Defending my Le Creuset Dutch oven

Remember my treatise on my views regarding frugal vs. quality? Well, that’s what came into play with my recent purchase of a Le Creuset Dutch oven. Some of you won’t know what I’m talking about. The rest of you will be like … “Ahhh.  So nice.”

Le Creuset is a company in France that produces premium kitchen and cook ware. Their Dutch ovens are enameled cast iron in a ton of pretty colors. America’s Test Kitchen and other reviewers give the Le Creuset Dutch oven their highest recommendations. These high-function creations are the “must have” for chefs and premier cooks worldwide.

The downside? They are pricey devils. To the tune of you could buy several of a lesser brand for the price of one Le Creuset. They also tend to be heavier than the competition. But that lends itself to their excellent baking properties and durability. There’s a page on Facebook for lovers of Le Creuset products that buy and sell pieces amongst themselves. The members are from all over the world.

People hand these down as heirlooms generation-to-generation. Kitchen color schemes are coordinated around the color of the Le Creuset items proudly displayed on counters and stovetops. To give a serious cook a Le Creuset Dutch oven is equivalent to presenting a diamond ring to your beloved.  Seriously.

So, what led me to needing a Le Creuset Dutch oven? Well… sourdough bread. I’ll explain. I came into the sourdough bread trend late. It was an outgrowth of an excess of home time spent during COVID. Sourdough is time intensive. You are married to this lump of flour, water, yeast starter and salt for a whole day in most recipes. It’s a lot of time. But so worth it. I do the long ferment style loaves that do the final rise in the fridge. The yeast chewing through proteins and releasing gas into the dough for up to 48 hours gives you some wiggle room for when you actually bake it. And that baking is done in a very hot oven inside a– you guessed it, a Dutch oven, which helps develop and contain the steam necessary to a great finished loaf.

When I first ventured into the world of sourdough, I baked in a classic cast iron 5.5-quart Dutch oven. This is perfectly fine, but I chose to make a slightly larger loaf and this was a tight fit. So, I wanted to go bigger. I consulted with my sister, a premier cook. (She won the Miss Betty Crocker award in high school. So that should tell you something.) She lives in South Carolina. When I asked her for her opinion on Dutch ovens, Le Creuset was the first word out of her mouth. She pulled out her own and a couple others and texted me comparison photos. She also told me Le Creuset’s discontinued colors are often on sale. And if you’re one of my readers, you know I love a sale.

I watched lots of reviews for Dutch ovens, the Le Creuset being far and away the favorite. I scoured eBay and Amazon for Dutch ovens. I had some options on watch lists and in my Amazon cart.  I went back and forth between brands, weighing frugal vs. quality. Rewatched reviews. And because I know I’d always wonder and regret not going whole hog for quality, I settled on a Cerise (red) 9-quart Le Creuset Dutch oven at a heck of a deal. Apparently Cerise is a discontinued color (thanks, Karen).   Bakes sourdough loaves like a dream! It’s my Christmas present from Mack this year. My cats have a lot of disposable income, and they buy lavish Christmas gifts. Who knew?