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Dutch oven size
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Anonymous
| I don't have a Dutch oven and Bloomingdales is having a sale next week so I'm finally going to shell out the money for a Le Creuset. If you could only have one size Dutch oven, what size would you recommend? Also, is the round or wide oval shape more versatile? |
Anonymous
My "dutch oven" is a California king. My DH has very nearly killed me within it. You can't set me up like this. 
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Anonymous
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I would be wary of anything over 8 qt in a le creuset simply because they are HEAVY. I love mine and the 8 qt is borderline big enough when making a double recipe of chili or spaghetti sauce, but I'm pretty strong and still, picking it up when it is full of hot stuff is hard. If I really need bigger I have a stainless 10 qt pot, which isn't as great for cooking things for hours, but is more manageable. No opinion on shape - I have round and it works for me but I dont braise a lot of roasts, which I think is the main reason for an oval.
PS - also check out le creuset outlets. same quality - stuff usually ends up in there because of uneven paint or some such. |
Anonymous
| I own a 5qt Le Creuset for bread, and a 5qt Martha Stewart from Macy's for day to day. It is only the two of us and the baby, and I usually cook things in them that I don't eat (meat) so I was thinking of getting the 2qt. But I really like the 5! Those things are heavy! |
Anonymous
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Mine is 5 quart. Personally I would check out Lodge. They now have a enamel covered cast iron line and Lodge is American made!
http://www.lodgemfg.com/enamel_dutch_oven.asp |
hedgehog
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Member Offline
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Mine is 5 quart. Personally I would check out Lodge. They now have a enamel covered cast iron line and Lodge is American made!
http://www.lodgemfg.com/enamel_dutch_oven.asp |
Anonymous
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I have a 7 quart round, a 6 quart oval, and a 3 quart round, and I use the 7 quart round the most.
That being said, it depends on what you are planning to make. I use it mostly for stews and soups on the stovetop. I use the 3 quart one primarily for hard-boiling eggs or steaming small amounts of vegetables. I use the oval one as a backup, usually for making jelly or applesauce or things like that. However, I have friends who mostly cook meats in the oven and/or bake bread inside it and love the oval one for that. Unless you are truly making double batches of something, or planning to use the pot for serious entertaining (i.e. chicken Provencal for 10 people), I wouldn't think you'd need something larger than the 6 or 7 quart options. I also find them manageable to lift and clean (although startling heavy until I got used to them), and don't know that I'd be able to deal with the larger ones as well (we have a small sink and stove as well as limited storage space, so that's a factor for us as well). |