Pots and pans

Mr_Singleton

Have to admit that I have a bit of a love hate relationship with Le Creuset. I have 4 round casserole dishes (20, 26, 28* and 30 shallow), a set of bakeware, 2 roasting pans and various bits of stoneware.

Being a bloke weight isn't really an issue. Bit I love is that its good quality and will genuinely last a lifetime. Bit I hate and I'll be perfectly honest here I'm not price sensitive at all but the price just seems too high for what it is even taking into account the quality. I've never paid full price for any Le Creuset as its very easy to get it at 20% off more if your patient (Amazon did 40% off some bits recently). Still seems expensive though.

* Only really used for baking bread.

ancientofdays

I have Le Creuset pans that have lasted nearly 40 years, if you don't mind a hefty pan, they are great value, given the way they last. I have some good stainless steel ones too, but like my cast iron ones best. One good thing about cast iron is that I find you need less heat so at least once you have spent all that dosh on them, you can comfort yourself with the fuel saving.

Miró

Feral_Moon wrote: »

I have some Le Crueset pans but find them to be very heavy, especially now I'm having problems with arthritis in my wrists. I still regularly use the round and oval casserole pots though.

I recently invested in a range of Stella 7000 pans which are great! Very solid but not too heavy and have self-draining lids which I find incredibly useful. Well within your budget too.

http://www.hartsofstur.com/acatalog/Stellar_7000_Cookware.html

I also use Tefal red spot non-stick frying pans for everyday use.

Another vote FOR Stella stainless steel pans...I have a set of 6 and love them...easy to clean and nice and solid but without too much weight. I used to have the set of Le Creuset pans on a stand but hated them. As well as the weight problem I found the cream coloured insides stained badly and no matter what I did to try and clean them they always looked dirty.....:(

Feral_Moon

For those that prefer Le Creuset but don't like the price tag, there's another range of cast iron cookware called Chasseur.

I bought three of their round casseroles (18, 22, 28cm) in matt black several years ago and the middle size one is used almost weekly and still looks good as new. Whereas my large oval Le Creuset and saut! pan/casserole have stained enamel inside.

Mr_Singleton

Feral_Moon wrote: »

For those that prefer Le Creuset but don't like the price tag, there's another range of cast iron cookware called Chasseur.
Whereas my large oval Le Creuset and saut! pan/casserole have stained enamel inside.

Yup, there is a saving going on discounted price for both but it's not huge to the point I'd pay a bit more for the globally known Le Creuset.

As for your "stained" le Creuset think of it as battle hardened!