Not for everyone but if you've always wanted a Le Creuset these are some extremely good prices if you don't mind the limited colour options.
Le Creuset does go on sale all the time but generally not this low!
Don't get tricked into buying other things on the website that are not the real deal Made in France stuff.
updated thanks
Yep not for everyone, gave one to wife years ago, until today I am trying to understand why? Again, not for everyone.
Try cooking more and you'll understand (:
got a 15yo Kmart version, works well.
Bro, we do. And we don’t use it, unless to flex to visitors? Who tf wants to wash this gym buffed casserole? And yeah, doesn’t add extra umami. So we stop justifying that this is not a waste of money.
Found the traditional knob
Why wife?
Agree - massively overrated product. We have one. Its an enameled pot. Big deal.
The ALDI ones last forever too.. usually less than a tenth this price
Every aldi one i had starts chipping the bottom of the lid
$280?!!
But then I read that it comes with the traditional knob, and this tipped me over the edge…
(Just kidding. This is a big waste of money)
You clearly don't cook much.
Real temptation, but the white color seems a bit bland
But not listed as made in France.
What is used for ?
Cooking
Any special cooking? Slow cook? Can be used in oven?
It's great for stews and braises, but I think one of it's best strengths is that you can use it on your cooktop (induction or gas) to saute ingredients, and then move it straight to the oven for slow cooking.
It's also great for baking sourdough. The dough needs to do a final rise in the oven without drying out, so if you don't have a steam oven you can put the dough in the dutch oven and it will generate it's own steam.
It's extremely versatile cookware that can be used for stews, soups, braises or oven baked dishes.
I don't have a le crueset but I have a Staub which is a similar tier of cookware. It holds heat better than any other cookware I own. I can get perfect sears as the temperature holds extremely well, deglaze the same pot and then keep using it for the braise.
These are buy it for life products and have a lifetime warranty.
it does no more or less then this $25 kmart one
https://www.kmart.com.au/product/4l-red-cast-iron-casserole-…
The enamel is very different. Had a K-mart one and it was chipped up and worn in a year. The Le Creuset is still like new 5 years later. Whether it's worth the cost difference is another matter but definitely nowhere near the same quality so "cast iron is cast iron" doesn't ring true here
Fwiw I have one that was $40 for Harris scarfe at least 5 years ago and it's still mint
Is it used weekly? Monthly? A couple of times per year? It may serve your purpose fine but the quality is very different.
@thestig: nope, our 15yo Kmart one gets used 2 x weekly .Le Creuset gets used if we're needing 2 on the go or in winter when we're storing a stew in the Kmart one. stop making stuff up to justify you're overpriced purchase
@thestig: good for you. which part? 2 weekly for bread or preferring to use the Kmart over the Le Creuset?
I've had the $40 Harris Scarfe one for 5 years too. Use it regularly and it's still perfect. I can't see a reason to spend the money on a Le Creuset one myself…
I've got a 15yo Kmart one and a 25yr Le Creuset one.
No discernible difference. none, zip. People are either from the Le Creuset marketing team or trying to justify their overpriced purchase. n
negative.
The Kmart one is very cheaply made and has poor quality control.
Le Crueset has a lifetime warranty and is a high quality buy it for life cookware.
My friend had similar issue and same result.
Is it worth paying so much
Buy Aldi ones and throw away 2 to 3 years. You will be still ahead.
@Wiser: Anyone with the Aldi one have advice on cleaning the inside of the pot?
I have an Aldi one that's about 2yrs old and gets used regularly but the cooking surface of the pot is now brown/black and I can't tell if the enamel is worn down or if it's just dirty.. is been used strictly with wooden/silicon spoons (no metal).
https://archive.is/20250405162903/https://www.scmp.com/news/…
Many cheaper made ones (including made in China and Lodge from US) tested and found release metals exceeding global safety standards
In comparison, Europe made ones (Le Creuset, Staub, Lagostina) all performed well
So yes Cast iron is cast iron, but not the same quality in food safety
Hmm, we've got a Lodge one we use at home. It's held up well. It's an enamel one, so I wonder if it's prone to the unsafe levels of metal like the one tested.
I'm usually the kind of person who will research and spend more to get the premium brand if it's worth it. But I thought Lodge was a reputable brand, the pot looks nice, and the price difference was huge. The Lodge was only a bit over $100 from memory.
I may have to upgrade to a La Creuset at some point knowing this.
The pot is not 100% cast iron. The inside has an enamel lining. So your statement should be enamel is not enamel
We had one of these (was a wife present as well!). It did, to be fair, last quite a few years. But then a fairly large chip of the ceramic came out right in the middle of the base. Don't really know why either, no accident or mistreatment we know of. Got quite a lot of pushback on the ahem "lifetime warranty" from Le Creuset, especially as we bought it at a vendor who was no longer there. Gave up and bought something a lot cheaper that cooks and lasts just as well so far, won't be buying this stuff again. YMMV.
