If you have a 26cm round Le Creuset casserole...

[PercyPhoneHome]

Please can you tell me what you use it for and how many you cook for? I have a voucher I need to spend and I fancy a casserole dish. It would be supermarket's own version with my voucher.

I have a shallow casserole and the oval one which is big enough to roast a chicken in.

We are one adult and one giant teen most of the time but there are four of us in the holidays. I was thinking I could use the large pan for soups and for batch cooking but it seems a bit overkill.

I could get a smaller one with my voucher. The voucher was my present from an elderly parent who wants me to treat myself.

I have to 20cm, one 26cm, and one 34cm. The 20cm get daily use for everything. The 26cm gets used about twice a week, for bolognese, curries, soups, and stews. I prefer them all to my stainless pans, but I shamelessly abuse them, and put them through the dishwasher.

I also have the wide shallow pan, and two oval ones of varying sizes.

There are six of us. The 26cm is an own brand (possibly Aldi). One 20cm is a Berndes from TK Maxx. The others are Le Creuset.

I think I paid £85 for my oval one in the outlet and I felt I had splashed out in a big way. They were always pricy. I remember looking at them in a fancy homeware shop as a teenager. The same one I have now sells gor £309. I'm not surprised their sales are slowing.

I've found an unlidded rectangular cast iron roasting dish very useful. Use it for tray bake type meals, gratin dauphinois, lasagne, Yorkshire pudding, toad in the hole, etc. It fits a leg of lamb if used for roasting and will go on the hob for gravy. Can be used for baked puddings for a crowd too. I also have an oval lidded Le Creuset casserole and a round lidded shallow Sainsbury's one which works well for things like paella. We have an electric induction range.

We use an air fryer much of the time and have an electric multi-cooker, but there are times when you want to use the oven for capacity and having it on for a couple of hours for several dishes is more economical.

Just to throw something else into the mix, have a look at AGA. They to some lovely cookware. The oven dishes have flat tops, so you can use them upside down as Dutch ovens if you bake bread!

I have one that I regularly use for all kinds of stuff. It'll happily feed a family of four, but I also use it for making stuff for just me and DP. I just put half as much in, add a bit more liquid so stuff doesn't burn and job done

Most used cooking item in our home, so much so we bought another one.

Mainly used on the hob for chilli, bogs, and soups, but also in the oven for casseroles. Also pasta and rice if we have more than the usual 4 eating.

They've got far more competition these days. As they've become fashionable/desirable they've been copied more affordably, presumably by Chinese manufacturers. I'm not sure there's an appreciable difference between different makes either. Le Creuset may have different colours and follow trends, but who is really bothered about that when it comes down to it?

@CrotchetyQuaver bogs?

I think she means spaghetti bolognaise!

Curry, casseroles, roasting a spatchcocked chicken.

Rarely use it these days as use pressure cooker for first two and air fry chicken

I have Staub pots and pans which is similar to Le Creuset and use mine for everything from boiling eggs to porridge to rice. I love making stews or bulky dishes in it that require the oven too. Very versatile.

As a buy it for life item, it is very much worth it. The cheaper non LC/Stuab's aren't BIFL and a false economy when you have to repurchase due to lack of lifetime warranty.

The 26 is one of the most used things in our kitchen. We have a bigger one too though that is used less often!

Pot roasts, casseroles and bread mostly. Family of 5, 2 adults and 3 DC now age 17, 15 and 11. We've had the dish since before oldest was born though use has definitely increased as dc have grown! These days sometimes the bigger one is needed to actually make enough too feed them all.

I don't have a voucher for Staub or Le Creuset sadly.

The casserole I am looking at is £45. The Le Creuset is £315. So I could buy seven for the price of one LC.

I do like to buy BIFL items and paid a shocking amount of money for a small bladed item recently. None of us want to have throwaway items in the environment, but I can't imagine I will get through seven cast iron casseroles in the coming years.

I have a second hand 23 cm round Le Creuset from the 1970s, one with a bare cast iron base, not enamelled. I specifically chose it for induction as I found they work better on induction hobs. 23cm at the top corresponds to the 20cm hob at the base.
It’s used at least 5x a week for food that needs long slow braising like pasta sauce, chili, stews, pot roast etc.
It’s so economical to cook with. I use the lowest setting (100w) and let it get on with the job. Or stick it in the oven.

If you already have an oval 26cm, why not go for a smaller round one, it may be more practical.

I have 2, a 20cm one and a 26 cm one (both Le Creusets). Use one or the other probably 3-5 days per week (at least in winter). The smaller one is good for casseroles for 4, the larger one is used for batch cooking or if I’m braising something like pork shoulder steaks that I put in a layer covering the bottom of the pan. Used the big one for a big pasta bake yesterday (fried veg/meat in it first on the hob, then added pasta and sauce and bunged it in the oven without the lid).

Also used for boiling gammon, making mulled wine, and soups. Lots of things really.

We’ve had them nearly 30 years (wedding present). Had to replace the lid on the smaller one but apart from that they are still in pretty good nick despite the heavy use.

My Sainsbury’s one has been much used (and abused, I chuck it in the dishwasher quite often) and is going strong after about ten years. Might be longer. I feel like the ‘90’s was about ten years ago… anyway I think it was about £35 and has been worth every penny. It’s outlasting the husbands Lecreuset one which needs a new knob on the lid and hasn’t been through the dishwasher but is prone to sticking. A great buy imo.

I have a Sainsbury one plus a lot of le creuset, it is a very similar quality. DD got an excellent big oval pan from Lidl (4 litre) again it seems to be standing the test of time.
I would not invest in the real deal again. The prices have gone up disproportionately and the difference in quality is questionable.

A few in the shed you can have - the real thing - but ridiculous

I have the Sainsbury’s habitat 5.3L cast iron one. Bought in the sale just before Christmas. It easily fits enough for 4 adults

I have a cast iron Pyrex 26cm one which I use constantly.
Chilli, casseroles, ham, curries, bolognese, meatballs, goulash.

Bought it as a gift for my mother when years ago tesco were doing a thing for collecting vouchers. I paid £30. My mother gave it back to me after it sitting in her cupboard for years, never used it due to the weight.

I love it and it gets such a hard life as I have an aga so use it for lots of long, slow cooking it copes brilliantly on the hotplates and in the ovens.

I also have the Aldi large shallow pot, which I use for Thai curries, creamy chicken and mushrooms. Its a more awkward shape for the aga so maybe once a month I use that.

Then I have my Stellar 26cm pot which has an easier life since having the Pyrex but I do bigger hams and cassoulet in that.

I feed three adults, usually have leftovers. Four adults everything goes.

I can't justify paying Le Creuset prices when the other brands I have are doing such a good job for me.