I am new to cast iron cooking. I have an old 10" family frying pan, a
old 10.25" 3qt fryer with lid, two new Lodge frying pans, one 10" chef
style skillet with sloped sides and a large 13.25" skillet. I also
have a large 9qt Dutch Oven which I plan to use mostly on an outdoor
gas burner for frying fish, making Gumbo and Jambalaya out side. This
Dutch oven is NOT the camp style with feet and a lipped lid for coals.
This 9qt Dutch Oven seems too large for general use in the kitchen
oven or on the stovetop. For inside use, would I be better off with a
5qt or 7qt Dutch Oven? What size do you pros use in the kitchen for
stews, roasts, baking, etc? Thanks...

"Mike" > wrote in message
om...
> I am new to cast iron cooking. I have an old 10" family frying pan, a
> old 10.25" 3qt fryer with lid, two new Lodge frying pans, one 10" chef
> style skillet with sloped sides and a large 13.25" skillet. I also
> have a large 9qt Dutch Oven which I plan to use mostly on an outdoor
> gas burner for frying fish, making Gumbo and Jambalaya out side. This
> Dutch oven is NOT the camp style with feet and a lipped lid for coals.
> This 9qt Dutch Oven seems too large for general use in the kitchen
> oven or on the stovetop. For inside use, would I be better off with a
> 5qt or 7qt Dutch Oven? What size do you pros use in the kitchen for
> stews, roasts, baking, etc? Thanks...

I'm a far cry from a pro, but I recently purchased the
All-Clad 5-1/2 quart Dutch oven which you use on the stove top or oven. I'm
pleased with the size. I also have an 8 qt. but for most part I think I
will be using the 5-l//2 qt. size more.

Chris in Pearland, TX

On 27 Jan 2004 06:59:07 -0800, (Mike) wrote:

>This 9qt Dutch Oven seems too large for general use in the kitchen
>oven or on the stovetop. For inside use, would I be better off with a
>5qt or 7qt Dutch Oven? What size do you pros use in the kitchen for
>stews, roasts, baking, etc? Thanks...

Not a pro here, but we prefer the 7 qt. round for general use. I would
think the 5+ qt. oval would be a decent alternative, though -- but the
5qt round would have limited capability for dishes like osso bucco
that need more room due to the bones.

-- Larry

"pltrgyst" > wrote in message
...
> On 27 Jan 2004 06:59:07 -0800, (Mike) wrote:
>
> >This 9qt Dutch Oven seems too large for general use in the kitchen
> >oven or on the stovetop. For inside use, would I be better off with a
> >5qt or 7qt Dutch Oven? What size do you pros use in the kitchen for
> >stews, roasts, baking, etc? Thanks...
>
> Not a pro here, but we prefer the 7 qt. round for general use. I would
> think the 5+ qt. oval would be a decent alternative, though -- but the
> 5qt round would have limited capability for dishes like osso bucco
> that need more room due to the bones.
>
> -- Larry
>

I have a 4-1/2 qt Reverware Dutch oven, which is big enough for most things.
I have a 5-qt New Visions Dutch oven, which I hate because things burn too
easily in it if I'm not paying attention. It is used for noodles
regardless, since it is big. Sometimes, it would be nice to have one that
is 5-1/2 qts to 6 qts for soup, because sometimes the other pans just aren't
big enough. Then I could get rid of the glass 5-qt Dutch oven that I don't
like. We have a new kitchen remodeling place, which sells some upscale
cooking stuff like All-Clad pans and Wusthoff knives. I should have really
go there and take a peek at what they have. I guess Le Creuset would be
nice, but the price always scares me away.

Dawn

> I have a 4-1/2 qt Reverware Dutch oven, which is big enough for most things.
> I have a 5-qt New Visions Dutch oven, which I hate because things burn too
> easily in it if I'm not paying attention. It is used for noodles
> regardless, since it is big. Sometimes, it would be nice to have one that
> is 5-1/2 qts to 6 qts for soup, because sometimes the other pans just aren't
> big enough. Then I could get rid of the glass 5-qt Dutch oven that I don't
> like. We have a new kitchen remodeling place, which sells some upscale
> cooking stuff like All-Clad pans and Wusthoff knives. I should have really
> go there and take a peek at what they have. I guess Le Creuset would be
> nice, but the price always scares me away.

