Chef's Classic Enameled Cast Iron Oval Covered Casserole (Cardinal Red, 5.5-Quart)

Very nice piece, works great, bakes amazing bread! It weighs 13 lbs, you don’t want to drop this thing on a foot, not sure what people expect who claim it’s heavy, all cast iron is. That’s what makes it cook so well. But it’s built for life, and very nice looking.

Cuisinart quality. In use once a week to bake sourdough @ 450deg. No issues, Perfect.

5 stars. I have had this dutch oven for 6 years now and it is my workhorse. I do have some hairline cracks in the enamel, they have been there for years (according to my research this is likely from me heating it dry at some point) but so far have not turned into any major chipouts, so I'm not concerned. I use it weekly to bake sourdough, I haven't had a loaf come out bad. It's size is perfect for large batches of soups, stews, chili, etc. whether you're serving a dinner party or meal prepping. It browns meats nicely and have not had any issues with food sticking. My one warning is if you use this, like really use it, I wouldn't expect it to remain a statement piece. It will stain, especially the matte and light colors. Mine has oil stains all over it, it looks well used, well, because it is. This bothered me at first because I wanted it to look beautiful, but I quickly got over that and accepted that it's not here for the visiual, it's here to do work. Maybe the glossy ones would be easier to keep clean looking, not sure? Never owned a LeCreuset to compare, but I'm perfectly happy with this one and have no need to spend 3x the money when this gets the job done just fine for me! As some have mentioned, yes it is HEAVY, but it's a huge cast iron pot, what else would you expect. If lifting heaving things in/out of the oven is not reasonable for you, I'd consider a smaller pot or go for something other than cast iron.

This is wonderful, a great price and as far as I can tell lasts as long as the LeCruset brand. I had one for many years till it finally gave up the ghost by food sticking, but I certainly got my moneys' worth. So this purchase is my second one, but I expect it to last many years as well. Works in the oven, on the stovetop. Its heavy, but I really like it, the shape holds a lot, and it cooks evenly without sticking.

I've been using this for about 2 years now and it is one of my favorite cooking vessels. Whether I'm browning meat, making a soup or stew, sourdough bread or corned beef it works perfectly every time! The only reason I took a star off was because there is a small chip in the enamel that it came out of the box with. I'm a lazy girl and put it in the dishwasher and after 2 years haven't had a single issue. It's heavy yes, but it's cast iron so I expect that. For the price I couldn't ask for a better dutch oven.

Got this for my girlfriend who's the real cook in this household and she absolutely loves it! In 2 months it's been used at least 5 times and it is so versatile. Stovetop and oven, no problem. No issues with chipping like some others have had, we use only wooden spatulas. Cleaning is easy but be careful as this thing is HEAVY. Got the Gradient Blue color and it looks like a great piece of decor on a shelf in the kitchen. Got incredibly lucky when I snagged this brand new for only $70! Can't even find any other now for under $130. Was originally considering the best of the best Le Creuset, but decided I didn't want to drop over $300 for a similar sized unit that we may not have cared to use. Cuisinart has always been a great brand, and this dutch oven is everything we wanted and need. Highly recommended.

Full disclosure: I've only had this oven for about a month and have only used it for baking batards (oval bread loaves), so this is only a review of how the Cuisinart works for baking bread. I have a 6 qt round Lodge and a 4 qt round Tramontina I use for regular cooking tasks, but my partner was tired of getting only 1-2 normally sized sandwiches out of an entire boule (round loaf) and having a lot of very narrow or very wide sandwiches otherwise. I decided it was time to buy an oval dutch oven and oval bannetons (bread proofing baskets) and learn how to shape batards to have loaves that are the same size nearly their whole length. I couldn't find any solid information about what size combinations worked, so I tried to use product dimensions to find dutch oven and bannetons that would match my dough size. I didn't think to account for the handles in the listed 15.6" width, so I bought 11.8" bannetons at the same time as the oven. I was nervous when they arrived and the banneton was exactly the same length as the opening of the oven. I crossed my fingers and went through with the bake anyway: 1) Preheat the oven with the dutch oven inside to 500F 2) Pull the loaf out of the fridge where it proofed overnight, turn it out of the banneton and onto parchment, score, and set in the dutch oven 3) Immediately reduce the oven temp to 450F 4) Bake covered for 20 minutes, then uncovered for ~25 minutes, until golden brown and sounding hollow when tapped on the bottom To my relief, although the loaf fits in the oven with only a fraction of an inch clearance on each end, there is no noticeable difference in the bake at the ends of the loaf that are up against the dutch oven vs. the sides with greater clearance. The dutch oven has more than enough height for my 1kg sourdough loaves. I'm sure you could increase to a bakery standard 1.2kg loaf and still fit comfortably. The dutch oven darkens when it's at the high temperature I use to bake, but it returns to normal color once it cools down, although I wouldn't care at all if it stayed that darker hue of red. It doesn't leave nearly as thick and dense a bottom crust as the Lodge does, which often verges on burnt by the time the rest of the loaf is finished baking. After a dozen or so bakes, the Cuisinart hasn't even started to take on the oily dark spots, either inside or outside, that the Lodge does. Although only a light dusting a flower ever contacts the cooking surface, the oven still looks brand new. Its sharper corners allow the loaf to sit perfectly flat and avoid that slope at the edges the 6 qt. Lodge forces into a 1kg loaf. My experience with this dutch oven is very limited both by time and by use, but I wanted to give anyone like me, who's looking for an inexpensive way to bake two batards from a standard sourdough recipe (~2kg finished dough). There is almost zero information about what size dutch ovens will fit certain sizes and shapes of dough, but this combination is one I can attest to being perfect. I don't know how the dutch oven will hold up after years of normal cooking tasks, but this is one it's been flawless at so far. Even if it ends up with a few chips here and there and looses it's flawless interior surface, I'm confident it will provide me with reliable use for years to come. Bannetons I use: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06XC2HYBB/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03__o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Did lots of comparison research, this one came high on many lists for price/value. Have baked bread and made stew, both worked excellent. Was concerned that some recommended against the oval, but I found it works great in oven and on induction burner, didn't notice any uneven cooking, and prefer the shape for bread and extra volume for stew in oval casserole.

If you're looking for a good Dutch Oven at a reasonable price, this is a pretty good bet. I hunted high and low to find something made in North America or Europe, and just couldn't find one at a price I was comfortable with (especially given I wasn't sure how much I would end up using it). So after conceding to a "Made in China" product, this is the one I went with. I'm getting a ton of use out of it - more than I had expected when I first purchased it. It's replaced pots, pans and casserole dishes for any given meal and cleans up to look like new with a reasonable amount of effort (e.g., nothing burnt-on, no stains). Given how much I use it, I imagine I'l upgrade to something a bit more premium when (or if) this bites the dust.

conserva muy bien el calor

la coccion y son muy rápidos y super fácil de limpiar

I enjoy using this French Oven Casserole so much! It works great for so many different kinds of cooking and baking. I can see and access what's cooking inside. An excellent choice at a reasonable price. The casserole didn't come with protectors for storing the lid with the pot, so I ordered silicone 'cable winder' earphone cord clips and snipped off one of the wrap-around wings on each one. With four of them positioned around the rim of the pot, the lid rests without rubbing and abrading the enamel or exposed cast iron. You could also store it with a cloth under the lid, or just be careful not to knock it about.

Great Dutch oven. Use it a lot to bake bread. This thing is hefty and heavy. Which is perfect when using it on the stove and transferring to the oven.