Le Creuset Cookware Review

My Granny asked what I'd like for Christmas when I was in college, and I told her that I'd like a Le Creuset set that was on sale in one of her many catalogs. That was probably the most sensible thing I did at that age, but we won't talk about some of my other choices.

This is 25 years later, and my pots are still wonderful. They are great for cooking, and they look beautiful even with a lot of age on them.

The Le Creuset line is cast iron covered with enamel. The cast iron means even cooking. It absorbs the heat and holds it. It does take a little longer to heat up than other metals, but it's spot on. The enamel makes it easier to care for and clean the pots. Cast iron has to be seasoned if it's not coated. Enamel is pretty much stick proof, but it doesn't flake like other coatings.

It is possible to chip enamel. I have a couple of tiny little chips in the edge of my largest pot which I use the most. The blemishes are minor. I rub just a tiny bit of Crisco on there to prevent any rusting.

Le Creuset carries a whole range of different pots and pans plus baking dishes. I have the soup pot, steamer, small skillet and saute pan and lids. This was a set back in the early 1980s. It was much cheaper to buy a set rather than individual pieces.

One of the newest additions to the collection is a wok with a glass lid. It looks great, but I don't do much wok cooking. I do wish they'd come out with a frying pan with a glass lid. The frying pans currently have cast iron lids, and I like to look in the frying pan while things are cooking.

The colors change every year. Sometimes the old colors come back, but there's no guarantee. If you're real keen on a certain color, try to get all the pieces you want during that year. Mine are hunter green, and I love them. Right now, the closest I could get to that color would be a lime color or some blueish shades. Of course, I could go with a complimentary color like red. Hum. I guess that would be a Christmas look. Anyway, I'm keeping an eye out for hunter to come back and may pick up a few more pots and pans.

One of my friends at work knew I write a lot about food/cooking and asked me this week what I thought of Le Creuset. She said those had always been her dream pans. I told her that I'd definately go for it. Though the pieces are expensive, they last forever. The only pots/pans I've never had to replace are the old fashioned cast iron pans and the Le Creusets. When you're talking 25 or more years, then that's a solid investment.