Dutch (Oven) Treat

November 27, 2018 7:03 AM

My wife -- who, blessedly, doesn't read MeFi -- has expressed a desire for an enamel cast iron dutch oven for Christmas.

She enjoys using cast iron, and we have a bare iron cured one, but she wants one less vulnerable to things like tomatoes.

I am by nature a splurger, so I'd go right to Le Cruset or Staub, but apparently Lodge makes a nice one, too.

What are the pros and cons amongst these "big 3" options? Money isn't a huge issue here, but if the Staub price comes with literally zero additional benefits vs. the Lodge, I'd want to know.

(Please do not argue the tomato issue. That's not the question.)

posted by uberchet to Food & Drink (46 answers total)

The lids of the Staub ones have these big bumps on the underside that apparently allow the condensation from steam to be more evenly returned to your food. With a smooth lid it'll just come back down the sides.
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 7:08 AM on November 27, 2018 [2 favorites]

Best answer: I've not used a Lodge one, but have used another cheap brand. The Le Creuset one is noticeably better designed; the handles and lid just feel and look nicer, and while the enamel chipped off inside of the knock-off a few years ago when the stove was left on "high" instead of "sim," the Creuset has kept right on ticking through similar mishaps.

Some of the price difference is brand recognition, but some of the brand recognition is earned in this case.
posted by aspersioncast at 7:09 AM on November 27, 2018 [5 favorites]

I’ve had a Lodge and a Calphalon and a Creuset, and after roughly five years of use on each, the Creuset looks almost brand new with only slight staining on the interiors. The interiors of the Calphalon and Lodge are heavily stained, and the Calphalon exterior enamel is badly chipped to the point where you can see large chunks of the underlying metal. They all got roughly the same use and cleaning.
posted by joyceanmachine at 7:09 AM on November 27, 2018 [3 favorites]

Le Crueset has a lifetime warranty - though they're very high quality, the knobs can break if you drop the lid the right way, or a careless user can damage the enamel. A friend felt really bad about somehow damaging his with some carelessness the first time he used his, but Le Crueset replaced it no questions asked.

I don't know if Staub or Lodge has similar policies.
posted by entropone at 7:10 AM on November 27, 2018 [6 favorites]

The major difference in my experience is the durability of the enamel. I’ve had major and minor issues with a variety of Lodge enameled cast iron (though to their credit they’re really good about replacements).

SE likes the Cuisinart and a Martha Stewart branded one over the Lodge for a non-expensive option.

I really like the black textured enamel in the Staub
posted by supercres at 7:10 AM on November 27, 2018

Best answer: I've had a Lodge for about 5 years and it's as good as new. However, since it's Christmas, and you're a splurger, and your wife cooks enough to want a dutch oven - I'd get a Le Creuset. Everybody really wants the Le Creuset.
posted by something something at 7:16 AM on November 27, 2018 [29 favorites]

Our household has been using two different Lodge dutch ovens for a few years now. No chipping or other defects, minimal but similar staining on both. They get the job done, so I rate them A+++, would buy again.
posted by komara at 7:18 AM on November 27, 2018

Best answer: I've had a smaller (~3.5 qt) Le Crueset and a larger (~6 qt) cheaper one for the last five or six years. (I'd have to check the brand of the cheaper one, it is whatever was being recommended in the comparisons at the time.) They both get used a lot, generally at least weekly, both stovetop and oven, and I don't baby them.

For cooking, they both work fine, but the durability has not been equal. After about six years of use, the Le Crueset looks about the same as when it was new, other than a chip in the enamel on the rim caused by careless movers. The cheaper one is looking really shabby, with the interior enamel flaking and discolored. In fact, this weekend I ordered a larger Le Crueset to replace it -- the cost is a lot higher, but I think so is the value, and I wish I had skipped the step of first buying the cheap one.

I have not used a Staub but I have seen them and they seem just as nice -- that is probably an aesthetic decision as much as anything. And I'm definitely not saying that expensive is the only way to go, just that my personal experience has been that in this case the more expensive option has worked out better.
posted by Dip Flash at 7:26 AM on November 27, 2018 [2 favorites]

The Wirecutter Dutch oven review. They recommend Lodge.
posted by Mr.Know-it-some at 7:26 AM on November 27, 2018

My Lodge is excellent. But I bought it myself. For a gift I’d like a Le Crueset.
posted by OrangeVelour at 7:29 AM on November 27, 2018 [5 favorites]

Le Crueset forever! The Le Crueset ones are much better designed. With something this heavy, you want all the advantages in moving it around. Also, the warranty is no joke - I have had a Dutch oven replaced by them after years of hard use, and it was easy peasy. I think the Le Crueset will hold up better over a longer period of time, which places like the Wirecutter may not test for.

