( 1 reviews )
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( 1 of 1 found this review helpful ) Posted: 07-13-2008
Product arrived with a defect, and Amazon promptly sent an replacement, free of charge and no questions ask. Outstanding customer service. Overall, my intial reaction is that this product has similar features to higher priced cookware, but at a fraction of the cost. The lid has basting bumps similar to Staub and a creamy white enamel like Le Creuset. The stainless steel handle with silcone inserts can withstand 500 degree tempertures, yet very confortable to grasp with ample room to avoid injury from burns. Nice design. What truly seperates this cookware from other other top name brands is the weight. This cookware is heavy, heavy cast iron. Built like a tank, and not for the weak or faint at heart. Dropping this on your foot could be bone jarring. The green color is dark, similar in shade to a lime or alvacado. Well, enough of this small talk, as you are probably wondering how well this baby performs. I wish I could say, but for the moment I must wait for the replacement to arrive to find out. Will followup this post with more details at a later date. July 14, 2008 update. Product arrived intact, although the outermost box had obvious signs of being through hell and back. Good thing the product was well-packaged inside two inner boxes, which had no damage whatsoever. After a closer inspection, the coating on this dutch oven is a no match for the more expensive enamel cookware (LC and Staub). The vitreous enamel coating is uneven and sports a few pinholes on the cooking surface, and also the rim on the pot and lid appear to be raw cast iron which may rust if not properly treated or care for. These are relatively minor issues that should not alter the cooking performance. This product is recommended at the discounted purchase price of $62 which I paid, but anyone considering buying at the full retail price of ~$150 may be better served by spending a little extra for LC or Staub when they go on sale. In terms of how well this cookware performs to other name brands, I intend to write a followup review after a period of time of testing on the stovetop and oven in order to give a fair unbiased assessment of its performance in a home kitchen environment, against such rivals as the 3-quart Lodge Color casserole, 6-quart LC dutch oven, and 5-quart Staub dutch oven.
