Ok, I know there must be some gourmands out there in the audience. I need some input on Le Creuset enameled iron pots. I've been using the Calphalon non-stick and Calphalon one series pots. I'm worried that the nonsticks are still leaking out toxics into the food, and the "one series" aren't really nonstick. So... someone told me that the Le Creusets ENAMELED iron pots (not the nonstick series) are truly nonstick with the added bonus that there is no poly-material toxic base to impart toxics into food.

So has anyone cooked with the Le Creuset enameled pots? Are they really nonstick and do you like them?

Sorry to be such a nerd, but I'm thinking of replacing all of our pots (expensive!)

Nerdier Cooking Answer...

I have a set of Le Creuset enameled cast iron cookware that I have used for over 35 years and they are still in good shape. The set I have is bright orange and all the pots are enameled inside and out. The skillets are not enamel on the inside, they are black cast iron but the newer Le Creuset may have all enamel skillets. The main pro (other than never wearing out) is the even distribution of heat that cooking with cast iron gives you. Clean up very easy but you have to be careful to never use anything abrasive in them or you could ruin the enamel (no scouring pads or scouring powders, even the non-abrasive type, and no metal utensils. One of the cons I have is that these things weigh a ton. There will be no skillet wrist action flipping of the food with these suckers, I can barley hold them in one hand to clean them. There also can be some sticking if you don't control the heat especially in the non-enameled skillets ( there is a way to treat cast iron when you first get them to prevent sticking but it's been so long ago I don't recall the exact process.) All in all I give Le Creuset an A-.

God I just read this over and I sound like an ad for Le Creuset. Hope that wasn't to much information.

YAY! Thank you PlasticHunter! Finally, a good answer to my question! Thanks for bringing up the cleaning part--re. no use of abrasives, that would make perfect sense on an enameled surface (I just hadn't thought of that!), and the reminder of non-metallic cooking utensils is also good advice. I must keep these in mind!

I do have two cast iron skillets which also weigh a ton, but as you mentioned, I love them because they are excellent with heat distribution, but you can also crank up the heat to hot, Hot, HOT! Great for carmelization and sauces and also for stove-top to oven cooking. I remember when I seasoned my cast iron skillets, I rubbed olive oil on them and baked them. The point was to bake the oil into the metal pores...
http://www.howtodothings.com/food-and-d ... illet.html

Since I have iron skillets, I would like to try out the Le Creusets that are enameled on the inside and outside. PlasticHunter, I did see that the new skillets are enameled on the inside as well. You are right though, those suckers are HEAVY! I imagine I'll need a heat-proof handle glove on the pots as well. A- sounds like a great recommendation! Thanks PlasticHunter!

P.S. I also noticed that Mario Batalli has his own line of enameled cast iron cookware--they seem rounded for cuteness factor (the pots that is )

Hi, I have the same Calphalon pans you do. I've had them for years, and began to worry about the toxins. So I did buy an enameled Le Crueset as a tester pan to see if I like them. I LOVE this pan. I started with the what I think is a stock pot. I make lots of soups. This pan is perfect. I do have to make sure I put the oil in the pan while it is cool, and that helps with the non-stickiness. Plus I don't cook on as high a heat as before. This pan cleans really well with a minor bit of old fashioned soaking and a tuffy. The shiny orangie-red outside is so attractive. I think you will be very pleased with enameled cookware.

I am finding it hard to donate my Calphalon. I'm attached to it.

Hi Sidd, thanks for your input! Does that mean if you cook at very high temperatures that sticking will occur? Will the enamel discolor at high temperatures, and would I risk cracking the enamel if I did cook above 500 degrees Farenheit? (I know the nonstick Calphalons run the risk of peeling, above 500 degrees). Sounds like the fact that the outside is enameled, is a good preventative with ugly blackened oil stains. The NS Calphalons are notorious for accumulating burnt oil on the outside, that is impossible to clean over the years.

I know how you feel about giving up the nonstick Calphalons. They are so easy to clean up, even with the messiest of recipes!

...sigh! Still no word from Stitch

I've read not to cook in enameled cast iron in the oven over 400 degrees. I assume it is because the enamel would crack.
If you get enamel over steel, it is not recommended you use those in the oven at all.
There is so much to know. lol Every time I Google it, I learn something else.

I've noticed more sticking in my pan at higher temps, but it always cleans up nicely.