I have a large Martha Stewart version that scratched within weeks, during light use. Never again.
posted by answergrape at 7:29 AM on November 27, 2018 [2 favorites]

I have a Lodge and I think it is kind of crap. I've had it about 7 years and the enamel is quite flaked on the inside. This makes it unpleasant to clean. My parents have a Le Crueset which looks much better. We are all very heavy users. It still gets the job done as far as cooking, though.

I was going to take a picture to demonstrate the problems but I see my husband has filled it with oil so there must be deep fried food in my future.
posted by Emmy Rae at 7:31 AM on November 27, 2018 [1 favorite]

I haven't seen a Staub or Lodge to compare to, but we bought our Le Creuset dutch oven around ten years ago and it's one of the best kitchen purchases we ever made. No regrets.
posted by dfan at 7:40 AM on November 27, 2018

I've had a Lodge one for about 4 years and it's nearly as good as new. No chipping, no staining, and I definitely do not baby my pots and pans. I don't use it a ton, though, just for dishes that really need a dutch oven.
posted by soren_lorensen at 7:41 AM on November 27, 2018

I had a Lodge I used for several years and thought it was fine, then my husband bought me the Le Creuset version and we both agree it’s a dramatically superior pot. It heats nicer, it looks nicer, it’s just nicer. I really did not expect there to be a difference and there really is.
posted by Nimmie Amee at 7:42 AM on November 27, 2018 [2 favorites]

I own a Le Creuset and an off-brand enamel-coated dutch oven, and they both work perfectly fine, but I get more of the warm gooey feelings over the Le Creuset, because it was something so fancy I would never have bought it for myself, so someone I loved bought it for me because she knew I loved it. It gives me nice French vibes, fancy set-dressing from a romcom vibes, “ooh what color Le Creuset do you have?” conversations with other people who have them, that sort of thing. There is my admission: it gives me nice feelings beyond its utility and even beyond its appearance. Call it the Kondo factor.
posted by a fiendish thingy at 7:45 AM on November 27, 2018 [7 favorites]

Nthing Le Creuset all the way.
posted by Jacob G at 7:54 AM on November 27, 2018

Agree that everyone really wants the Le Creuset. Data point: I’ve got two Le Creuset Dutch ovens, both get heavy use, one is like new and the other is massively stained, so who knows on that issue. Regardless, I would still choose it over Lodge or Staub every time.
posted by HotToddy at 7:59 AM on November 27, 2018

I like my Staub better (better shape, oven safe handle, and dark interior), but if I was buying it as a gift, Le Creuset would be what I would get. Your wife will be ecstatic for sure either way!
posted by jraz at 8:01 AM on November 27, 2018 [1 favorite]

I probably have 4 different LC dutch ovens and 1 Staub. The Staub is better build quality and I prefer the shape. I have it in the matte black which I also like.

That said can't go wrong with either.
posted by JPD at 8:04 AM on November 27, 2018

Nthing Le Creuset as well.

Lots has been said about reliability but I'd like to speak to the handles. A youth spent inuring things and an adulthood with too much typing has left my wrists in less than optimal shape. An enamelled iron dutch oven is heavy. When I reach for one of mine it's more often than not the Le Creuset and not because it cleans easier but because I can actually manipulate the bugger.

Good handles count for a lot.
posted by mce at 8:04 AM on November 27, 2018

America's Test Kitchen liked the Le Creuset and Cuisinart, but said the enamel chipped on the (much cheaper) Cuisinart.

I have a Le Creuset, which I got as a gift, and I love it for many of the reasons A Fiendish Thingy mentioned. It's also durable and holds up to my sometimes rough love, but if I'm honest the main value is in making me feel like Julia Child.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 8:05 AM on November 27, 2018 [1 favorite]

Cooks Illustrated wrote a piece a few years ago saying that the Lodge was....second best to Le Creuset. But good. They liked it.

We got ourselves a big Le Creuset as a Christmas present about five years ago (how time flies) and I really like it. The only drawback is that it is only oven-save to 390F due to the knob on the lid, so there are some things that you can't use it for. We got ours at a big TJ Maxx for $150 - don't ignore discounters that have small kitchen sections in your quest.

You know what else I really like from Le Creuset? Their stoneware. Now, I would not pay the asking price, but you can sometimes find it on really deep, deep sale in a way that you can't always for the cast iron stuff. I got a mid-sized baking dish for $15 (also from TJ Maxx) that is really perfect and very durable.
posted by Frowner at 8:07 AM on November 27, 2018 [1 favorite]

I have both Le Creuset and Lodge, and I'm a hardcore user of both these and my non-coated cast iron (in that I take even the enameled ones camping, and sometimes cook over an open campfire with them).

