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Le Creuset Oval Casserole
by spiritwood
More of my cookware fetish I am afraid! This time the large and gorgeous oval Le Creuset casserole dish.
I have a number of Le Creuset items in my collection in the cassis colour which is a beautiful aubergine/purple. These oval casseroles come in a range of bright colours and sizes. The one that I own in the oval range is ... 27cm which I was lucky enough to receive as a gift. They are also available in 23cm, 25cm, and 29cm.
THE PRODUCT:
This is one of Le Creuset's famous cast iron oven pans and it weighs a small ton. It features the famous graduated glazing which is enamel on cast iron, very hard wearing and easy on the eye. As with all Le Creuset products, it has the embossed name across the top on the lid. I love the retro design, apparently these pieces have kept the same design for 80 years. To get the stunning shiny glaze the pieces are fired at 840°C which gives a very strong and hard to chip finish.
The casserole has a central black knob on the lid made out of some form of heat resistant plastic. As with the rest of the cast iron range the casserole dish can be used on all hobs, including ceramic and halogen. The casserole dish can also be used in the oven and this is how I usually use it. The handles are decent and easy enough to grab but the pan conducts heat well so be careful.
This pot has a large 4.7 litre capacity so is ideal for family cooking or for batch cooking. I find that the lid and cast iron do reduce cooking times for most things.
USE:
The enamel surfaces are not suitable for dry cooking. It is suggested that you use some form of oil/butter etc to cover the base before you start to cook as dry cooking can damage the enamel. The pan will take longer to heat up than a standard one due to the thickness of the cast iron, but once it is hot it stays that way for a long time. It cooks evenly and reliably and can be efficient on a lower heat setting than most so it costs less to cook. Le Creuset recommend that you do not use metal utensils (again these may damage enamel surface) instead the use of silicone, wood or plastic is preferred. Care needs to be taken when you have finished cooking too, allow to cool before you wash it to avoid cracking the glaze and do not use scourers or wire wool. I love cooking on an enamel surface and have had no problems getting any food residue off of this once soaked in soapy water.
These can be placed in a dishwasher but the company warn that repeated dish washing could fade the enamel so hand washing is best. The base pot is grill safe and can withstand high heat either on a stove top or in an oven. Obviously it is not suitable for microwave use due to it being metal.
I use these for veggie lasagne, curries and all one pot meals. The are great for any kind of shallow frying of onions etc and due to the even heat distribution make wonderful cheese sauces. The are VERY heavy though, particularly when full so care must be taken when moving it from oven to table.
QUALITY:
All Le Creuset products are made to a very high standard and this is no exception.
The casserole does not absorb odours and is stain resistant. There is a lifetime guarantee.
I have owned mine for 3 years and it has not scratched or been damaged in any way. These should last for yonks.
PRODUCT FEATURES:
* Available in a range of bright colours
* Care and use booklet included
* LIFETIME guarantee
* Non scratch glaze
* Do not absorb odours/ stain
* Solid cast iron
* Oven/ aga/ hob safe
* Easy to clean
* Strong and durable
PRICE:
Well these are expensive and I could never have justified the price had I not been given one. These start at around £100 and go up to £140 so do shop around. They do sometimes come up in sales and on offer. There are many stockists including Amazon.
SUMMARY:
A big and heavy casserole dish with retro styling and practical design. Very heavy and sturdy, will last a lifetime if cared for. I absolutely love mine and it sees a lot of use.
Summary: Beautiful luxury cooking pots.
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Le Creuset Stoneware Pair of Soup Bowls
by spiritwood
As I have already confessed on here to my cookware fetish, I thought I may as well review one of my favourite recent purchases. These are soup pots although they are sometimes called "bean pots" on the net and like all Le Creuset products come in a variety of fantastic colours and a 5 year guarantee.
These are curvy ... little pots sold in a pair and made from earthenware which means like the mini casseroles, they must not be used on a hob. However they are microwave/oven/aga friendly and cope well in the fridge or the freezer.
I bought these in the colour "cassis" to match the mini casseroles that I have but the whole range encompasses 8 colours that are bright and beautiful including teal (which is more of a duck egg blue) and reds. I love Le Creuset stuff but it is so expensive that I have to limit myself to smaller pieces. I have been lucky enough to receive a couple of the bigger cast iron monsters as gifts but these can cost up to £119.
QUALITY:
As with all Le Creuset products, these are well made and very attractive. The lid and base are both made from one whole piece of clay meaning there is added stability around the finer parts such as the handles. The glaze is thick and well fired with no patches. It is shiny and looks very strong. The cassis ones that I own are a delicious shade of graduated purple which when combined with the lovely curvy shape are a really appealing way to serve food. As with all Le Creuset products you will see an embossed name across the lid.
