best. It even cooks well on my electric range. I would buy a larger one if they made it.

Le Creuset makes the best cast-iron cookware, and cast-iron cookware is the absolute best for heat distribution and retention. I don't believe that one can do better than Le Creuset for food preparation. It may be a relatively expensive purchase initially, but Le Creuset is a wise long-term investment. I have had one piece, the 7 quart French Oven, for over 10 years and it still looks new. My latest Le Creuset purchase is the 3-Quart Multi-Pan with 9-1/2-Inch Nonstick Omelet (pan) Cover. I absolutely love it and plan to give one to my sister, who is a gourmet cook, for a Christmas present.

I love the heft of the 3 quart pot. It has a very stable feel, especially when making sauces and puddings that require constant stirring. It's also great for sauteing onion and other vegetables, melting butter, heating food, etc. When you have your food on simmer, your food simmers, without hot spots that cause food to burn in places. And the omlete pan is a dream to work with. Makes a perfect omlette with no sticking.

All Le Creuset cookware can be used in the oven or under the broiler. The enamel finish is attractive enough to bring food directly from the stove, or oven, to the table. And it washes up easily. I have tried many brands of cookware over the years, but Le Creuset is the best, without a doubt!
JANA

The editorial review gives a great description of the product, but it cannot emphasize how great Le Creuset cookware really is. I love the fact that the cover is also a small frypan. I get more for my money and don't have to hunt for another pan to melt the butter that I add to the sauce; or fry a piece of bacon to add to the soup. In Le Creuset you can simmer without burning, allow puddings to thicken without scorching, and even fry onions golden brown ... not charcoal black. I used to think it was me ... bad cook. I now know I just had inferior cookware. When you get the right tools you will get the right results. Worth the money.

Got this two months ago from this site and am thrilled with it. Made the best pan roasted chicken with vegetables we have ever had. Beef stew and pot roast were both fork tender. This takes the place of my crockpot- meat doesn't shrink as much, is more intact, and easier to slice without breaking up. I brown meat on the stovetop, then finish cooking in the over at 275 degrees for about 4-5 hours while I am out running errands on the weekend. What a delightful treat when we come back home, tired and hungry. Only negative is the weight, but only if you have difficulty lifting heavy things. I haven't bought the saucepans for that reason- lifting them by one handle is not easy. But with a two handled roasting pan, this is not so much of an issue.

I bought the round french a bit over a year ago, and it has been one of the best investments I have made in the kitchen. I use it at least a couple of times a week. The enameled cast iron not only heats quickly and evenly, it retains heat very well. I have found the piece to be extremely versatile, going to oven to stovetop to broiler. great for cooking casseroles, braised meats, soups and stews. I was very worried when I first used it and I accidentally burned something in the pot, and thought it was ruined for sure...but found it was very easy to clean. I much prefer it over my "non stick" cookware. Expensive, but the quality is unparalleled

Make no mistake about it, this thing is humongous. 32 centimeters wide, 17 pounds empty, and about THIRTY pounds full. Forget about bringing it to the table to serve from - just leave it on the stove with a ladle in it.

That said, I've had mine for about three years, and I love it. The small bottom diameter makes it easy to sweat onions, celery, and carrots to start out a soup or stew recipe. If you're browning meat, I've found what works best is to treat the pot like a wok - brown the meat in the center, right over the heat, and then stack the already-browned or waiting pieces around and up the sides to get them out of the way until you add the liquid. Once you've added the liquid, the tapered sides will reduce the dish quickly. If you dont' want evaporation, the heavy (HEAVY!) lid fits snugly, and lets the pot maintain a slow simmer for hours (I've let mine go overnight with no problems).

I regularly make triple batches of chili and spaghetti sauce in this, and occasionally use it for apple butter. (Six quarts of apples, a pint of sweet wine or grape juice, and a teaspoon of ground allspice down to one quart of butter in six hours. No fuss, no mess, no trouble). It's a wonderful addition to any serious kitchen.