Your Le Creuset pans can be used at any oven temperature. The handle on the lid, however cannot. This is the reason I wound up buying a JCPenney brand (Cooks) enamel-on-cast iron pot..because the lid handle is also made of enamel coated metal.

They key things to remember when baking at high temperature is that you should not take your enamel cookware from the oven and stick it into water to cool it. Let it cool in the room and then once it's at room temperature, put it in the water.

Also, the enamel pans are very resistant to sticking, but they aren't suitable for dry cooking (as non-stick skillets, etc are). You always have to have a liquid in the bottom of them, and keep liquid in them. For soups, obviously this is a non-issue, but when sauteeing, you have to make sure to keep enough oil or broth or whatever to keep the bottom wet, or it will stick..and stick HARD. This is something to seriously consider if you do a lot of low-fat or non-fat cooking. Techniques you can get away with in a nonstick pan may not translate to the enamel cookware..

We only have Le Creuset baking dishes (no stove-top), but they're awesome. We regularly cook in one at 450*. They still look as new as the day we bought them. One thing I'd suggest is seeing if there's a Le Creuset shop at an outlet mall in your area. We found one about 40 minutes south of us and the prices were amazing!
I just bought a wok last night and began the seasoning process - what a pain! I hope it works better than it did for my cast iron skillet.

Are there any advantages to the enamel-coated cast iron pans compared to regular cast iron other than aesthetics?

I like cast iron, except for the fact that my wife has to use both hands to lift a pan! Just curious about the price-to-quality ratio on the Le Creuset cookware versus Lodge...

A guy could buy a few toys for the price of enamel!

Any non-stick material other than enamel/porcelain will leak toxins. It's part of the reason I avoid those silicone cookware things as well. I'm not experimenting with my health to save like $10-$20 between a metal baking sheet and a silicone one.

I think the point of the enamel is that it's non-stick (and non-toxic). So it would be much easier to clean - and cook with (?) - than regular cast iron. I tried frying eggs in my iron lodge pan and that didn't work out too well. I followed the seasoning directions too. If anyone has a sure-fire cast iron seasoning technique please post it.

WOW! Thank you everyone for adding your input into this discussion. There are some really good advice and points made. UnderBeit, I appreciate your latest input, especially the tip on going with Cooks (brand) enameled pots, if you plan to cook at temperatures above 500 degrees F and not melt the lid handle as well as the warning regarding dry cooking (good ones!). So far from everyone's input on enameled iron pots:

PROS
-No fears of pot materials leaking out toxins into food, since pot surface and core are not petroleum-based plastics
-Good for cooking soups and stews
-Pretty colors and pots are very durable (if not abused)
-Pots that are enameled on the inside and outside are easy to clean with non-abrasive dishwashing liquid and "tuffy" scrub pads (these are not scouring pads)
-Fairly stick-resistant, IF pots are not subjected to dry-cooking (liquid and oil must coat pots at all time, otherwise damage may occur to burnt-on sticking) and high cooking temperatures are avoided



CONS
-Can't use abrasive cleaners or abrasive/scouring pads to clean enamel surfaces
-Not good for "dry cooking" where no or very little oil is used to coat the pan surface for cooking. Burnt-on food material damage may occur if insufficient liquid or oil is present on the pan surface
-Can't use metal utensils to cook, or damage may be inflicted to the enamel
-Pots are VERY heavy, not very friendly in actions requiring flipping of food, lifting to handle and clean, etc...
-Le Creuset brand enameled pot LID HANDLES shouldn't be subjected to cooking temperatures over 400 degrees farenheit, since this may damage lid handles which are not enamel-coated metal. An alternative pot brand is JC Penny's "Cooks" which have lid handles that are enamel-coated metal, and both pot and lid can be subjected to higher cooking temperatures
-Do not subject pots to sudden temperature shocking (i.e. placing hot pots directly from heat source into cool water). Damage may occur to enamel (cracking)

On a personal note, I've preferred good old fashioned cast iron pots in terms of safety (but they are a pain to season and keep seasoned, but the BEST for carmelizing and reduction sauce making) and the Calphalon non-stick pans (for the easiest cleanup on the messiest of cooking, and works great from stove to oven cooking, but they're TOXIC! )

...so, I think I will buy a Cooks brand enameled skillet to do some test cooking! and a Le Crueset stock pot if I can find an outlet (thanks for the suggestion on that one NT! )

What's the source of the info regarding the "toxins" leaching from Calphalon? Is there anything to it? Or is this one of the many stories that get spread around the net?

