How well do you care for your Le Creuset?

[mjsorkin]

From everything I have heard Le Creuset is super durable and will last forever. When I read the instructions for the cookware it is a different story though. There are all kinds of special care and use instructions. I won't list them all, suffice it to say that they read very similarly to care instructions for nonstick cookware and non-stick cookware is notoriously delicate. I have a 5 quart(4.8Liter) oval oven from Le Creuset for about a year. Very often to get the results I want I have to bend those care instructions. I have been known to use high heat, longer preheat times when I want to get a good sear on my pot roast, and I have occasionally used metal utensils in it. I'm more carefull with it than my uncoated Stainless or Anodized cookware, but not so carefull as with my nonstick pans. So, will my French oven last forever with this slightly harsh treatment? I hope so because I really like the pan.

How do you treat your Le Creuset? I'd like to know.

 

[choclatechef]

I have been known to use high heat, longer preheat times when I want to get a good sear on my pot roast, and I have occasionally used metal utensils in it.

I only use high heat in mine only if there is oil in it, and it is never high high heat. Medium high heat. I use metal utensils sometimes.

The one thing you don't want to do is go from a hot pan to a cold surface, or cold water immersion.

 

[Ishbel]

Or drop it!

I once had to buy a whole load of le creuset for a Japanese friend who I knew when I lived in London. Her husband was a diplomat at their embassy, and so they arranged the delivery.

When the 2 parcels got to the Japanese end, one of the parcels was dropped by the delivery people and when she opened the box, 2 pieces, a large casserole and a large lasagna-type dish were in pieces...

I have to be honest and say that I treat my stuff exactly like any other kitchen pot or pan.... - but I don't put them in the dishwasher. I haven't had a disaster with any piece of it - and I must have upwards of a dozen pieces (not including saucepan lids!)

 

[jennyema]

You can drop LC cast iron stuff, like french ovens, and they will not break. But LC ceramic stuff like casseroles will break.

I use high heat, dishwasher, but no metal utensils. No pampering for any of my cookware or kitchen stuff except for knives.

LC is very durable stuff. But remember that their stuff is guaranteed for life. So they need to protect themselves from people who knowingly misuse the cookware (metal utensils, poking them with sharp things, using on a charcoal grill, etc) by including those instructions.

My mother still has had a LC cast iron casserole she got as a wedding gift.

 

[choclatechef]

You can drop LC cast iron stuff, like french ovens, and they will not break. But LC ceramic stuff like casseroles will break.

LC is very durable stuff. But remember that their stuff is guaranteed for life. So they need to protect themselves from people who knowingly misuse the cookware (metal utensils, poking them with sharp things, using on a charcoal grill, etc) by including those instructions.

My mother still has had a LC cast iron casserole she got as a wedding gift.

I agree they are durable and guaranteed for life, but if you drop a piece on a hard surface, it can and will break. Cast iron of any type will break if dropped and you are unlucky enough to hit a stress point. It does not bend - it breaks.

I busted my grandfather's 15 inch heavy Lodge cast iron skillet by over heating it without having anything in it [no liquids, no oil]. It made an ugly noise and broke in 3 pieces.

I have broken a piece of Le Creuset by dropping it on the floor also.

Le Creuset's warranty only covers defects in manufacturing, not abuse.

 

[puteri]

I love my LC pots and pans and baby them! I use wooden spoons and their spatulas for cooking so I dont scratch them. I did try washing them in dishwasher and they came out really clean, but I like to wash them by hand as my dishwasher is always full with other stuff! I use bar keepers' friend if the interior is dull if I cook any tomato based dishes. My friends always admire my pots and pans as they always look so new!
I also have their stonewares stuff, and these I put in dishwasher. The stonewares are very durable and I love using them too.
I tried to convince my friends to use LC but so far none of them are interested as they said it is so heavy and it is difficult to take care of and they are too expensive! Well, I guess I just stop trying and enjoys my LC myself and I am so happy that friends on this site use them too.

 

[GB]

I tend to treat all my cookware very carefully. With my LC, I know it is pretty indestructible, but I am still careful. I will use metal utensils, but carefully. I wash by hand, but just because I find that it cleans up so easily that it would be more work to find a spot for it my my dishwasher. I have not had a need to use it with very high heat so i have not done that yet, but I think I would if I had the need (which probably wouldn't happen because I have other cookware for things like that). The only thing that I really think I need to be careful about is banging a metal utensil on the edge. I could see how that might chip it. I try to be careful with metal just so if I ever do need them to replace it they will not say I voided the warranty.

 

[jennyema]

I agree they are durable and guaranteed for life, but if you drop a piece on a hard surface, it can and will break. Cast iron of any type will break if dropped and you are unlucky enough to hit a stress point. It does not bend - it breaks.


Le Creuset's warranty only covers defects in manufacturing, not abuse.

I am sure you are right on the physics of it. I have dropped more than my share of cast iron skillets but haven't broken one yet. I dropped my LC french oven and broke the floor tile, but the oven didn't even mark.

LC is notorious for their liberal replacement policy, but you are right in that they guarantee against their defects, not the ones ones of the cook. You do have to mail your stuff to them in SC, which would be pretty $$.

In my other post I wanted to make the subtle point that some of LC stuff is ceramic only and not cast iron. Both good stuff.

 

[choclatechef]

Good point about the ceramic stuff.

Me know physics!!!! Yeah right I know about as much physics as I do alegebra, calculus, and trig.......nada.

I just know cookware.

 

[Ishbel]

It was definitely the cast iron stuff - that's why I arranged shipment via the Japanese Embassy .... no WAY was I going to pay the freight charges from the UK to Japan

 

[Claire]

I treat NONE of my cookware carefully. When I'm cooking I'm having fun, sometimes entertaining guests, sometimes shooing kids and animals from under foot. I've veered away from La Cruesette after seeing many in homes that had chips, because it weighs a ton BEFORE you put food in it, and on the other food network, gripes because well meaning freinds and relatives had ruined it when trying to clean it. I don't know about the rest of you, but anyone who wants to clean my kitchen or wash dishes when I have a half-dozen sink fulls, can go for it; I sure as heck ain't going to give them instructions and guidance, I'm going to sit down and put my feet up and enjoy the fact that someone else is willing to do the dirty work.

I have a cabinet full of china, silver and crystal. No way am I going to treat my pots and pans as if they were more precious than that.

 

[jennyema]

I've veered away from La Cruesette after seeing many in homes that had chips, because it weighs a ton BEFORE you put food in it, and on the other food network, gripes because well meaning freinds and relatives had ruined it when trying to clean it. .

I have a very hard time imagining how you could hurt LC through cleaning it It is very easy to clean. I can see gouging it with metal utensils but it really does not chip unless you try. And the 4 or 5 people I know that had theirs chip had theirs promptly replaced by the retailer or LC.

IMO, you are missing out on some primo cookware, if you can find it at a price.