Le Creuset v. Chasseur cast iron cookware- or any brand for that matter! Much difference in performance?

[gaussgirl]

Chasseur seems a lot cheaper than Le Creuset- IS there any real difference in them or is one trading on snob value?

I'm after a 25cm-ish oval lidded casserole. Or rather, DH is as desperation re my Xmas present has set in! The ONE and ONLY present he has to consider himself and I'M researching it!

I have some Creuset and one cheap one I bought from K Mart for about 20 quid (British equivalent would probably be something like Argos - the sort of discount place you would go to buy a clothes horse or a garden hose or whatever). There is no difference at all, it's all snob value.

i have chasseur stuff and le creu and have noticed NO difference at all in quality.

And Chasseur's colours are better, thinking about it. I have entered a competition to win a complete set in that beautiful Caribbean turquoise, which is much nicer than the bog standard red or blue from Creuset (the orange is too vile to mention).

thanks! And what size do I need? I imagine the largest thing I'd put in it would be a family sized chicken (1.8kg absolute max).

Mine is about 25cm and round. It would take a very big chicken but you'd have to pile any vegies on top of it or drop them round the sides - they wouldn't be sitting neatly beside the chicken like they would in a roasting tray, iyswim.

It's fantastically useful. I use it mostly for fridge orphan pasta. Chuck in garlic, olive oil, a couple of tins of tomatoes and whatever is rattling around in the fridge that I need to use up (courgettes, aubergines, peppers, leftover roast chicken, mushrooms and spinach are all good). I simmer it while I cook some fresh pasta then drain the pasta and dump it in. I know they're designed to go in the oven, but they're brilliant for anything that needs to be simmered very slowly on the hob.

Only thing is do be careful not to drop them - we had the ridged skillet (makes a great steak) but it was on the draining board while the washing machine beneath was on spin, and got bounced off onto the stone floor. Smashed into two neat but useless pieces.

I've both. No difference but Chasseur comes in a better variety of colours and is slightly cheaper