Le Creuset oven dish. Is it worth it?

[AfterTheRainComesSun]

The ceramic one I mean. Big size is £58, very pricey for what it is but I love the timeless design and feels high quality. Am I being blinded by the brand or is it worth purchasing? Pic attached.

My orange casserole one is 30 years old and dd has my dms one from the 70s.

Agree that the enamelled cast iron is fab (not sure it’s any better than rivals like Chasseur)

the ceramic stuff is no better than anyone else’s.

Just make sure any ceramic stuff is definitely hot oven proof, I’ve had one crack on taking it out of the oven, it wasn’t pretty 😳

Just use normal bleach to clean it. Leave it overnight.

The ceramic stuff is just the same as other ceramic stuff. It’s fine and will serve you well if you like the look but you can get much cheaper stuff that’s just as good.

The cast iron items are far superior to anything else, the ceramic dishes not so much. I have a traditional brown cast iron roasting dish that I will never replace.

Oh if anyone has a stained Le Creuset casserole, Magic Sponge cleans it beautifully

I have bought a roasting dish made out of Non-Stick coated carbon steel. It's great really like it but the coating peeled away after a few years. The good thing with le creuset it comes with a lifetime warranty on the coating. Being extremely petty and I've wrote to their customer service in France. From their response I came to a conclusion that I was the only person ever to complain about the lifetime warranty. After few emails their response was "prove to us that you intentionally didn't scratch it". Never bought from them again.

I love mine

But can definitely get something similar for cheaper

@AfterTheRainComesSun
The pans (cast iron) became stained with anything tomato or veg’ based.

Soaking in bleach or scouring with Cif was tedious & just another task if I wanted them to look nice.

As others have suggested, there are other brands worth looking at.

But there are plenty of knock off type cast iron enamel pans these days. I have a newer Aldi one and a bigger le creuset which I've had for years. They aren't that different to justify the extra price.

Tkmaxx are a lot cheaper.

TK Maxx sell Le Creuset stoneware, I think it’s a range made specifically for them.

I bought LC stoneware seconds about 30 years ago (they were cheap) and despite the odd chip and crack they are still fine.

TBH, I find them a bit limited as they are too shallow for things like lasagne, so I tend to use them as serving dishes.

For stained enamelled cast iron, try soaking overnight with Milton solution. Again, my LC cast iron pans are 30 years old (the one from MIL is older) and used daily, I found the Milton trick on MN a few months ago and it brings them up pretty well.

No. I have several. They are lovely, but no better than a similar one I bought in a larger size from aldi. I live my cast iron le creuse, but I would not pay the prices for the ceramic.

I have a few snd love them, but also have cheaper iron ones from Sainsbury's which work just as well!

The handles on those stick up too much. Useless in our oven as oven to table cookware as a result

Their ceramic dishes are nothing special imo
The pans are too heavy
The cast iron casserole dishes are great - had my ones over 30 years (but I've got knock off similar that's lasted well too)

I bloody loathe my Circulon pans - hard anodised are too heavy with only one handle. The sauté pan is brilliant as handle and another stubby handle - I have had that close on 20 years.
I have a couple of Hairy bikers pans from Home Bargains that I prefer. The circulon ones may last a lifetime but I'm going to try to palm them off on DD's.

I have this exact same roasting dish - got it in 2001 & it’s still perfect. My pans aren’t bad too. Could probably do with re-enamelling but I’ll probably get another decade out of them.

I love the Le creuset stainless steel range too. It’s gorgeous.

I have the cast iron ones and love them. A bit of bleach sorts out any staining.
I had some trouble with the surface on a frying pan and sent photos to LeCreuset. They replaced it with no quibble.
They have a lifetime guarantee, so if you have chipping to surfaces let them know and they should replace.

For those who have issues with staining, do you put them in the dishwasher?

I know you can put them in, but the sales person said it is probably best not to. I do tomato based sauces in my enameled one all the time and never had a stain. I do tend to leave it soaking for a little bit after I have used it, just with washing up liquid.

I don't think the cast iron frying pans should ever go in the dishwasher as they are meant to have the patina build up which the dishwasher will remove.

Tk Maxx sell the ceramics for £15 if you wanted to try them.

I hate my le creuset skillet, worst thing I ever bought.

Same! When the large pan is full (pasta/water) it's incredibly heavy to lift.

and one of the set has stained; the other 2 are fine, but the smaller one which is used a lot has got marks/stains in it.

I'd never by Le Creuset again. But they were a wedding present 25 years ago so they'll probably outlast us!

I got mine in TKMaxx for £28
I like it, it cleans well

Ceramic not worth it. We have a glass dish like that (not LC) which does the job great.

However I love the LC cast iron casserole dishes. Nothing else like it on the market.

Check charity shops! I got a brand new one for £4.50!