Lodge offers a satisfaction guarantee for all of its products that’s a little vague, but Lodge spokesperson Mark Kelly told us, “The enameled cast iron Dutch ovens are covered by a limited lifetime warranty as long as all use and care recommendations have been followed.” Over years of testing, we’ve had mostly good experiences with Lodge’s customer service, and the Dutch oven we use in our test kitchen is still in good shape. Here we have it…the battle of the budget Dutch ovens…Lodge vs AmazonBasics Dutch oven. To test whether the pots with dark interiors heated to a higher temperature, we placed each pot in turn on the same stove burner, over a low flame. A whisk or spoon reaches easily into the Lodge’s rounded corners to prevent foods from getting stuck when you deglaze the pan. Price: $45.00: This fits your . Every oven we tested also made a tender beef stew, but we did notice a difference in how much each stew reduced over many hours in the oven. This might not be as efficient when it comes to reducing liquids (I’ll test to find out! It cooks foods just as well as other, much pricier Dutch ovens we’ve tested, and it’s one of the easiest ones to use and to move around the kitchen. Compared with the Lodge, Le Creuset’s oven has a slightly larger cooking surface and straighter sides. That’s quite a bit heavier than the same size Le Creuset (11 pounds, 4 1/2 ounces) and even a tad heavier than Staub (13 pounds, 4 ounces). Kitchen Cookware Dutch Ovens & Braisers (79) Griddles & Grill Pans (78) Cookware Sets (11) Woks (8) Sauciers (1) MORE + Shop By . Enameled Cast Iron Dutch Oven in Grey and Artisanal Kitchen Supply® 6 qt. Challenger Breadware's upside-down Dutch ovens are manufactured in Wisconsin, and they're designed for baking bread, especially artisan bread, in a home oven. If you absolutely want the longest-lasting pot, we recommend Le Creuset’s Dutch oven. Buy top selling products like Artisanal Kitchen Supply® 6 qt. I brought 8 cups of water to a boil over high heat and let it go for 10 minutes to see how much steam escaped from the lid. In our first round of testing, in 2015, none of the ovens scorched rice, and the lids retained enough moisture to keep the grains from drying out. Wirecutter is reader-supported. Apartment Therapy is full of ideas for creating a warm, beautiful, healthy home. It’s also pricier than our picks. Most of the other Dutch ovens I’ve tested are a little wider and shorter (by about 3/4 inch). You can firmly grip the large handles to lessen the strain of moving a full pot in and out of the oven or to the sink. After previously testing a couple of pots that had dark interiors, we decided to focus on ones that had light-colored enamel interiors, because light interiors make it easier to monitor the color of the fond—the accumulation of the browned bits that make the base for flavorful sauces. Although most Dutch ovens cook similarly well, the Lodge 6-Quart Enameled Cast Iron Dutch Oven is easier to use than many others we tested. We’ve used the Lodge Dutch oven in our test kitchen regularly since 2014, and it performs as well as ever. Signature Enameled Cast Iron Oval Dutch Oven Macys. If your pot is damaged, even if the fault is yours, the company will generally offer you a replacement for 75 percent off the suggested retail price—as Wirecutter deputy editor Christine Cyr Clisset discovered when she sent her chipped pot to Le Creuset’s warranty department. The light-colored interiors of most enameled cast-iron products can darken slightly with use, but you can remove stains by scrubbing with a baking soda paste or soaking in a light bleach solution for a few hours. By comparison, the enamel on both the bottom and the handle of the Milo Classic Dutch Oven we tested chipped after just a few washes, and we noticed that the surface was pitted in a few places. We were hoping to find some scorch spots, so we checked the rice after 15 and then 20 minutes, but none of the ovens burned our rice. Plus, a wider pot can save time since it allows you to brown more meat at once without crowding. We purchased the Lodge Enameled Cast Iron Dutch Oven so our reviewer could put it to the test in her kitchen. In our testing, Le Creuset’s oven cooked foods the most evenly, although the differences were mostly minor. SHOP IT: Bed, Bath and Beyond, from $60 The details. To remove stains on the light interior, you can use a bleach solution or a baking soda paste. As its name suggests, this set from Lodge includes all the cast iron essentials you’ll need in your kitchen. And it was a strain to lift the heavy lid, or to get the Dutchess out of the oven when it was full of