These pots do not absorb odours and are stain resistant. They cope with a dishwasher no problem and are very well made. They are sold as "chip resistant" which is good as I always seem to chip my ovenware, and so far these have not so much as scratched across the glaze and they look as good as when I bought them. As with the mini casseroles that I own, these have an unglazed base which looks rustic and also stops the pot from slipping on a shiny surface.
USE:
Although marketed as soup bowls I use these for soups, bean roasts and individual servings of food. The pots are large enough for one person so although you will have more to wash up than if using a large dish, you do get the cuteness factor of an all in one lidded pot. The lid will also keep your food warm for a decent amount if time.
I have used these for soup which I then place back in the oven with a large home made french bread style crouton and grated cheese and black pepper. When cooked that way for a few minutes you get a delicious concoction that will liven up any soup. These are perfect for finishing dishes ie browning food, melting cheese on etc as well as cooking from scratch food like crumbles etc. My favourite way to use these is a bean roast which is made from fresh tomatoes, 5 types of bean, garlic, chopped onion, chilli and passata. When cooked this is amazing when you have bread to dip and very healthy.
TIP: When using these I place them on an oven tray as the handles are too fiddly to pick up safely with any kind of oven glove. This ensures that I do not spill or drop them as I am clumsy.
PRODUCT FEATURES:
You will get a pair of these in a box with matching lids. The soup pots hold 0.5 litres each.
These pots each measure 6cm at the base which flares out giving a pot bellied look and finally goes back in at the top to approx 10cm diameter.
* Available in a range of bright colours
* Care and use booklet included
* 5 Year guarantee
* Fridge and freezer safe
* Non scratch glaze
* Do not absorb odours/ stain
* Oven/ aga/ microwave use NOT a hob
* Easy to clean
* Strong and durable
PRICE:
Amazon currently have these at £25.60 for a pair of the teal colour, and they are £30 from the Le Creuset website. It is worth shopping around for these as they often do come up on offer. I consider these to be excellent value, they are very attractive and well made and should last a long time. They are also far more useful than just a soup bowl.
SUMMARY:
These are practical and beautiful little soup pots. Affordable compared to a lot of the Le Creuset range, the danger is that you fall in love with them and start a collection which would require a large outlay. These are more practical to own than the mini casseroles which were mainly purchased for their cute factor! Recommended.
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Le Creuset Grillit
by Homelovin
Le Creuset Grill pan is a wonderful, quality product which I think will last me the rest of my cooking life. It is made of cast iron, and measures 26cm by 26 cm which is large for a pan. This makes for a very heavy product, and even though I expected this, I was still surprised by just how heavy it is. Most of the time I have to use 2 ... hands to move it around the kitchen, there is a large lip on the opposite side to the handle which makes it easy to use 2 hands. I am more than happy with this drawback, it makes the pan feel so well made.
The pan takes a little while to heat up, which it should do before you put the food in. The iron handle also gets hot, so I purchased a Le Creuset handle cosy, which fits perfectly on the handles of all their products and prevents burning my hand. You can also put the pan in the oven, to either keep the food warm or to melt cheese on the top of maybe some vegetables, for example. You must not put the heated pan on a laminated kitchen top, it will scorch it. The pan retains the heat for a long while after you have turned off the gas.
The pan has a black, satin interior with raised ridges. The food cooks on top of these ridges, allowing the fat to run off and not stay in the food, rather like a Foreman grill. The food also gets stripes marked into it from these ridges. You can cook meat, poultry, fish and vegetables on this pan, all with truly wonderful results. The chicken breasts and pork chops I prepare most often are cooked with no fat added at all, and with a large helping of black pepper sprinkled on top, they taste juicy and full of flavour. I fitted 5 boneless chops in there the other day for dinner perfectly.
The clean up is straight forward, I just use hot water and a sponge scourer. Sometimes a little extra elbow grease is needed, especially between the ridges, but I have managed to get it clean very easily each time. I have the orange enamelled version, and the orange is still like new,it comes clean every time so far. I have a few stoneware items, and a frying pan made by Le Creuset, and I have to say I am very happy with all of them and I plan to add to my collection as I see things on special offer. This pan is on sale for around 75.00 in John Lewis, but I paid 60.00 for it in Debenhams.
I Would recommend this grill pan for people who enjoy making food from scratch, but who are able to lift the substantial weight of it.
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