Functionally, I actually like the Lodge more and tend to cook with it more. I think over time the Le Creuset probably looks a bit better, but the (cream colored) inside of my Lodge has not stained and neither have chipped. Something about the shape of the Lodge, particularly the shape of the handles and the curve where the bottom meets the walls, just sits better with me. Certainly the Lodge was a much better VALUE as the Lodge cost roughly 1/5 of what the Le Creuset cost and is functionally the same item.

That being said, Le Creuset is absolutely a status item, and I don't know a cook who would not be thrilled to get Le Creuset as a gift.

You can buy ovenproof knobs on Amazon, FYI, and you should if you're going to actually put either style in the oven (or the fire).
posted by anastasiav at 8:18 AM on November 27, 2018 [4 favorites]

Having cooked in lodge, Staub and Le Crueset, I prefer the latter. Build quality is largely the same, but the shape of Staub and Crueset are flatter, and tend to work a bit better. The lodge is almost the shape of a saucier, with deeper sides. I do t like that the cooking area is smaller, but ymmv.

The lodge enamel did not last nearly as long as my le cruset did, and we use them constantly.
posted by furnace.heart at 8:24 AM on November 27, 2018

I've got a Lodge, and their warranty - when I, through my own error, fused a loaf of bread to the bottom of it - was simply to ask "do you still have the box, and would you like us to email you the return postage, or mail it to you?"
posted by Making You Bored For Science at 8:32 AM on November 27, 2018 [2 favorites]

I have a Lodge, which I bought myself because I really wanted enameled cast iron and it was what I could afford. So far, I'm very pleased. But the Le Creuset is what will make her eyes light up. Enjoy!
posted by cyndigo at 8:38 AM on November 27, 2018 [1 favorite]

I can't comment on comparative quality, but I'm delighted with my Le Creuset. My parents have one as well that is several decades old and still looks great and works as well as ever.
posted by knapah at 8:40 AM on November 27, 2018

Even if they're equally good from a functional standpoint, a Christmas present is one of the few times where I'd suggest plumping for the prestige brand. I am as curmudgeonly as it gets when it comes to thinks like brand status, but even I cannot deny that upon unwrapping the gift my heart would leap just a little bit higher for a Le Crueset than for a Lodge, even though if I were spending my own money I'd buy the Lodge every time.

It sounds like the Le Crueset might be a better product to begin with, but even if the quality is the same it would just feel a little bit more special.
posted by Anticipation Of A New Lover's Arrival, The at 8:42 AM on November 27, 2018 [6 favorites]

I got a big set of Le Creuset as a wedding present, over 30 years ago and every piece is still working very well.
posted by Ideefixe at 8:45 AM on November 27, 2018 [2 favorites]

For y first Dutch oven I bought a Lodge one (6 quart, I think) from Target a couple of years ago, and I happily beat on it. Maybe $30? Totally a good buy. It has the bumps for condensation, and it has a metal knob. It's a cheerful red color, and I get great pleasure using it for soup and chili and porchetta and no-knead bread.

My brother gave me a larger one (8 quarts) in the Martha Stewart brand. I have not used it as often, but it's also just fine.

If I had an expensive item I would be a little afraid of ruining it as I learn. In a few years I still might trade up to a fancy brand, when I have made my mistakes on these "starter" ovens. If you know enough to take care of your tools then go for the spendy one -- but if you, like me, subscribe to the "build one to throw away" mindset of hands-on learning, save some money.
posted by wenestvedt at 8:45 AM on November 27, 2018 [1 favorite]

When buying things like that for myself, I prefer to get the non-investment brand until I'm sure that it's something I will use often and take care of. Because of that I have a Lodge dutch oven, although I expect to upgrade to Le Creuset if/when it wears out. One thing I like about going that route is it's given me a chance to get a better sense of the size I want - I went a little smaller than many (4.5qt) and I wasn't sure about whether it'd meet my needs but it turns out I've been really happy about the size. I would have felt a lot more pressure picking the "right" size if I were spending hundreds of dollars instead of tens.

For a gift, I'm not sure that that's the right approach. But that's my two cents. Also the Lodge oven is still an incredible vessel, even if it may not measure up for those more familiar with the premium ones.
posted by mosst at 9:06 AM on November 27, 2018 [2 favorites]

I have a Lodge and a Le Creuset, and the Le Creuset is definitely the nicer of the two. After over four years of regular use on both of them, the Lodge looks a little tired and has stains in the enamel that not even Barkeeper's Friend will scrub all the way out. The Le Creuset, meanwhile, looks exactly the same as the day I first took it out of the box.

