Enamel Pots For Sale

Best for: Almost any food that needs searing, including steak and burgers. Cast-iron pans are ovenproof, so you can use them to roast meats like beef or pork and to bake cornbread, deep-dish pizza, shepherd’s pie, and more. And they retain heat so well that they’re a good choice for deep-frying chicken, doughnuts, or other foods because they keep the oil at a constant temperature.

The details: Cast-iron frying pans are practically indestructible, and they’re handed down for generations in many families. That makes their typically low price even more attractive. And if well cared for, cast iron develops a patina that releases food almost as well as nonstick. But the pans are heavy, and you have to be patient when heating them up because they don’t come up to temperature fast. Once they do, however, they retain heat.

Our tests of coated and uncoated cast-iron pans show how versatile this cookware can be. We sear steaks, brown scallops, and bake cornbread to see how well a cast-iron pan works for home cooks. The best pans ace all these tests. We also judge how easy they are to clean. Because of the enamel coating, the coated pans are a bit easier to clean than the uncoated ones.

Here are two recommended cast-iron pans from our tests.

    In addition to size differences, Dutch ovens are available in a variety of materials, such as cast iron, aluminum, and ceramic.  Generally speaking, cast iron pots are the main ones. Cast iron Dutch ovens are known for their excellent heat retention and durability, making them ideal for long, slow cooking.  

*When in doubt, just remember this: you can often perform the same cooking tasks in either a skillet or a sauté pan, but keep in mind that the angle of the sidewalls of each pan differ, which means that one might be better suited than the other for certain cooking tasks.*

Tossing Ability

According to one version, Le Creuset coined the term to promote their product as enticing and exotic.