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My mum's coming up to a miletsone birthday and has everything plus some more. She loves cooking and has mentioned possible Le Creuset pots.
I wanted to get her a river city cruise but there was no way she wanted it.
I know they're bloody expensive but don't mind if they're good and she deserves something nice.
What are they actually like? Are they worth it?
I love mine, definitely worth the money, gets used all the time and I think a great present as well.
Yes.
The cast iron stove top/oven ware lasts forever and it's great to cook with. I have pots 20 years old and gf's mother has some stuff 60 years old.
I also have some Teflon coated fancy modern pans and they are already looking a bit worse for wear after 2 years. So it does depend on what you buy from them.
yep
the big casserole dish type ones are
I've had one for over a decade - use it constantly. The more you use them the better they get.
just to add
as mentioned above - I wouldn't get any teflon coated ones. The teflon will die before the pan does
I bought a set of 5 pans and lids plus wooden storage rack for about £50 many years ago. They are heavy to use, but so long as you look after them (always use wooden tools) they are great to cook with. I guess the bigger pots are great as well.
I have a couple - one - a big cookpot - gets used a lot. It's great.
However - it is very heavy. Even when empty.
I think my mum would struggle to move it around.
Just a thought.
I didn't pay for mine either - got them from Tod Tip -
Still have a set + rack of the three pots, burnt orange of course, from long way back. Must be 25 years old easily. Smaller one has suffered from over heating, middle one in good nick (despite one of my ushers using it to throw up into the night before my wedding (!)). See also the casserole ones as above, and the big rectangular vegetable baking ones..
definitely.
I've got a full set of wooden handle pans which are older than me, inherited them from my mum a couple of years back as she was struggling to move them around. they are heavy but I doubt they will ever die!
As mentioned above they can get very very heavy when fully laden. My wife won't use mine due to the weight (which is great as she can't cook) but as cookware they are outstanding.
Yep, worth every penny, and will last forever as long you don't buy Teflon coated stuff.
I wanted a set but couldn't afford the real thing so ended up buying a set from Dunelm Mill a cheaper copy version a few years ago and they're still going strong, would still buy the real thing if I could afford it.
+1 check the weight is OK. We've got some Infinity Circulon pans that are lighter than Le Creuset stuff, but the larger ones are still almost unwieldingly heavy.....and that's before you fill them!
I love mine. My nan however, who is much better and experienced at cooking hates them because they're too heavy. Depends on how manly and hard your mum is I guess...
Yes - heavy, but worth it.
We've got some Infinity Circulon pans that are lighter than Le Creuset stuff, but the larger ones are still almost unwieldingly heavy.....and that's before you fill them!
Yeah - My "proper" pans are Circulon. They're really nice. No coating to flake off, just hard anodised aluminium. I can't stand plastic coated cooking things, I'll only have hard anodised stuff, ceramic, glass or iron 🙂
i have lots, hand me downs from my mum, presents, and buying (check out the factory outlets dotted about, they're a it cheaper)
i have a saucepan that is used daily that is 25 years old, and a cast iron griddle that is 20 years old, as well as numerous roasting dishes and casserole pots.
I've got a cheep fake griddle and caserole pot (they're even orange), which get regular abuse in preferance to the cheeper pans in the cupboard, my parents have one that's older than me and get's similar usage.
The saucepans are personal preferance though, they weigh a ton which makes them great if you take care, but if you wack the hob on full to warm them up you'll start to burn stuff and it won't stop burning untill you take it out of the pan, whereas aluminium loses it's heat imediately!
Buy good ones, you'll probbaly inherit them.
eah - My "proper" pans are Circulon. They're really nice. No coating to flake off, just hard anodised aluminium. I can't stand plastic coated cooking things, I'll only have hard anodised stuff, ceramic, glass or iron
Considered Le Creuset (default choice, but the weight is an issue) for wedding presents, but ended up with Anolon. Cheaper, lighter and 10 years on still going strong.
Anything of that ilk is a great present though if she likes to cook - it's something I've appreciated more the more I use them
The Aldi knock-offs are just as good quality, at a quarter of the price.
Utter waste of money. Loads of other unbranded cast iron cookware for a fraction of the price. Great if you recieve them as presents, but I'd never pay what they cost in shops.
not sure whereabouts you are but Clarkes village in Street have a Le Crueset store which sells at cost which makes them a whole lot cheaperer.
alternatively I believe Staub are a decent alternative
I am about to send one for re-enamalling
Oh yes. Unless you've got weak wrists, arthritis, or general weediness. Apparently they're great if you have an induction hob or AGA. I find them good on my gas cooker and in the electric oven. Very bad in microwave ovens as you'd expect.
