Lodge Cast Iron 6 Quart Enameled Cast Iron Dutch Oven, Red

We bought this to bake our sourdough bread and it did not disappoint! The main thing to remember when cooking in an enamel coated pan is that you cannot preheat them empty, I just put a couple of inches of water to preheat and then dump it out right before adding my food

In a side by side comparison the The Lodge's capacity is 6 qt vs Le Creuset 6-3/4 qt. Lodges porcelain finish is not as smooth, it has more orange peel compared to Le Creuset both inside and out. Both have fairly large handles and I actually preferred the handles on the Lodge compared to the Le Creuset a little more room for larger hands. Le Creuset had straighter sides which added a little more cooking surface on the bottom of the pot compared to the Lodge which had a more curved side reducing the overall cooking surface slightly so you may have to sear more batches. The Lodge Dutch oven had a more domed lid compared to the Le Creuset which had a flatter lid. The Le Creuset gives you a little edge in overall height if your oven is tight on space. As you can tell from my comparison it was more nit picking then anything else when comparing the two. While the Lodge is not a Le Creuset in it's fit and finish it is also 5 times less expensive and performs just as well in my opinion. You can't go wrong with the Lodge porcelain enamel dutch oven.

I bought this dutch oven for my college-aged daughter who cooks all the time. She was used to using my Le Creuset equivalent, and while I wasn't going to spend the big money on her, I purchased the Lodge for a fraction of the price. It exceeded all expectations. I had the opportunity to cook with this and found that it both braises and browns beautifully and consistently retains heat. Glad to have found this affordable product.

I have 3 grown children with families and bought one for each one after I used mine! I wish I'd had this enameled cast iron Dutch Oven 40 years ago!! Browns meat beautifully on the stove top and sticks enough to get the really good crispies for great gravy, can be used on any type stove top, makes tender roasts in the oven, can go from the fridge to the stove top or oven, and be set on the table to serve from...so what's wrong with all that? Not a thing. It is rather heavy, but I don't care.

This 6 quart Enameled Cast Iron Dutch Oven is AMAZING -- I had seen them for YEARS and have wanted to buy one for as long as I can remember -- IF you're reading this review, and have been even 'thinking' about buying a Lodge Dutch Oven -- STOP READING this review and BUY one!! It's REALLY THAT good!! The size is AWESOME as well!!! I use a slow cooker quite a bit, and though this is very similar to that, it's really still different in using this, as opposed to a slow cooker -- I LOVE both! The taste of the food is PHENOMENAL in a Dutch Oven. I hope you'll LOVE yours as much as I LOVE mine !!!