CuisinartChef's Classic Enameled Cast Iron Round Covered Casserole (Provencal Blue, 5- Quart)

What a great pot! I bought a Lodge Dutch oven several years ago and have been using it but it’s extremely heavy, stains like crazy (and you can’t get the stains out no matter what you try) and is awkward to use.Still, trying to find a high quality enameled Dutch oven and avoid the very costly Le Crueset price, I bought this one and not only did I save a ton of my hard earned money, I received a high quality Dutch oven.I have used it several times to make chili, pasta sauce, and even pasta itself and it worked wonderfully (no sticking or staining that I could not get out with Barkeeper’s Friend).IT builds a nice fond which releases all the umami goodness into your dish with ease but somehow avoids deep staining. I am very excited to say HELL YES, buy this pot!! (And this coming from someone who very rarely does reviews)By the way, America’s Test Kitchen did a pretty highly rated review of this pot and it came in as a best buy over their predictive pick of Le Crueset as the winner.

I use this at least once every week. It's held up very well. There are some slight staining on the bottom but overall nothing sticks to it and it maintains heat very well. The lid is still working well and the screw is still tight in place. That was an issue with a previous Dutch oven of mine where the lid handle became loose because of the screw being stripped.

It weighs 12 pounds so not for anyone who can’t lift 12 lbs easily. Of course it is great for making gumbo and many other dishes. It is enameled cast iron. Love the sage color. Down side is that it can’t be registered with Cuisinart-apparently b/c it is a discontinued product. I tried filling out the form on photoregister.com/help as well as the Cuisinart customer support e-mail form. Neither would accept the model number. It is 7 digits.So, I called Cuisinart customer support and he had no clue what he was doing other than saying the model number is 9 digits. So, not at all helpful. I don’t know if this is a “knock off” or a real Cuisinart product. The model # on it is: CI650-25. It is Sage.Update: Still can’t register it but I really don’t think it matters. I have used this a cpl times and I love it. Food cooks well in it and although it is heavy, I have no problem handling it.

These are the best. No toxins. Just use olive oil. I use to reheat, cook, bake. Easy to clean. Stovetop or oven. They are heavier than most people are used to and that is what someone will probably find to complain about. Yeah, they are cast-iron. I am skinny and lift them up to a top shelf to store them, it's fine.

So far I've been happy with this pot. I've made several dishes in it. I did inspect it carefully for damage when I received it, but all the enamel was intact with no cracks or chips. I've handled it very carefully since then to help it stay nice and avoid chipping. It is pretty heavy, but it's a cast iron pot - of course it's heavy. The handles are pretty easy to (carefully) handle with oven mitts. It cleans out extremely easily even when there has been a lot of browning. I always think it looks a mess and will be horrible to clean, but a soapy sponge always gets everything out with little effort. I had looked at Le Creuset when I wanted to buy a Dutch oven, but they are EXTREMELY expensive, and it's hard to imagine Le Creuset doing a better job than this pot.

This Dutch oven (that’s what I call it) has performed beautifully since I bought it in 2019. I am writing a review now after revisiting the product description and noting the weight given as 16 ounces/1 pound. I am looking for a lighter weight replacement because of back issues I’ve developed over the past year. The actual weight is 17 pounds 3 ounces. Not an issue for most users I am sure, but something to be aware of when buying this. That is the only reason I give 4 stars instead of 5.

I’m very please with my purchases. I bought two 3 quart Dutch ovens and one 7 quart. While the price of the 3 and the 7 are reasonable, the price of the 5 is nearly the same as that of the 7 so I didn’t buy a 5. I bought two 3s and one 7. I have a very small kitchen with very little storage space so all three stay on top of the stove. I can store one 3 inside of the 7 if I invert the 3 lid. The red color looks bright and happy in my brown and cream colored kitchen. It matches my Kitchen Aide appliances and Fiesta scarlet dishes. I make a lot of soup in the winter and I use the 7 most often and then put leftovers in a 3 to put in the refrigerator. Because of the weight I am a bit afraid to put a filled 7 in my new refrigerator. These do very well w my recipes. They warm up fairly slowly but keep the heat longer than a stainless steel pot. I have to be careful the bottoms don’t burn especially with milk sauces or puddings bc the bottom warms up long before the sides. I like being able to transfer the Dutch ovens from stove top to oven when cooking. I haven’t yet mastered cleaning them and have determined they are supposed to stay slightly stained and that’s ok. I use the 7s lid on my fry pan. I wish there were a fry pan to go with the set. I used to use a lot of cast iron but I didn’t like cleaning them and sometimes a black residue would get in my food. I like the enameled cast iron a lot better.

I have some LeCreuset pot that are over 30 years old and continue to serve me well, but I wanted a larger pot. The larger LeCreuset pots were out of my budget, so I got the 7qt Cuisinart when it was on sale a year and a half ago. I've been using it to make batches of bean stew a couple of times a month. It is a large, solid heavy pot. It is showing some minor signs of wear - more than my LeCreuset pots did at a similar age, but seems to be holding up well. I've seen no flaking of the enamel so far, as some other reviewers have reported. One thing that is important to remember is that this type of pot should never be heated when empty - doing so can cause the enamel to flake. They work best for soups, stews, casseroles, and the like. I have my doubts as to whether this pot will still be going after 30 years, as my LeCreuset Pots all are, but if you want a big solid pot now and don't have the budget for a LeCreuset, this seems like a good alternative.