Try Staub next time. Similar tier of product but they have a cast iron finish instead of an enamel finish.
Yes Staub are highly recommended, I’ve been looking into getting one of these recently. I do not believe your comment is correct, staub are also enameled finish, it’s just black as opposed to white as a point of difference from Le creuset. Cast iron refers to the makeup of the pot (which Le creuset is also). Main differences is between the two are the handles and the bumpy things on the underside of the lid.
Am I missing something?
Other colours available, also extra 20% off at checkout.
https://www.lecreuset.com.au/en_AU/p/cast-iron-classic-round…
Eg 28cm MARSEILLE BLUE $546 => $436.80 free standard delivery
Okay it doesn’t specifically say made in France, not sure if not the real deal as advised by OP.
All cast iron still made in France, it’s the silicone, stainless and other products made elsewhere.
Quote. Where is Le Creuset Made?
The good news is that, yes, Le Creuset’s signature ovens are still made in France. Le Creuset enamel cast iron cookware is forged and finished only at the Fresnoy-le-Grand foundry in northern France, where it’s been manufactured since 1925.
I got both Le Creuset and Staub Cast Iron Casserole and found I prefer Staub more due to the black enamel slightly easier to clean
Staub price is also cheaper (Bought my 20cm in Amazon Japan via AU for $179, now $219) https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B000BPNB3W
while its shipped from Japan, also made in France with the certificate and warranty
Not worth it based on my experience.
I had the 26cm in white, and the enamel started chipping. Back in 2020, I took it to the Chatswood store, following David Jones rep advice. Le Creuset told me to leave it for assessment but later called to say it wasn’t covered under warranty. The staff were quite unhelpful, and I was so disappointed I told them to keep it. I didn't even bother picking it up.
I got 20cm in white and its fine. I have black in 20cm and 26cm, and those are better options IMHO.
I've had the opposite - I have about 3 of these, each of them for different purposes and all have been going well. I treat it well too, but no chipping on my end.
wow, thats great price back in the days
I got a 22cm from Amazon AU for $169 back in 2020
https://ibb.co/BKGn0dJH
Very sharp
Looked back at my history after seeing this deal. Purchased my 28cm in 2016, for around $360aud. Going strong. Will last forever. Buy once cry once.
Like our Esteele pots and pans purchased 2017. It will also last forever.
do we have any of these with no emeral coating? what would happen if no coating? food got stuck?
without coating you need to season it before and after each use (apply a thin layer of cooking oil)
the oil layer will helps create the non-stick surface
I'm french and can tell you the 25$ kmart version does the job very well. Le creuset is definitely way overpriced! If kmart pot fail after 2 years, just buy another one, still way cheaper than le creuset or other fancy brands. My grandma had many le creuset pots and while they are high quality and never broke, they also were way cheaper in the past…, le creuset used it's reputation to rise up there prices, 300$ for an iron cast pot is crazy…
and I am China man, tell you that the $25 kmart one make very bad in our factory
my 婆婆 one last only 1 day before break
Well, definitely not the same quality but le creuset (or any other iron cast) should not cost over 100$, that's my point.
Are all French people experts in cast iron Dutch ovens? Not sure why being French is relevant?
He probably thought being French would lend him credence when talking about a French company…
If he said I work at le creuset or some other French Dutch oven company” then that would be more credible than the “I’m French and I know everything about every single French company”
@illusion99: Growing up exposed to the brand history rather than it appearing on our shores as a luxury product is a good insight to provide.
@gakko: Then he should have said I grew up with le creuset everywhere around me and this is my opinion…just being French doesn’t automatically make le creuset pots gravitate towards you
@illusion99: Yes, maybe I shouldn't have started with "i'm french" but I think you understood my message. It's not about being a French expert in iron cast, it's about le Creuset selling a product for 3 times it's real price here in Australia.
@gakko: As another example I met some people who grew up in Hong Kong and when I asked them about Twemco flip clocks they had no idea what I was talking about even though Twemco is a HK company and their products are all over Hong Kong
How does you being French somehow make you an expert on this? Are you an expert on everything from France somehow?
Well, it looks like I p*ssed many people by mentioning that I'm French… that was just to say that from my experience Le creuset is nowadays overpriced, never claimed that I'm an expert. But if you had read after "I'm french" you would have get what I meant.
Ray-ban of the casserole world, I see.
I'm a big fan of Le Creuset but earlier this year I was given a Wolstead Endure+ casserole pot and I was really impressed. I'm keen to try the matching frypans, the reviews seem pretty good too
Very happy with the $26 ALDI version I got over a year ago, I use it many times in winter no problems. Would be nice if it was a little larger, but I'm not paying 10 to 20 times the price for that convenience.
Does it work 10 times better than a $28 from Kmart?
Nope!
The green color is out of stock.