Lodge 5-Quart Cast Iron Dutch Oven with Iron Lid

I'm not sure what made me buy my Dutch oven all of those years ago, but I can honestly say that this is the star of my kitchen. Here's why:

1) You can cook any way you want to with one of these: bake, deep fry, saute, broil, stew, steam, simmer, stir fry, you name it.

2) You can cook anywhere: on the stove, in the oven, in the fireplace, or in the great outdoors. Well, maybe the microwave isn't such a great idea.

3) You can cook anything. I use my most often for chilis (every step of the way), but it's great for cobblers, sides, roasts- the works.

4) Cast iron means instant retro cred (people think you know how to cook) and is absolutely indestructible. This is one of the few things that comes with a REAL lifetime guarantee. Buy it and pass it down to your great-grandchildren. Also good for self-defense.

5) Seasoning is really pretty easy. The original non-stick surface!

I swear this thing makes the food seem more real. Cast iron IS home cooking, no doubt about it...Read more

Like a fine old watch, cast iron cookware appeals to the senses in ways beyond it's practicality. It heats evenly, retains heat forever, allowing fine finishing touches in cooking to continue after being removed from the heat source and cleans like Teflon if seasoned properly. But unlike commercial, non-stick surfaces, each use with cast iron adds flavor, enhances it's non-stick surface and leaves the legacy of blackening the cast iron piece by degree, each use, a shade of the past. Functional anywhere, stove top, grill, oven, campfire, even plain charcol brickets, cast iron and any heat source provide an elegant and functional complete technology for cooking. If this review seems excessive, it is because I am a romantic by nature and feel cooking is spiritual labor. This cookware appeals to my sense of the past and future. My children have laid claim to individual pieces at my demise (although ownership of the Dutch oven still remains in question due to it's...Read more

I own three pieces of cast iron cookware, and this item is one of them... and among my favorite cooking implements, period. Cast iron is not a quickie-cooking component (it takes time for the iron to heat, and it takes experience to gauge the iron's "perfect temperature" for sensitive dishes), but for dishes requiring steady, even heat and for cooks who require durable cookware with easy clean-up, cast iron CANNOT be beat!

This pot is going to last forever. Its care is easy: I scrub it with hot water only, and dry it with an old rag and apply a thin layer of vegetable oil while the iron is still hot... a year and a half later, it's still rust-free and delivering the reliable service I have come to expect and admire. No scratches interfere with its performance, as is the case with my allegedly-long-lasting Wearever nonstick cookware set (what a waste of money THAT was!). Heck, I even use my cast-iron skillet for CREPES, and that's saying something! Despite the pan's weight, it's...Read more