Pro Cook Cast Iron Casserole Pan vs Le Creuset

[AfterTheRainComesSun]

Pro Cook have a cast iron range that looks exactly like LC but much, much cheaper. I am a big fan of LC and want to have one of their casserole pans on the future but cannot afford £300 for one now as we are saving for a house. Has anyone tried the pro cook ones? Why is there such a massive difference in price?

Cast iron is much of a muchness as it’s not a tricky thing to get right for a manufacturer. I have both Le Creuset and Sainsbury’s cast iron casseroles and there’s no difference except about £200 in cost!

https://www.sainsburys.co.uk/gol-ui/SearchResults/Cast%20iron

@Porridgeislife I figured the main difference would be just the branding but it just seems a massive price gap to be justified just by the name!

I've tried other brands and they simply aren't a patch on Le Creuset. They don't heat as efficiently and the surfaces aren't the same.

I've got several good pans through their outlet stores - may be worth trying if you have one locally.

My Le Creuset (wedding present) doesn’t actually heat evenly and I didn’t fully realise it until we got an induction hob 8 years after my wedding when what I had suspected for a while became extremely apparent. It’s quite annoying to cook with. I definitely don’t think it deserves the price premium! I’m quite a good home cook so ask quite a bit of my cookware.

If you do have £ to spend Staub is meant to be excellent.

I have an excellent stainless steel Pro Cook roaster and skillet and would be fairly confident that their cast iron enamel cookware is good.

I have a Pro Cook one and found that when browning meat or vegetables, everything stuck and burned on. Also it's really hard to clean. When I needed a larger one, I got the Denby version instead (it had beaten all the other makes in a review of cast iron casseroles) and it's absolutely excellent. Nothing sticks and it comes up like new every time.

I second Staub, but it is expensive.
I am told this is what professional chefs use (in Europe).
Big fan of both my Staub casseroles and the oval gratin dishes.

Everything we have ever bought from procook, apart from scissors, as been really poor quality so would not buy from them again

I have a massive procook cast iron pot and also some LC that was a gift. I can’t tell the difference when I cook with them most of the time. If anything, I have the occasional issue with things sticking to the LC but never with the procook.

I just bought one from Aldi for £30! No idea how good it will be, but worth a try at that price!

I think it's Olive Magazine that has a review of cheap vs expensive cast iron this month. Worth checking out?

I love my le creusset but I don't find them great for the browning stage. But mine are big casserole dishes so I tend to use them to sweat the onions or whatever, while I brown the meat elsewhere then combine everything in the le cresset and stick in the oven.

I love my le crueset and have had it for nearly 20 years. It is not as non-stick as it used to be, but still going strong. No way would I be able to spend £300 on a pan now though, mime was a lot less! That said, I got a non-brand one at the same time and it didn't last 5 years. If you think you can afford one at some point, but not now, probably just go for an aldi or lidl one. I have always been put off the sainsburys ones because I saw a load in the shop once and all had chipped enamel. They do seem recommended on here though, so I may have just seen a bad batch.