Le Creuset Reviews

This kettle boils, blows out the spout when you pick it up, hot off the stove. It's burned my husband and made a mess of our counter (just with the hot water). It's menace...please do not buy....

I really do like the all of Le Creuset's fruit and vegetable shaped cast iron enameled casseroles. They are beautiful to display on a table or on a kitchen counter and very practical in cooking great casseroles. The exterior and interior enamel coating is very durable and easy to clean. I have cooked a multitude of dishes in these casseroles and have found them to be excellent in heat conduction and preventing "hot spots".

My favorite use for these individual casseroles is a Romanian dish that inculdes corn meal, three kinds of tasty cheeses, sour cream and bacon (mamaliga). It produces a bubbling mass of flavor and the cast iron casserole keeps this creation hot after serving. It is a lot of fun to serve each person at your table with an individual casserole. Many Romanian dishes are not for those watching their fat intake :), but on occassion, it is a delight.

There is only one drawback to these whimsical cookers and that is the rim of both the top and bottom of the casseroles. There is no enamel on these rims and they can rust if not dried immediately after hand washing. They are dishwasher safe but I do recommend that you hand wash and dry immediately.

It has capacity for just 2-3 cups of tea, which is perfect for me, since I only need enough for 2. (Instructions say to fill it up with water below the holes on the inside of the kettle, under the spout, which doesn't leave a lot of room for water.)

(-) I was expecting a shrill piccolo sound, but this piccolo was rather weak (can sound a little wheezy at times). I like a shrill sound b/c I often forget that the water is boiling. This kettle's faint call still draws my attention though. (Not sure if it has to do with the level of water....)

(+) The handles and the knob on the lid are always comfortably cool.