meat. The Emile Henry Flame Top Round Oven is made of clay. In this test, the AK pot lost 1 1/2 cups. We got a great sear on meat, too, since there was a little more room on the bottom. For the best value in a Dutch oven, get the Lodge 6-Quart Enameled Cast Iron Dutch Oven. The cubes of pork shoulder for my stew cooked up evenly golden, no matter where in the pot they were placed. I've been loving the $40 enameled Dutch oven I picked up at the restaurant supply store for a few years now, but have considered buying one of the Lodge models since I love their skillet so much. For our 2020 testing, we repeated our rice test, and we made a pot roast in each oven to test for even searing, caramelization, and liquid retention. In our 2015 testing, they all browned onions nicely, too, and in our 2020 tests, they made similarly toothsome loaves of bread. Kevin Purdy, a former Wirecutter staff writer, previously updated this guide. Artisanal Kitchen Supply has an enameled cast iron dutch oven that’s priced as low as $39.99. After testing, we took note of how easy each was to clean, and we looked for any chips in the enamel coating. The Cuisinart Chef’s Classic Enameled Cast Iron 7-Quart Round Covered Casserole, our previous also-great pick, has a larger cooking surface that allows for more evaporation. It doesn’t cook much better than the Lodge, and it costs far more, but Le Creuset’s oven is the kind of piece people pass down to their kids. Easter Dinner Ideas Without Ham (or Lamb), What People Want from a Healer in the Midst of a Pandemic, A Middle School Math Teacher Planning Lessons and Lunch, The Columbus, OH-based Forager Who's Become a TikTok Star, A Food Justice Advocate and Mother Talks Breastfeeding and Herb Gardens, Bryant Terry's Sautéed Cabbage and Roasted Potatoes, Vivian Howard's Baked Pimento Cheese and Sausage, I Tested the Hottest New Dutch Oven — Here’s What I Thought, I Tried the $95 Dutch Oven That’s Even Prettier than a Le Creuset. It turned out perfectly caramelized onions, and it made bread with a burnished crust and even crumb. After spending hours searing, braising, steaming, and sautéing, we think the Lodge 6-Quart Enameled Cast Iron Dutch Oven cooks just as well as more expensive pots. The Lodge Enameled Cast Iron Dutch Oven is an all-purpose pot that specializes in slow-cooking , searing , braising , and more. We’ve seen complaints from Amazon reviewers, our readers, and a few Wirecutter staff members that the Lodge’s enamel chips easily. Get performance ratings and pricing on the Artisanal Kitchen Supply Pre-Seasoned Cast Iron Skillet (Bed Bath Beyond) cookware. There’s just not that much of a difference in performance between the lauded, more expensive European brands of Dutch ovens, like those from Le Creuset or Staub, and cheaper ovens like the Lodge. It’s also lighter than other ovens we tested, and the handle on the lid is a cinch to grab with a towel or pot holder. Some cooks prefer a tighter-fitting lid so you can control the evaporation, while others want the steam to escape in order to concentrate the flavors of what they’re cooking. For our original, 2015 testing, we started by making identical batches of long-grain white rice to evaluate how evenly each model distributed heat across the base of the pot. (In our 2020 tests, all of the pots except Le Creuset’s oven burned rice, but this may be due to using different stoves.) If you’re feeding a crowd, you might want to bump up to a 7-, 9-, or even 13-quart version. It was middle-of-the-road. 4.4 out of 5 stars 13 ratings. Shop now! That’s an asset when sautéing vegetables or caramelizing onions, but the Lodge required a few extra minutes to achieve the same level of sear on large cuts of meat, compared with other ovens with flatter surface areas. Wirecutter editor Winnie Yang told us that the knob on her vintage Le Creuset melted when she baked bread, but we haven’t had issues baking bread or braising foods with the phenolic option on newer pots. They’re lighter than our picks but won’t retain heat as well, and they may heat unevenly on the stovetop. We’ve read through this guide and stand by all our current recommendations. In our 2015 testing, the Staub did lose the least amount of liquid during cooking, but that left us with a watery, less concentrated stew that we didn’t enjoy as much as the richer stews made from other ovens. However, an oval oven can be useful for large, long roasts like a tenderloin. It weighs significantly less than a cast-iron model, but it won’t be as durable. Le Creuset’s oven is expensive, and if you get it, you’ll be investing in longevity. First we chose the most versatile pot