Irons Reviews

I have bought two Black and Decker Professional irons in the last year and both have failed in less than six months.

The Black and Decker Professional Iron worked great for the first month. Then it started leaking. It had never been dropped or damaged by me in any way so I figured I had purchased a lemon. I exchanged it for the same iron. After about a month the same thing started. It was leaking, and this time the leak was coming out the back of the iron where the electric cord is connected. I got rid of the box and now can't return it to the store where I bought it. I'm going to e-mail Black and Decker and see if they will do anything for me. We as consumers spend a lot of money on products from companys that have been around for years. To bad the prices are high, but the quality doesn't match......

I just cooked the Sauerbraten recipe from Molly Stevens "All About Braising" cookbook entirely in this pan. The results were fabulous. This pan is very versatile since it is quite wide (12") and deep enough to hold a 4LB chuck roast. You can crank up the heat to medium high to sear the meat and you will be get that great fond that adds so much taste to the sauce. The lid fits extremely well so that no braising liquid was lost in the 3 hours that the roast sat in the oven. The clean up was simple using a Dobie pad with detergent - really as easy as non-stick. This piece of cookware is so nice looking that we leave it out on the cooktop as kitchen decoration. So, while a Lodge dutch oven may work almost as well and is a lot cheaper, it can't compare to how great this pan looks in our kitchen.

One note of caution. The enamel has some scratchs on the bottom from the pan being dragged about the cooktop and oven rack. I can see a little shiny metal, leaving me to think that the pan has an aluminum disk in addition to the cast iron. Need more time to see if this becomes a problem.

Le Creuset manufactures porcelain enameled cast iron cooking vessels as well as other products. Le Creuset casts these cooking vessels from molten iron poured in sand moulds that are used only once. For this reason, one pot may look like another, but each is unique in its own way.

Cast iron is a highly efficient material which absorbs and distributes heat efficiently. It is recommended that cooking with cast iron is done on low to medium heat. However, there are exceptions like boiling water where cooking on high heat is appropriate and okay. Remove cast iron from the heat and it does not cool off quickly. This heat retention helps your food stay warm while serving. Beware; iron tends to be heavy so are these cooking vessels.

Cast iron is an effective material for cooking so why cover it with enamel? Iron tends to rust; iron oxide (rust) doesn't add any complimentary flavors to your food. If your cast iron cooking vessel was not enameled, you would have to season and maintain your cooking vessel. Adding the porcelain enamel not only looks good, but has multiple benefits. The enamel, being a solid coating, is one of the most hygienic surfaces to cook on, does not stain, absorb odors, retain flavors, and is easy to clean. The enamel can be damaged, so limit cooking tools to plastic or wood.

The benefits of cooking with Le Creuset cast iron are many, but lets get down to the buffet casserole specifically. The buffet casseroles are one of the most versatile pieces in the Le Creuset lineup. Use this pan as a sauté pan, a roasting pan, for poaching, or as a shallow braiser. The 3.5 quart capacity can is plenty of space when it comes to casseroles, so consider your recipes when determining the size you need. The buffet casserole tends to do best if at least three quarters full. Any less and you may overwhelm your food with the evenly dispersed heat in the pot.

With a large flat bottom that curves up this pan resembles a curved sided saute pan the only thing missing would be a long handle. The tight fitting lid is mostly flat with curved sides. This lid seals in heat, moisture, and flavors and can be used to hold your meat while you are making a sauce from the drippings. Its shape and design makes this an extremely versatile pan.

I tend to use this pot for basic dishes like smothered pork chops more than anything else. But once you get past the basic functionality that lends itself to recipes such as paella, frittatas, deep dish pizza, and casseroles, you can really open up the possibilities. Keep in mind this is a 3.5 quart pan, feeding two out if it is ridiculous unless you want leftovers. It is probably the perfect size for a family of four in most cases. Try baking pineapple upside down cake or bread pudding for when you need to please many guests, poaching fish, or Mac and Cheese. The possibilities almost seem endless.

One feature that people tend to complain about is the cost. The cost does seem steep compared to other pans made from other materials. Heck, cast iron doesn't seem like it should be expensive when comparing to that old cast iron pan past generations have used for cornbread and camping. However the manufacturing process requires making a mould for each and every pan produced. They then go through the enameling process before shipping these heavy pans. If you take what goes into making and distributing these high quality cast iron products, the cost tends to make sense. Then consider that this pan will easily last a lifetime when taken care of.
PROS:
Extremely versatile
Efficient absorption and distribution of heat
Hygienic enamel cooking surface
Does not stain, absorb odors, or retain flavors
Easy to clean when not abused or misused
Can be transferred from stove top to the oven to the table
Can easily last a lifetime

CONS:
Its heavy, as cast iron tends to be weighing in at about 12.25 pounds.

My thoughtful guy stopped off at a Le Creuset outlet and called me from the store: "Hey, I'm at the Le Creuset outlet and you can have anything you want!" Oh, boy, it wasn't even my birthday. After consultation with the helpful sales assistant, we chose this casserole. It's large and flat like a skillet, has a domed cover, two side handles and it has the regular enamel lining. The sales assistant claimed it was the most used pot in her kitchen. I agree!

We leave this out on the stove as it's rather large. We do a lot of things in it, but recently we made Swiss Steak. I am not a big Swiss Steak fan, but when someone comes home with the wrong meat for the grill (hint; you BRAISE round steak, not grill it) then you deal with it. I hammered flour into the steaks with the cubed side of the meat mallet. Then sauteed the meat in the Le Creuset casserole. I added minced onion, a can of diced tomatoes and let the whole thing simmer on the stove (though I could have finished it in the oven--this goes in the oven at moderate temperatures.) The result was a tender Swiss steak and with judicious stirring from time to time with a spatula to release the meat from the enamel surface, it was an easy cleanup.

Unlike teflon, you do have to stir to avoid catching the food on the bottom. I find that a nylon spatula, shoved under the meat from time to time, releases it well. But I'd advise you never really leave this kind of pot to cook on its own even on the lowest heat unless you have a heat spreader or even heat. Our gas stove seems to create hot spots under the surface, so I keep an eye on it from time to time.

The cleanup is easy--no abrasives or rough pads, please, but a good soaking cleans it up with a mild scrubbing nylon pad. The cream enamel does stain from tomato and caramelized foods, quick cleanup mitigates this, but over time, you will see some darkening. This bothers some people but as long as the surface is intact, we are ok with a bit of staining.

If you do a lot of skillet cooking and like Le Creuset, this piece is wonderful and it can go from stove to tabletop because it is quite pretty.

I purchased this iron from Amazon thinking the retractable cord would be great (I have small children) and the upright steamer could be useful. First, the directions were AWFUL. Second, I never was able to operate the steamer. Third, within 2 months the plastic winder for the retractable cord broke off and I was left with the dangling cord. Finally, the iron is so heavy that it kept falling over onto clothing or the ironing board - it was not well-balanced. This made me very nervous with children in the room - either they or I could get nailed with a heavy, hot iron if I wasn't holding it.

I finally gave up and spent $19 locally for a basic iron. It is a Black and Decker but is adequate. I was really disappointed since I spent more than I thought I every would on an iron and because I usually am pleased with Black & Decker products. Don't waste your money.

The iron worked fine for a couple of weeks, it irons OK, is good weight. At the end of the 2nd week, then the plastic handle you are supposed to hold to retract the cord, broke. Without it, the cord is can not be retracted. One other issue I have with it is water spills - whenever you change the position of the iron from vertical to horizontal. If you prefer to keep your iron in horizontal position, make sure there is no water left in it.