I've had this 7+ Qt. soup pot for a little over a week and I have made several soups with it. These were soup recipes I had been making in an old non-stick pot. The only thing that changed was the pot and I couldn't believe the difference the Le Creuset made! It was like I had used a completely different and gourmet recipe!!! It cooks thouroughly and completely and with a 101 year warranty, who can beat it?

It may be a bit heavy, but if you want good iron that retains heat well, it has to be heavy.

As an added comment, the time it takes to decide which one of the brilliant colors you want, might be the only real downside to this cookware!

I had been watching the price of large Le Creuset pots for quite a while, but never felt justified to spend so much for 1 pot that I was unsure how much I'd actually like. Amazon had a special price on this set during February, and I felt I might as well try it, especially since it comes with the skillet. WOW! This pot cooks like a dream! I can brown about 4 lbs of ground beef all at once in this pan, and have not had any problems with sticking. This pan is my new kitchen workhorse- it has totally exceeded my expectations with regards to quality. Try it- you won't regret it. I'd buy it again without waiting for the sale price, and I wish I'd bought it years ago. This baby has a lifetime guarantee, so I see it as a small investment that will end up paying for itself within a few years- I'm done buying cheaper pots that have to be thrown out after 5 years (like my 6 qt non-stick pot that now sticks that this one is replacing). Thanks Amazon for carrying this set!!!

I couldn't resist the new price on this set and bought 2 , one for Mom... I already have the 4.5 QT. round, 6.75 QT. oval, both in granite, and this 9" skillet (in a discontinued "BROWN")...they all rock!
The cooking qualities of cast iron are always perfect and the enameled exterior is a dream to clean. I had some xtra $$$ so jumped on this set not only because of the fantastic price but above all the Le Creuset quality.
This granite is a great neutral color and if you ever "change" kitchens you'll be glad you chose it.

I'm givin' dis 5 mojo*z and hoping that someone sees it on my wish list...nevermind, I GOT IT!!!

I have been using Le Creuset cooking products for over twenty years with impressive results. The cookware itself is cast iron lined in enamel for casseroles or teflon for skillets. I have been looking forward to using their bakeware which I have just ordered, the 12 inch rectangular dish and the 9 inch oval dish made from high quality well fired ceramics.
Le Creuset is simply a joy to cook with.

This is my favorite casserole dish, because it looks beautiful on the table but is absolutely functional throughout the cooking process. The dish is not enameled cast iron like the pots, but ceramic, which means it does not offer the same kind of heat absorption as cast iron, but does allow you to put it in the microwave, etc. (although don't put it on the stovetop!).

Easy on the eyes, easy on the preparation, and easy on the cleaning up. All of these apply to the incomparable cookware by Le Creuset. This 14" baking dish is perfect for casseroles (King Ranch chicken for eight is right at home here), vegetables (easily holds 6 acorn squash halves), and Veal Parmigiana cooks and looks sublime.

There doesn't seem to be an end for its uses - I've even layered a salsa spiked guacamole dip in it for a backyard barbecue. Next time out it held potatoes au gratin for a church social.

The easy on the eye part is due in large part to its timeless design and palette of exciting colors. Le Creuset is appropriate in a French Provincial kitchen, a cutting edge modern or cozy Colonial.

Preparation is a snap because this piece goes from freezer to oven or microwave to table. What an economy it is to have a dish in which food can be prepared and then served. The workaholic porcelain enamel on cast iron promises even cooking, and first rate heat retention.

On stove top or table this piece rates 5 stars.

Le Creuset baking dishes are an investment in good cooking for a lifetime. I have many specialty pieces that I use for certain recipes like baked scrod. The 14 1/2-Inch size oval dish is similar in size and shape to an au gratin. It is large enough to bake fish for four. If you want to top the fish with breadcrumbs and put it under high heat (up to 500 degrees), this pan would be perfect for your collection. You can bring the dish right to the table for serving, and clean-up is so easy afterward.