size — 5.5-quart (6-quart in the case of Lodge). All of the Dutch ovens we’ve tested performed similarly well at most tasks. “I use them at least twice a week, and they’re all going strong. Using the infrared thermometer, we found that the pots with dark and light interiors heated about equally, so it was really visual cues that made the difference between browning or burning. Learn more. Not only does it have a lovely gradient paint job (in gray, denim, or red), but it also sports concentric circles under the lid to encourage “self-basting” as condensation drips down into the center of the pot — just like the spikes under the lid of a Staub. Tell us about it in the comments below! sale All Products on Sale (16) 20% Off or More (11) 30% Off or More (5) 40% Off or More (1) price Under $42 (20) $42 - $70 (20) $70 - $89 (20) $89+ (20) $ to $ go . You can comfortably grip the large handles even with mitts or towels, and the slightly curved base keeps food from getting trapped in the corners, unlike more angular ovens we tested. Product Title Lodge Enamel Cast Iron 7.5 Quart Dutch Oven, Blue, EC7D33 Average Rating: ( 4.7 ) out of 5 stars 137 ratings , based on 137 reviews Current Price $89.90 $ 89 . The enamel finish on the Lodge was smooth and even, and it has remained intact over several rounds of testing and years of long-term use in our test kitchen. Are Lodge Dutch Ovens Really as Good as Le Creuset and Staub? We also pored over reader comments from prior reviews and ultimately chose two new ovens to test against our picks, after considering 17 new models. Our picks are oven-safe to 500° F, so if you decide to use them in a hotter oven for something like bread baking, proceed with caution. You’ll struggle to cook large cuts of meat in pots that are much smaller than that; meanwhile, you may have a harder time carrying a much bigger oven when it’s full, or cleaning it with wet, soapy hands. Buy top selling products like Artisanal Kitchen Supply® 2 qt. Keep reading for our full product review. Both the thin, looped knob on the lid and the looped handles are tricky to grab because they’re so thin. Cast iron holds a tremendous amount of heat, more than those other materials. Do you have a favorite Dutch oven? Making stew involves sautéing, searing, deglazing, and braising, and the nearly three-hour total cook time gave a good real-world look at how difficult each oven is to clean after longer cooking sessions. We love this Lodge Dutch oven for most people because of its affordability, durability and quality cooking. As we cooked with each oven, we evaluated how cumbersome they were to lift when full. *At the time of publishing, the price was $63. But the price tag is usually hard to swallow. Max. Buy top selling products like Artisanal Kitchen Supply® 2 qt. In doing so, we learned that some evaporation is necessary to make a flavorful, concentrated dish. The Lodge, with its shorter sides and wider base, also allows steam to escape more easily than deeper-walled pots, giving you a better sear on meat and helping to concentrate flavors during cooking. Price isn’t always a tradeoff for quality, but in the case of Dutch ovens, it may be something to consider. The heat has been consistently even, nothing has burned, and cleanup has been easy. We also measured how much weight each stew lost after cooking, which indicated how much liquid evaporated. LINKSHARE. Kasha the FarmGirl June 8, 2011 at 12:39 pm. The Lodge is much more affordable than our upgrade pick, but it may also have a shorter lifespan. This test makes me feel better about being a cheapskate! 90 List Price $115.00 $ 115 . A Dutch oven, by its dictionary definition, is simply “a large, heavy cooking pot with a lid.” You can find ones made from ceramic, aluminum, enameled steel, or bare cast iron, but we focused solely on enameled cast-iron Dutch ovens because they’re durable and ideally suited to low and slow cooking. Enameled cast iron is durable and should last a long time, but it needs to be treated with some care. Le Creuset. Anna Perling is a Wirecutter kitchen writer who has covered everything from hand mixers to small saucepans. Lodge 6.5 Quart Enameled Cast Iron Dutch Oven in Red, 6.5 qt Walmart USA. In our 2015 tests, the Staub pot with a nubby lid did retain more moisture while braising (though this may also be the result of a tighter-fitting lid), but we preferred the more condensed stews we made in ovens that actually let out more liquid. Le Creuset 5-Qt. Although it’s a bit easier for food to get stuck around the edges of Le Creuset’s oven, we were able to reach a whisk far enough into the corners to scrape up most bits