If you live anywhere near a Le Creuset outlet, you might try to find one
during their twice-a-year sale. I bought my Le Creuset dutch oven
(which I love) for an amazing price, about 3 years ago. I was at the
outlet on the first day of the sale, before the store even opened. I
was the first one in the door, and I found this wonderful Dutch oven - I
think it was a discontinued color. I only paid about $65 for the 7
quart size - which is still a lot of money but not that bad for a large
dutch oven like that - that's less than half the normal price today.
The sales are in July and December.

The 7 quart is a great size - anything bigger would just be too big for
my stove. A smaller pan just wouldn't give me enough space for a big
batch of stew or spaghetti sauce. I have the round one.

Karen

"Karen Wheless" > wrote in message
om...
> > I have a 4-1/2 qt Reverware Dutch oven, which is big enough for most
things.
> > I have a 5-qt New Visions Dutch oven, which I hate because things burn
too
> > easily in it if I'm not paying attention. It is used for noodles
> > regardless, since it is big. Sometimes, it would be nice to have one
that
> > is 5-1/2 qts to 6 qts for soup, because sometimes the other pans just
aren't
> > big enough. Then I could get rid of the glass 5-qt Dutch oven that I
don't
> > like. We have a new kitchen remodeling place, which sells some upscale
> > cooking stuff like All-Clad pans and Wusthoff knives. I should have
really
> > go there and take a peek at what they have. I guess Le Creuset would be
> > nice, but the price always scares me away.
>
> If you live anywhere near a Le Creuset outlet, you might try to find one
> during their twice-a-year sale. I bought my Le Creuset dutch oven
> (which I love) for an amazing price, about 3 years ago. I was at the
> outlet on the first day of the sale, before the store even opened. I
> was the first one in the door, and I found this wonderful Dutch oven - I
> think it was a discontinued color. I only paid about $65 for the 7
> quart size - which is still a lot of money but not that bad for a large
> dutch oven like that - that's less than half the normal price today.
> The sales are in July and December.
>
> The 7 quart is a great size - anything bigger would just be too big for
> my stove. A smaller pan just wouldn't give me enough space for a big
> batch of stew or spaghetti sauce. I have the round one.
>
> Karen

I'll have to look into that. We have an outlet mall a little over an hour
away.

Dawn

On Tue, 27 Jan 2004 20:22:24 -0600, "DawnK" >
wrote:

> I guess Le Creuset would be
>nice, but the price always scares me away.

Yes, Le Creuset is expensive, but look he
http://caplanduval.com/lec1.html

I've found the best prices here, and Le Creuset cooks and cleans up so
nicely, I think it's worth it. Plus, you can put it in the
dishwasher!

In article >,
"Christine" > wrote:

> "Mike" > wrote in message
> om...
> > I am new to cast iron cooking. I have an old 10" family frying pan, a
> > old 10.25" 3qt fryer with lid, two new Lodge frying pans, one 10" chef
> > style skillet with sloped sides and a large 13.25" skillet. I also
> > have a large 9qt Dutch Oven which I plan to use mostly on an outdoor
> > gas burner for frying fish, making Gumbo and Jambalaya out side. This
> > Dutch oven is NOT the camp style with feet and a lipped lid for coals.
> > This 9qt Dutch Oven seems too large for general use in the kitchen
> > oven or on the stovetop. For inside use, would I be better off with a
> > 5qt or 7qt Dutch Oven? What size do you pros use in the kitchen for
> > stews, roasts, baking, etc? Thanks...
>
> I'm a far cry from a pro, but I recently purchased the
> All-Clad 5-1/2 quart Dutch oven which you use on the stove top or oven. I'm
> pleased with the size. I also have an 8 qt. but for most part I think I
> will be using the 5-l//2 qt. size more.
>
> Chris in Pearland, TX
>
>

I bought a Lodge Logic 5 qt. Dutch oven, which is a good size for just
the two of us. I haven't found anything to complain about, it cleans up
easily, is easy to freshen the seasoning, and needless to say, cooks
wonderfully. I love it.
Dave Lawson