It doesn’t require seasoning, won’t react with acidic foods or impart flavors, and it comes in a selection of beautiful color choices. When looking to purchase a braiser, there are a number of factors to keep in mind that will help ensure that your new cookware lives up to the task. The interior is also coated with porcelain enamel, which ensures the pan doesn’t absorb odors or flavors. Both the Le Creuset and Cuisinart Dutch ovens have a light-colored interior enamel, which is great for browning meat and serving dishes. You can put your Le Creuset Dutch oven in the dishwasher or hand wash with warm water and mild dish soap.

There's really no safety danger with putting induction-unfriendly materials on an induction burner, though; they just won't heat up at all. So it’s vital that my Dutch oven perform well, be durable, and go from the stove to the oven, the table, and even the fridge to hold leftovers. This process, also ideal for browning and caramelizing vegetables, lets the food gather flavor as the liquid evaporates and circulates back over the top of the meats and vegetables with the help of a tightly fitting lid.We also made sure to put plenty of butter or oil in it—especially on the ridges, as we learned the hard way that meat sometimes sticks to them.

Along with the range of enameled Dutch ovens available, I have also listed the dimensions and weights of the ovens for your quick reference. You have to consider your cooking needs and how tough you are on cookware, as well as things like dimensions, color, and shape. When cooking is done, the cast iron plate stays hot for quite a while, so if you’re not quite ready to serve, the food will stay warm while the burner slowly cools down. We don’t have long-term insights on it yet, either, so it’s possible that its durability doesn’t match our legacy picks. Here, we uncovered a rare quality that really does distinguish one cast iron pot from another: the bottom surface area.

A red light illuminates when the burner is on, and a green light illuminates when the burner has reached the set temperature. It may not have the same durability as Le Creuset Signature enameled cast iron, but it offers superb performance and versatility at a fraction of the cost. While their enameled products are manufactured in China, these pans still undergo a strict quality control process.