Is Le Creuset Cast Iron Worth It? - Page 2

athenian · ‎03-18-2012

It is very heavy, but lasts forever. I am still using my mother's gratin open casserole and it must be 60 years old.

Kachina624 · ‎03-10-2010

@susan in California wrote:
@Phelina
I have several French ovens from Le Creuset. I use them all the time exactly as you suggested you would like to use yours. I have never purchased these from
QVC, however.
My son, who loves to cook, went to a Le Creuset outlet store. He was told by a sales clerk that the pieces sold there are "seconds".
I know I have had mine for many, many years (one large one at least 20 years!),
but they were purchased at Williams Sonoma.
If QVC can verify that their Le Creuset is the same as first quality sold at high end stores, then I would buy it.
I have had terrible luck with knock offs--Martha Stewart's for example. It chips
and doesn't last. But the Le Creuset made in France is top notch.

By law "seconds or irregulars" must be marked as such, although the Q version could easily be lesser quality. How would you Tell? Weigh the two versions maybe?

New Mexico☀️Land Of Enchantment

Sooner · ‎03-10-2010

LC Outlet stores are wonderful! They have seconds, first quality, discontinued colors, and some EXCELLENT deals! If you are contemplating buying, call one or two of them and see what they have!

I can personally say the people at the Oklahoma City Store are very willing to help you find what you want, inspect it, and ship it if needed.

Outlets are THE best!

chickenbutt · ‎03-09-2010

One of my LC pieces is from the outlet store in Gilroy, CA. It's perfect. The people in that store were also extremely nice and helpful. I was once told that sometimes seconds are just pieces that had dents in the box or something like that that had no effect on the actual piece!

I ended up calling them and ordering the piece on the phone. I was told that he would choose me the best possible one. Seriously, and I'm very detail oriented and will scrutinize something six ways to Sunday, I could not find a single thing wrong with it!

Anyway, I think it's worth it for the outstanding quality. I am kind of embarrassed to say that I have sizes from 1qt to 13.25qt. I have many.

RespectLife · ‎02-27-2012

I went to the Le Creuset outlet store in the Prime Outlets in Grove City, PA in July.

Everything in the store except the high priced items were made in Thailand and clearly marked as such. All the bakeware, casseroles, dinnerware, accessories and utensils were made in Thailand.

The usual pots (such as we see on Q) were made in France but were higher priced than QVC, even at 'Outlet' prices.

I have one 5.25 qt. Round Deep French Oven LeCreuset pot from Q ($$).

One large Kirkland 6.75 qt. oval dutch oven purchased from Costco at a reasonable price, Made in France.

And a 3 qt. Lodge (made in China) Covered Everyday pan from Amazon at a reasonable price.

They are ALL heavy.

I can not tell the difference in quality. I have had them for over 3 years with no signs in wear on the lesser priced Lodge or Kirkland.

I absolutely LOVE cooking w/ cast iron enamel and wish I could buy more. Due to the weight....they are hard to store somewhere...but cooking w/ them and cleaning are not an issue w/ me luckily.

I'm not sure if all Kirkland is Made in France but mine is. If made in China is an issue for you, you might want to research Kirkland.

Good luck!

PINKdogWOOD · ‎05-13-2010

@Phelina I wish I could afford just one of these.

When I was a little girl I had an Aunt who had an orange one. Aunt Annie used her's all the time, especially when she made her infamous homemade spaghetti sauce that simmered on her stove all day. She and her DH Uncle Al would have my family over for dinner every time she made her sauce.

You could smell the aroma of her sauce due to the garlic in it before you even made it inside their home! By no means did it taste garlicy, but WOW it was SO good.

What a great memory of Aunt Annie & Uncle Al and a fabulous family dinner! All because of her Le Creuset pot.

novamc1 · ‎07-02-2015

l

@Phelina

I absolutely endorse LC as worth the money and great for making good-tasting food. You can make years' worth of soups, chilis, stews and roasted meats in those $300 pots, while just one nice restaurant meal for two can use up $100 in a heartbeat.

If you're planning on a 5-quart, Williams Sonoma has that LC pot for $300, plus I think you'll get free shipping and probably a better selection of colors. Some of the newer LC colors are gorgeous.......would love to have them all, but I already own more than I should!

QVC seems to offer only the older stand-by colors, which are OK, but variety is the spice of life (at least life in the kitchen, anyway...)

Sooner · ‎03-10-2010

@chickenbutt wrote:
One of my LC pieces is from the outlet store in Gilroy, CA. It's perfect. The people in that store were also extremely nice and helpful. I was once told that sometimes seconds are just pieces that had dents in the box or something like that that had no effect on the actual piece!

I ended up calling them and ordering the piece on the phone. I was told that he would choose me the best possible one. Seriously, and I'm very detail oriented and will scrutinize something six ways to Sunday, I could not find a single thing wrong with it!

Anyway, I think it's worth it for the outstanding quality. I am kind of embarrassed to say that I have sizes from 1qt to 13.25qt. I have many.

Uh, don't you mean: MANY MANY MANY!

Sooner · ‎03-10-2010

@PINKdogWOOD wrote:
@Phelina I wish I could afford just one of these.

When I was a little girl I had an Aunt who had an orange one. Aunt Annie used her's all the time, especially when she made her infamous homemade spaghetti sauce that simmered on her stove all day. She and her DH Uncle Al would have my family over for dinner every time she made her sauce.

You could smell the aroma of her sauce due to the garlic in it before you even made it inside their home! By no means did it taste garlicy, but WOW it was SO good.

What a great memory of Aunt Annie & Uncle Al and a fabulous family dinner! All because of her Le Creuset pot.

You MIGHT be surprised at some of the prices outlets offer on special sales. Sometimes 50 percent off reduced outlet prices. Call and talk to them and think about what colors and sizes and shapes you would enjoy having! The colors can blend in or be an accent to your favorite colors. Check with them especially around holiday weekends--and some Memorial sales may still be going this week. They have specials on different colors and pieces about every month.

Four and a half quart round is sort of the smallest useful size, and there are just 2 of us but my 5 1/2 qt. rounds are really the ones I almost always use. The round ovens are my favorites--even chickens are sort of round now!

chickenbutt · ‎03-09-2010

Sooner wrote:
chickenbutt wrote:
One of my LC pieces is from the outlet store in Gilroy, CA. It's perfect. The people in that store were also extremely nice and helpful. I was once told that sometimes seconds are just pieces that had dents in the box or something like that that had no effect on the actual piece!

I ended up calling them and ordering the piece on the phone. I was told that he would choose me the best possible one. Seriously, and I'm very detail oriented and will scrutinize something six ways to Sunday, I could not find a single thing wrong with it!

Anyway, I think it's worth it for the outstanding quality. I am kind of embarrassed to say that I have sizes from 1qt to 13.25qt. I have many.
Uh, don't you mean: MANY MANY MANY!