What size Le Creuset dutch oven should I get?

[jstarr]

I'm trying to decide between 5 1/2 quarts and 7 and 1/4 quart round dutch ovens. I generally cook for 2-4 people.

Any personal suggestions?

 

[HistoricFoodie]

Assuming money is no object, and you're only buying one, I'd go for the 7 1/4 quart.

Why? Although you can easily cook for 2-4 in the 5 1/2, it doesn't stretch. You can cook smaller in the big one, and it will be available for those times you need the extra room.

 

[GLC]

There's not an enormous difference in size. I always opt for the larger. I get an additional inch diameter. That translates into something like 30 square inches more bottom, and I most often us it for braising and similar operations. I want to use the one vessel for the whole thing, so I want enough bottom area that I can brown all the meat at once, all pieces continuously undisturbed on the surface, as they must be to brown properly. Not that much price difference either, not that I buy Le Creuset. I can afford it, but I still think that's silly expensive when my $30 no-name does an excellent job. But for size, I'd go with the bigger. You can cook smaller in the big one. You can't cook bigger in the smaller one.

(I might rethink, if I anticipated baking in it.)

 

[HistoricFoodie]

Other than no-knead bread, GLC, what would you bake in it?

 

[Addie]

I would check the width of the bottom first. It should fit on your burner. Too small, and the heat is going into the room. Too large, and the edges of the pan are not being heated. If the difference is in the height, then go with the larger one.

 

[Sir_Loin_of_Beef]

I'd go with the 5 ½ quart. Wait, I DID go with a 5 ½ quart one.

Old mother Hubbard might need the 7 ¼ quart one.

 

[FrankZ]

Storage of the oven could also be an issue, as well as just lifting the thing, bigger is heavier. That may or may not be a concern.

 

[Addie]

Storage of the oven could also be an issue, as well as just lifting the thing, bigger is heavier. That may or may not be a concern.

As you get older, it gets heavier with less in it. And unfortunately, you may develop arthritis. That is when just one potato can feel like five pounds in the pot.

 

[GLC]

Other than no-knead bread, GLC, what would you bake in it?

I don't use it much, but there are all sorts of baked goods that can be done in it. I just figured that the smaller size might be more appropriate for typical small family amounts. But thinking about it, smaller amounts can be but in smaller pans and still placed in the dutch oven, so I'd probably end up with the big one anyway.

 

[Addie]

I still think that's silly expensive when my $30 no-name does an excellent job.

I have a dutch oven that my granddaughter bought for me from the Dollar Store. (Bless her heart!) It has a great bottom. Nothing sticks. I think she paid all of $5.00 for it. I don't even have to use a heat diffuser with it. But it works for me. So I have never thought to replace it. I am constantly searching the Home Goods Store (TJ Maxx) clearance section. I have seen really expensive dutch ovens for more than half the original price. But they don't have the love my $5.00 one has. Everytime I use it, I think of her and how proud she was when I used it for the first time.

 

[jennyema]

7

 

[Steve Kroll]

I own both. But if I were only buying one, I would probably go for the larger size, especially if you cook for company from time to time, or make food to freeze. Having said that, there's two of us in my house, so I use the smaller one more often. There have been quite a few times I've been glad I had the larger one, though.

 

[jim262]

I got a 7¼ quart round LC pot just a couple of months ago and I have already used it more than I have used my 6.75 quart oval in the nearly ten years I have had it. I have have only used my 5 quart once since I have had the big pot. I have a lot of Cook's Illustrated magazines and recipes and you would be surprised how many of them call for a "large Dutch Oven.

I love the width that allows for easier browning before a braise and it has become my favorite pasta pot because it is wide enough to lay most long pasta flat during cooking.

 

[HistoricFoodie]

Maybe I'm an oddball, but for braising I prefer my 8-quart oval to any of my round ones. Lot's more bottom surface, for browning, and plenty of room for the other ingredients.

Of course, if you really want great tasting braises, it's time to dig out the tajine.

 

[taxlady]

Maybe I'm an oddball, but for braising I prefer my 8-quart oval to any of my round ones. Lot's more bottom surface, for browning, and plenty of room for the other ingredients.

