Irons Reviews

Cast iron usually isn't my first choice of cookware for several reasons: it isn't non-stick; it's heavy (I have tendonitis in my hands); and it can't go in the dishwasher. Thankfully, Lodge's new enamel-coated line takes care of most of these issues!

I recently got my hands on one of their two-quart enamel-coated casserole dishes for review, in apple green. I love the wide, shallow design. After all, many casseroles wind up with browned, crusty toppings--which are the best part!--and this allows more of the casserole to come out that way. I also find this a little easier to lift, particularly because of the wide handles, although you definitely need both hands and I still let my husband move it in and out of the oven for the most part.

Two quarts is barely enough for most casseroles, I find; I usually prefer dishes that are two and a half quarts just because they allow a little more room for error and help to avoid spill-overs. However, I think most reasonably-sized casseroles will fit in this.

The quality of the enamel coating is part of what I love most about Lodge's enamel-coated line. In the past I've used Le Creuset enamel-coated cast iron (bought quite a while ago, so if they've improved their coating in recent years I can't address that) and it was definitely inferior. It wasn't as slick, so it didn't clean as easily nor release food as easily. It also didn't stand up all that well to metal utensils. In contrast, it's hard to imagine this coating wearing down any time soon. We made cornbread in it and it slid out of the pan without any help at all.

I love the way this pan heats evenly, holds heat and keeps a casserole warm until you come back for seconds, releases food with ease, and cleans like a charm despite the fact that you should wash it by hand. It's elegant, the wide and shallow design is perfect for giving you more of the browned topping that's so delicious on most casseroles, and it makes the niftiest oval loaf of cornbread. What more could you want?

Well okay, I wish it could go in the dishwasher on general principle, I wish they could come up with a way to make cast iron lighter for those of us with hand problems, and I wish it held just a little bit more. But in good conscience I can only take about half a point off for those, so consider my rating to be 4.5.

I've had this a long time, still don't know what its best use would be. I rarely use this one, too small for most anything, and too heavy to be a quick pick up. It's pretty!

I requested this pot as a gift several years ago because we don't use a microwave and I wanted a pan to heat milk for hot chocolate. I like the colors of Le Creuset because we keep separate pots and pans for cooking milk and meat. The white color reminds me of milk.

Lately, I use this pot almost every day to prepare hot cereal for my toddler son and myself. It is just large enough for 2 cups of water (and room to boil) plus the grains.

For slow cooking (30-50 minutes) of real, whole grain cereal, this cookware is absolutely ideal. I really appreciate its ability to hold the heat because I can turn the stove off if my son starts to wake up and the cereal just keeps cooking while I take 15 minutes to attend to him. It also keeps the cereal hot for an extra half hour if my son sleeps later than usual or I started the cereal too early.

Now I'm shopping for a larger (3 or 4 quart?) size of Le Creuset pan to use for enough cereal for the whole family on weekends--and every day as my son gets bigger. I also love this pan to keep rice from burning to "hot spots", but I need more room for that, too.

I should add that I do put this pan in the dishwasher. A larger pan would probably be too heavy for the top rack, at least in my cheap dishwasher. After several years, there are light grey lines in the white enamel of my pan. It doesn't affect the easy-clean nature of the surface, but they are visible. I am not very careful about how I clean the pan, so a gentler cook might not see this happen.