Burnt orange colour. Pot-like design works well on the hob and in the oven. Most versatile size I've used is 24. Although the 20s are very handy.
Are they any better than other cast iron pot? Not sure. They make nice presents though. And they often crop up at outlet malls, albeit the weird colours tend to dominate there.
The Aldi knock-offs are just as good quality, at a quarter of the price.
It's a gift for the OP's mother, not something to be bought on the cheap. What kind of message would that send ? For me a nice element in a gift is if it's something you want but perhaps you cannot really afford or justify the cost of. Being bought that thing by a loved one makes it even more special.
These pans are £100-£200, think of what we spend (waste) on bikes.
I have a few.
Good - big huge cast iron casserole dish, brilliant bit of kit.
Pish - cast iron non stick pan. Worst non stick ever, not a patch on my Berndes.
Yes
Yes they are worth it.
Plenty have said they are heavy, it can be hard work holding them at an angle whilst getting the last bits of soup out or trying to pour them.
We also have a butler sink and I sometimes cringe when I am washing them as they bash around.
Le Creuset - Butler sink - woodburner - 29er - NW chainring are all essential STW items.
I got a roasting dish a year ago and its excellent. TX Maxx always has them in. Will be adding to the collection in due course.
Love mine, heavy but cook great and look great. Reckon mine will last a life time!
Did i miss a bbc news item on le creuset?
Mine are a burnt orange colour but I prefer the blue ones. Anyone wanna swap?
TK Maxx are great for picking them up cheap. They are slight seconds (normally the colour is not quite right) but fine for stocking up, especially on the large expensive stuff. Have a few things from there and the rest from department stores.
We've gone for a range of colours and not stuck to one. Cream for kitchen items (utensil pot, salt pig etc), grey outer with cream inner for roasting trays and caserole pots which looks nice and discrete on the dresser and then red fade for pie our pie dish which stands out nicely on the table with a pie in it 🙂
Many years ago I was given a marmitout by my Mum when I left home (3 in 1 saucepan, frying pan and casserole) - flipping brilliant present, best pan ever!
Got a few pieces as wedding presents. Still in use 27 years later. Well worth it. In fact they'll last longer than some marriages.
I got a 5 litre Denby Casserole one in Morrisons for £15, bargain! I also have a griddle and a small skillet from TK Maxx, which were £6 and £4 respectively! I love them all, especially the griddle which is great for steak and chicken fillet.
The mugs are lovely but apparently you 'need all of the colours"' according to my wife.
Oh and the plates ... But you can't serve matching mugs and plates .. Again, ccording to my wife
Then you can get the tea pot, sugar bowl, cake stand, garlic jar , casserole pots, Not to mention the spoons (which I really don't like - weird shaped and too brittle)
Guess you could say we (my wife) love le crueset 🙂
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i have 2 of the big roasting trays. cast with enamel inside. I cant remember what colour the outside is now 😉
the fact they retain heat so well changes things like roast potatoes, yorkshire puds (oven chips 😳 )etc unbelievably. i put them in while the oven heats of and they judt dont drop temp even when you fill them.
when my mates are cooking for the group i often get asked to bring them along.
they will get a soaking in caustic (drain cleaner) soon to bring back the 'lava' colour on the outside but the enamel inside is still spotless and can be scrubbed with wire wool if you have an accident.
to get a measure of how hardy they are, mine came from the kitchen area was of a hotel that burned down. we ran a rake through the ashes and found loads of le creuset stuff (the entire building was razed) that was 6 or so yrs ago. god only knows how old they are but they are my most used thing in the kitchen and if i lost them i would buy others even at the stupid ££ they cost
Casserole pots are great but the larger frying pans and saucepans are too heavy for my Mrs to use safely.
🙂Le Creuset - Butler sink - woodburner - 29er - NW chainring are all essential STW items.
It's a gift for the OP's mother, not something to be bought on the cheap. What kind of message would that send ?
The message is that you're not a brand snob who would pay three times more for the same product, just to have the right label.
Still, each to their own.
As long as your mum has someone to summon to help lift and pour from them when her wrists go, she'll be delighted.
Pouring porridge out of mine aggravates my tennis elbow...
.ransos
The message is that you're not a brand snob who would pay three times more for the same product, just to have the right label.Still, each to their own
She asked for them. Everybody rates them. It's her 70th birthday. I was willing to spend considerably more on her. What bike do you ride ransos?
As long as your mum has someone to summon to help lift and pour from them when her wrists go, she'll be delighted.
She has my dad for that.
Got a Cuisinart casserole as a Crimbo prezzie just as nice as mummy's Le C!. IMHO 🙂