while deglazing the pan. Even though oval ovens are fairly common, we primarily stuck to testing round models, which fit better over a standard stove-top burner (we did test one oval model, because it was the sole Dutch oven offering from cookware company Great Jones). Shop now! Anna is a mentor at Girls Write Now and a member of the Online News Association. The lid on the Lodge allowed for enough evaporation to leave concentrated, rich cooking liquid behind. Cast Iron vs Enamel Dutch Oven – Similarities . Are Lodge Dutch Ovens Really as Good as Le Creuset and Staub. The 5½-quart Milo Classic Dutch Oven is relatively inexpensive, but it was of lower quality than our picks. Le Creuset. A Dutch oven is likely to either be your favorite piece of cookware or the must-have kitchen essential that you didn’t realize you were missing. It measures 10 inches wide and about 6 inches high (including the lid but not the knob). At the time of this writing, Le Creuset’s oven costs nearly six times as much as the Lodge oven. Piecing together your own cookware set gives you the freedom to customize your collection and allows you to buy only what you need. But if you keep clicking through the site you’ll find a pretty sweet deal: an even bigger 6-quart enameled Dutch oven, with a beautiful ombre color, for just $70. A Dutch oven is a kitchen workhorse—it’s the one pot that can turn out savory soups and stews, braise meats until they’re fall-apart tender, and even bake crusty bread. That makes it perfect for braising, a cooking technique that relies on consistent heat over time to slowly break down and tenderize meat. We used each to boil water, cook rice, braise beef, make French fries, bake bread, sear meatballs, and simmer the meatballs in tomato sauce. 90 List Price $147.50 $ 147 . Enamel also has a smooth finish that will quickly release stuck-on food for easy cleanup or deglazing the pan (although it’s no match for nonstick Teflon). When it comes to shape, a round Dutch oven will work better on the round burners of most stoves, whereas an oval oven may heat less evenly and be difficult to fit on a small stovetop. She also read up on the science of cookware, consulting Cooking For Engineers and Cooking Issues. This inexpensive Dutch oven aced every test, and its design rivals that of pricier models. For one thing, its shape makes cooking in it particularly easy compared with other ovens we tested. The cast iron vs enamel Dutch oven comparison below will point out the differences and similarities of these 2 pieces. With the lid on, it weighed a whopping 13 pounds, 9 3/4 ounces. This oven has smaller handles that aren’t as easy to hold, and we don’t love that a rubbery ring surrounds the base of the lid’s knob, since this can trap foods. Weighing in at about 6 pounds, it's the lightest of all the skillets we tested, and we found it the most comfortable to work with. Signature Enameled Cast Iron Oval Dutch Oven Macys. Putting a hot pot in a sink of cold water can lead to damage from thermal shock: The rapid contraction of the cooling cast iron can warp or crack the pot or cause pieces of the enamel coating to pop off. In our 2020 tests, it was the only pot that didn’t scorch rice, although none of the pots burned rice in our 2015 tests (this discrepancy may be due to using different stoves). Most Dutch ovens are dishwasher-safe, but manufacturers warn that dishwashing can wear down the enamel finish. And a pot that traps more steam could allow the bread to rise higher before the crust crisps up. It’s the most durable oven we’ve tested, and we think it’s the best option for cooks who want a heritage piece of cookware. The brand boasts a lifetime of superb cooking performance with enamel that is super easy to clean and comes in a variety of beautifully rich colors. That said, there are plenty of home-baked bread recipes that call for preheating an empty Dutch oven. But before you wash your pot, be sure to let it cool. We looked for squatter, wider pots because their shorter walls allow more steam to escape than those of taller, deeper pots, making it easier to brown meat for stews or chili. A hotter pot could cause more oven spring (the initial rise you get when the dough hits the hot pan and water vaporizes, generating bubbles in the bread). We considered the AmazonBasics Enameled Cast Iron Covered Dutch Oven, but reviewers complained that the enamel chips and is uneven. With design details like roomy handles and a wide cooking area, it stands out from the other ovens we tested. We checked the temperature after 10 minutes, using an infrared thermometer, then three more times at five-minute intervals (for a total of 25 minutes). Le Creuset’s Signature Enameled Cast-Iron 5½-Quart Round French Oven is the best Dutch oven you can buy. The only other model we tested with better handles was the much more expensive Le Creuset. We haven’t had issues with baking bread in our picks, but you should keep in mind that manufacturers advise against it, so you may not be covered if your pot does get damaged. We wanted to test how well each oven distributed heat, how easy each was to pick up and move around, how simple each one was to clean, and whether the lid allowed for enough evaporation to make a condensed stew or braising liquid. The glossy surface of the Lodge is also painless to clean, but we found that matte interiors like the one on the Staub gripped onto food and required more scrubbing. Le Creuset’s oven is one of the lightest we tested and has the largest handles, which makes it the easiest oven to cook with and to clean. Ray Aguilera, who wrote the original version of this guide, has professionally reviewed a wide range of products since 2006, in addition to being an avid cook and home brewer. Not only do the Lodge’s handles make the pot easier to lift (it weighs just under 15 pounds when empty) in and out of the oven, but you can also grip them more comfortably while stirring what’s inside. We stuck to testing 5½- or 6½-quart ovens, which offer a happy medium that works for most recipes. © 2021 Wirecutter, Inc., A New York Times Company, Lodge 6-Quart Enameled Cast Iron Dutch Oven, Le Creuset Signature Enameled Cast-Iron 5½-Quart Round French Oven, Le Creuset’s Signature Enameled Cast-Iron 5½-Quart Round French Oven, Our pick: Lodge 6-Quart Enameled Cast Iron Dutch Oven, Upgrade pick: Le Creuset Signature Enameled Cast-Iron 5½-Quart Round French Oven, Cuisinart Chef’s Classic Enameled Cast Iron 7-Quart Round Covered Casserole, Tramontina 6.5-Quart Covered Round Dutch Oven, Martha Stewart Collection Enameled Cast Iron Round 6-Qt. J. Kenji López-Alt, Equipment: The 7 Most Essential Pots and Pans, Serious Eats, October 30, 2019, Large Dutch Ovens, Cook’s Illustrated, September 2018, Lodge Color Porcelain Enamel on Cast Iron Dutch Oven, Good Housekeeping, February 4, 2013, The Best Dutch Ovens, Epicurious, February 2019, Danielle Centoni, Are Lodge Dutch Ovens Really as Good as Le Creuset and Staub?, The Kitchn, August 3, 2019, Dutch Oven Shopping Guide, America’s Test Kitchen, January 24, 2017, Common Materials of Cookware, Cooking For Engineers, July 15, 2015, How to Clean A Dutch Oven, Bon Appétit, September 27, 2017. The base is an inch smaller than that on Le Creuset’s oven, so you have a little less room to brown meat if you’re cooking in large batches. Stew made in the Lodge lost 16 percent of its weight, and stew from the Le Creuset lost 14 percent—and both of them tasted thicker and richer. No one tests cookware like we do. An enamel coating is easier to care for and clean than bare cast iron, which you’ll need to season. The high price will be a worthy investment for cooks who want an heirloom piece—for everyone else, the Lodge cooks just as well. Dutch ovens come in a wide variety of sizes, from single-serving mini cocottes to those that are a whopping 13 quarts. We’ve used these ovens for years in our test kitchen, and the enamel hasn’t discolored or flaked. The Lodge’s light-colored enameled interior makes it easy to see your food browning, and like most enameled ovens, the Lodge is a breeze to clean. Then we chose a dish that requires lots of browning, as well as a long, slow cooking time: beef bourguignon. The interior is still free of any major scratches, and the enamel finish has no cracks or chips. After many hours of researching and testing baking gear and kitchen equipment, here’s what we think you need if you want to start baking bread. Previously she wrote food and lifestyle pieces for Saveur and Kinfolk magazines. The stew we made in the Staub lost only 6 percent of its weight and was the most watery-tasting. The best Dutch ovens have lids that rest securely on the pot but that still let out some steam, so soups and stews can reduce and thicken. Although all of the ovens made equally succulent roasts, only Le Creuset’s oven avoided burning the rice—but that discrepancy may be because we used a different stove that got hotter at a low setting, so we don’t give those results much weight. Le Creuset 5-Qt. Product Title Lodge 6 Quart Blue Enameled Cast Iron Dutch Oven With Stainless Steel Knob and Loop Handles Average Rating: ( 4.8 ) out of 5 stars 719 ratings , based on 719 reviews Current Price $69.90 $ 69 .
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