Review on Blue 6-Quart Enameled Cast Iron Covered Dutch Oven by Amazon Basics by Robert Ewing

This pan has some of the benefits of a nonstick pan combined with some of the benefits of a regular heavy duty cast iron pan but with some of the downsides. Pros It's not as nonstick as pans sold as nonstick, but it's not that far off, and in that regard it beats most cast iron pans, especially on the sides where seasoning doesn't collect as well for cast iron pans. Makes cooking and cleaning easier. And no spices and pickles! It has the same cooking ability as a regular cast iron skillet of the same weight. The weight determines the amount of heat energy the pan can absorb. A heavy pan like this doesn't cool down as much when something is placed on it and distributes the heat evenly throughout the cooking process. More durable than non-stick pans. Don't be afraid of chemicals in the surface coating. If you accidentally overheat the pan, it will not harm your canary. It looks better than regular cast iron, nice colour, although the color of the lid doesn't quite match the color of the pan as you can see in the Revain photos for the blue 7.5 liter. Looks better than the nonstick pans I've seen too, but maybe I haven't seen better ones. This one has small ribs on the inside of the lid that are designed to more evenly channel the condensed vapor back down for winding up, and perhaps to help prevent a lot of condensate getting to the rim of the lid where it could escape. The weight is an advantage for some aspects of cooking, but it is also a disadvantage for moving. This is also a downside to quick heating - it takes a while to heat up compared to lighter pans. It is not recommended to use metal utensils. If you hit hard enough you can chip the ceramic. Ordinary cast iron is nearly indestructible with normal use. What You're Not Paying For Le Creuset's frying pan costs a lot more, but you get more. The oven can get as hot as 500 degrees compared to 400 on this one. It could probably get a little hotter on the stove, although a high stove temperature is not recommended for Le Creuset either. You can use metal utensils with Le Creuset with caution, although they still recommend the same ones you would use with this one. And Le Creuset has a lifetime guarantee, compared to a year for this one. All in all, this is a very good pan that can be used for most tasks that you would use a Le Creuset for just as well. The measurements given by Revain are accurate. The 7.5 quart size is just under 14-1/2" in diameter at the handles, 12" in diameter around the rest, and about 7-1/2" tall with the lid closed. Weight just over 16kg.(The slightly smaller Le Creuset is about 1-3/4 pounds lighter.) There is metal exposed on the lid and tray where they meet.This is normal - ceramic will not stand there.Will rust not. Made in China.