I have decided to give my wannabe cook partner a cast iron Le Creuset pot for fathers day. I was wondering if anyone has any recommendation on the best size and shape (round vs oval) for 3-4 people. My research shows that unlike Chasseur which can be found with great discounts the price of Le Creuset pots are very similar everywhere. Any local seller than offer good deals? All responses much appreciated.
Which Le Creuset Cast Iron Casserole is best? And where to find a good deal?
Lalirt on 20/08/2013 - 10:11
Comments
Thanks for the response. For anyone else interested, I ended up buying a Le Creuset. A friend recommended that I go for the oval pot rather than a round one as longer pieced of meat (on bone) fit more easily. I checked out many online retailers including suggestions above and ended up buying from ebay. ( http://goo.gl/6zLZPB for anyone interested in oval cast iron pots). I purchased a light blue colour one. I hope it doesn't stain too quickly!
Le Creuset are probably not worth the markup versus Chasseur, but if you can get a Creuset for a decent price then I'd generally recommend them as (subjectively) the coating seems to be more resistant to chipping etc.
For size, I'd go 4 to 5 litre (29cm oval, 26cm round). As for shape, it depends on what you're using it for, but if it's either/or then for the similar volume pot I'd probably go oval as they can be a bit easier to slide in/out of ovens. They tend to be a little more expensive though. We'd probably use our 29cm oval more than any other… we do have a 28cm round (close to 7 litres - really build up those muscles when it's full), but only use that at large family gatherings!
http://www.wahs.com.au/, http://www.petersofkensington.com.au/, and http://www.minimax.com.au/ would be the places I'd check out first. Check on shipping costs if you can't pickup, as of course that can hurt.
Oh, if you're not picky on colour, sometimes the more - let's say individual - colours like green can have a bigger discount as they aren't as popular.