Having said that, the Lodge is an absolute workhorse and I wouldn't hesitate to buy another one, or recommend them to others. They both cook great and have absorbed a ton of abuse. But having cooked with them side-by-side for nearly half a decade there's no question which one is nicer.
posted by saladin at 9:25 AM on November 27, 2018 [2 favorites]

I have a Le Creuset and an off brand. The Le Creuset is better but it’s marginal. For a gift I would definitely get Le Creuset if it’s in budget.
posted by plonkee at 10:21 AM on November 27, 2018 [1 favorite]

I've been using my Le Crueset for over 20 years and it still looks like new. Given the durability, their products are a bargain.
posted by w0mbat at 10:51 AM on November 27, 2018

Response by poster: Wow, that was both quick and consistent. Le Creuset it is!
posted by uberchet at 11:03 AM on November 27, 2018

Just a note, if I have any staining in my Le Crueset, I just rub with a baking soda paste and it cleans up like new. I hope she enjoys her new pot for years to come!
posted by gryphonlover at 11:10 AM on November 27, 2018

I have had and used Le Creuset, Staub, Lodge and Costco's house brand. Roll with Le Creuset or Staub for quality and aesthetic.
posted by jadepearl at 11:21 AM on November 27, 2018

If money is largely no object get a Staub. It is definitely superior to a budget choice. I don’t think it has the same brand recognition as Le Creuset, but it’s an excellent choice
posted by O9scar at 11:40 AM on November 27, 2018

Before you go with Le Creuset, allow me to tell you our story. My husband bought a Tramontina set, which contained a 5 qt. and 7-ish qt. dutch oven. When using his new thermometer to heat oil for deep fat frying, he didn't realize that the thermometer was set for Celsius instead of Fahrenheit temperature and he accidently allowed the oil to get so hot that it caught fire. We put the fire out by putting the lid of the Tramontina on top of the dutch oven and after we cleaned up the mess and got all the smoke out of the house, both the dutch oven and its lid were completely undamaged and still heat and cook evenly to this day. I'd recommend Tramontina to anyone who is looking for a good, sturdy, well-made dutch oven.
posted by Lynsey at 12:15 PM on November 27, 2018

I'm very happy with my Lodge (had it for six or seven years, no chips, some staining), but if someone wanted to buy me a Le Creuset, I'd be over the moon.
posted by lovecrafty at 3:37 PM on November 27, 2018

I can't tell if you're in the US, but certain colours of the Staub round 4 quart cocotte are currently going for ~$99 at multiple sites including Williams Sonoma, Amazon, etc.
Slickdeals has had several posts about this (note you can sometimes stack coupons or get cashback).
posted by tangaroo at 5:26 PM on November 27, 2018

I found both Le Creuset and Cuisinart enameled cast iron dutch ovens of different sizes and colors at Marshall's, a discount store with a smallish kitchen supply department. I wasn't looking for them specifically - like most of my Marshalls finds (a fine $100 Trident paring knife for $20, for example) they were serendipitous one-offs at deeply discounted prices. I don't know that you want to haunt discount stores, but I power past the racks of discount clothing and shoes, and head straight to the cookware department, where I do occasionally discover real finds. My 2 1/2 quart Cuisinart pot is my go-to baked bean pot, and the 6 quart Le Creuset is my beef bourguignon staple for winter holiday dinners. I have not noticed any difference in the two brands, and would happily buy a 4 quart of either brand whenever I see one at discount.
posted by citygirl at 5:40 PM on November 27, 2018 [1 favorite]

Lodge is what you buy for yourself. Le Creuset is what you buy for a gift.
posted by standardasparagus at 5:24 AM on November 28, 2018

I have had a Le Creuset dutch oven for around 20 years, it's my go-to for almost everything involving making a soup/stew or braising. It's a little st as ined but I don't care about that. I bought a couple Lodge smaller dutch ovens a few years ago and one already had a chip, so I'd also vote for Le Creuset.
A personal comment about Cuisinart, about 8 years ago I had a nearly new Cuisinart stainless steel pot break on me, the bottom came off (the welded bottom plate.) When I called customer service the woman on the other end insisted it had been my own fault for using too high heat (I was using enough to get water to boil and no more) and was really rude about it. I'll never buy Cuisinart cookware or anything but their food processors ever again. I haven't needed to use Le Creuset customer service so they're already ahead.
posted by Rufous-headed Towhee heehee at 11:42 AM on November 28, 2018

There's a new company producing cookware called Great Jones that includes a really gorgeous oval enameled cast iron oven that holds nearly 7 quarts. I've not used one yet, but they are getting really great reviews. And at $145, they're shockingly affordable.

Here's the link: https://greatjonesgoods.com/products/the-dutchess
posted by Marusula at 4:20 PM on November 28, 2018