Of course, if you really want great tasting braises, it's time to dig out the tajine.

Doesn't it stick out beyond the burner by a lot? What do you prefer about oval?

What do you prefer about the tajine? I have what I call a short Dutch oven. It's as big at the base as my larger Dutch oven, but it's only about 3 or 4 inches tall. I really like that one.

 

[HistoricFoodie]

Doesn't it stick out beyond the burner by a lot?

Yes. But so what? I didn't (and don't) want to get into an argument over it, but I disagree with your basic premise---particularly when cast iron is concerned.

What do you prefer about oval?

Exactly what I said above. For the space it occupies it has more surface area, for browning, and more room for other ingredients once they're added.

Virtually all soups and stews taste better as they age. I always make far more than needed for the meal, then package and freeze the balance for later use. The oval just works better for that.

It's also better for reducing gravies and sauces, because the surface-to-volume ratio is higher than with a round pot of comparable size.

What do you prefer about the tajine?

Tajine cookery is easily the subject of it's own thread. But, essentially, the self-basting nature of the design, along with the flavor-enhancing quality of clay, make it a perfect cooking vessel for those kinds of dishes.

I have what I call a short Dutch oven.

Here we get into definitional issues. I cook with real Dutch ovens, and have problems when the term is used to describe flat-bottomed, dome-lidded pots. Trying to figure what a pot is that I've not seen is, therefore, next to impossible. Sounds like a roundeau, from your description. But I've never seen them made of cast iron.

 

[taxlady]

Doesn't it stick out beyond the burner by a lot?

Yes. But so what? I didn't (and don't) want to get into an argument over it, but I disagree with your basic premise---particularly when cast iron is concerned.

I don't have a premise. I was just wondering if it did make a difference.

What do you prefer about oval?

Exactly what I said above. For the space it occupies it has more surface area, for browning, and more room for other ingredients once they're added.

I just did the math. Yes, oval will usually have a larger surface area. I have one oval and one round Dutch oven that each hold 5 litres and the footprint of the oval one is a larger area. Who knew?

Virtually all soups and stews taste better as they age. I always make far more than needed for the meal, then package and freeze the balance for later use. The oval just works better for that.

It's also better for reducing gravies and sauces, because the surface-to-volume ratio is higher than with a round pot of comparable size.

What do you prefer about the tajine?

Tajine cookery is easily the subject of it's own thread. But, essentially, the self-basting nature of the design, along with the flavor-enhancing quality of clay, make it a perfect cooking vessel for those kinds of dishes.

I have what I call a short Dutch oven.

Here we get into definitional issues. I cook with real Dutch ovens, and have problems when the term is used to describe flat-bottomed, dome-lidded pots. Trying to figure what a pot is that I've not seen is, therefore, next to impossible. Sounds like a roundeau, from your description. But I've never seen them made of cast iron.

I really have no idea what to call the thing on the left. It has the same footprint as the 5 litre Dutch oven and the lid is the same size. I really like the surface area to volume ratio on the shorty.

 

[Katie H]

Hmmmm. I raised 8 children and went from all the transitions involved. Now it's just the two of us and...I still use my large Le Creuset dutch oven.

I'd still opt for the larger one. I've discovered that I'd rather have a little more room than be looking for a way to scrape stuff out of a pot that's too small.

And, yes, I have horrid arthritis in both my hands but I still find a way to make my big pot work. That is, I put it on the stove and add my ingredients as called for using a large measuring cup/bowl so I don't have to move an already heavy container filled with a ton of stuff.

In my experience, I'd say go for the larger dutch oven.

 

[Steve Kroll]

I really have no idea what to call the thing on the left. It has the same footprint as the 5 litre Dutch oven and the lid is the same size. I really like the surface area to volume ratio on the shorty.

I believe the one on the left is called a braiser. Or at least that's what Le Creuset calls that style of pot. The one I have looks like this:

Product: 5 QT. Braiser

 

[taxlady]

I believe the one on the left is called a braiser. Or at least that's what Le Creuset calls that style of pot. The one I have looks like this:

Product: 5 QT. Braiser

Thank you. That inspired me to do some googling and in French it is called a "cocotte basse" (a low Dutch oven).