I would certainly be interested because 99% of our pots for the last 25 plus years have been Calphalon...

Thanks!

It has nothing to do specifically with Calphalon but does specifically have to do with Teflon and other non-stick surfaces.

As mentioned, the dangers are from the materials used to manufacture the non-stick coating

http://missvickie.com/resources/cookware/1nonstick.html
http://missvickie.com/resources/cookware/1teflon.html
http://www.knowthelies.com/?q=node/3551
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.c ... D2KM01.DTL

Thanks! Fortunately, all of our Calphalon is non-stick.

Geotaro, that is the whole point. It's the NON-Stick coating which is potentially dangerous to your health. The Calphalon stainless steel pots are safe

FWIW, from my—and friends—experience in professional food prep, most pro kitchens at restaurants large and small simply don't use Teflon at all. Whether it be the corner bodega selling eggs on rolls or a chinese take out or a fancier place, they all use non-coated pots and pans and ceramic pots and pans.

Teflon and other non-stick surfaces are mainly marketed towards the home cook market where emphasizing "ease" sells more than explaining "Look, if you're going to cook for real, you are going to have to clean up..."

So what is the source of the information for the toxicity of non-stick coating? Otherwise, this reminds me of the suspicion people have that cooking with aluminum foil causes Alzheimer's disease (due to the high concentration of the metal in brains of patients with the disease), even though I believe no direct link has been proven between the two to date.

EDIT: I don't mean this post to sound contentious. I see the logic in connecting an artificial compound to the absorption of toxins in food that contacts it at high heat, but just wondering if I should be concerned or concerned.

I meant to say all of our pans are NOT non-stick.

Sorry!

Here are two decent takes on this. One from Good Housekeeping and another from the Organic Consumers Association. The general consensus is that as long as the surface is undamaged and you don't heat it to 450-500 degrees, the stuff is safe. But those are two big "ifs". Even the smallest damage can expose the non-stick surface. And past that there is the issue of the heat of the pan, versus the heat of the items in the pan. Olive oil—for example—can smoke and heat up pretty quickly. Get that into a crack in the non-stick coating and there you go. And using utensils that won't scuff the pan is one thing, but I have never seen a non-stick pan in my life that didn't have some scuffs/marks.

And yes, I know there are some looney new-age health theories about cooking with aluminum and such, but that is paranoia. This is closer to a real issue in my opinion.

I mean, a few years back nobody made a big deal about BPA plastic bottles. Then suddenly the connection between hormone imbalances, toxins and such were directly connected to it.

As far as non-stick surfaces go, my feeling is if it was really this amazing thing that has changed cooking for everyone you'd see non-stick cooking equipment everywhere without issue or choice. But that's not the case.

Whether or not it's yet been proven, I don't particularly want to wait around for proof positive before changing a seriously unhealthy behavior. There is enough of a possibility for me to not want to cook in aluminum.


It isn't a "new-age health theory" - it sounds to me as if there's been enough research to say at the least that it's a credible concern. Again, I'm not going to cook with aluminum in the hopes that it doesn't cause Alzheimer's - the idea that it might is enough to make me want to use other metals.

I agree with you to an extent, but the thing is if this aluminum/Alzheimer's connection were truly valid, then all of South America and South Asia—where aluminum cookware is much more common—would be filled with Alzheimer's patients on a scale that's off the charts. Not to mention, even if you don't use aluminum cookware, you can still get it from using baking power and such which has aluminum as an activating agent.

I think that connection is more of a symptom of Alzheimer's and not a cause.

Plastics on the other hand. Plastics and food should not ever be mixed. After the BPA stuff, I tossed out or repurposed for non-food uses any plastic storage containers I had. I use glass storage containers. Costs more, but stronger, lasts longer and I haven't had to deal with that odd plastic taste you sometimes get from freezing/defrosting.

Whether or not non-stick is bad for you (and it may only be nasty at high temperatures), food does not brown as well & nothing is left after for sauces. I have migrated towards stainless steel All Clad. Nice & heavy and the shit is bullitproof. I will never have to replace it.

Interesting read- thanks for the thorough response. The lifetime of a non-stick pan is much lower than I thought it would be- 2 years recommended, 5 years max. Might be worth looking into something more substantial since I have a couple of pieces that probably should be replaced.