Lodge Logic 7-Quart Dutch Oven with Spiral Handle Bail and Iron Cover

Comment: This is a beautiful Dutch oven that comes with a self basting lid (a nice touch). To add to your collection, purchase the 12" Lodge iron skillet, but pass on the costly skillet lid. The lid for this Dutch oven is the "Perfect" fit for the 12" skillet.

I could not be more satisfied with the speed of delivery and quality of the merchandise.

As a side note: Avoid the use of Pam Spray (at all cost), regardless of Lodge recommendations. Pam build-up is unrelenting with it's accumulation of glue-like residue, requiring great effort to remove it, should you decide to soap and scour your ironware for re-seasoning. I have been using cast iron cookware for many years, and highly recommend that you only season and prep your cookware with a light coat of vegetable oil, canola oil or a combination of the two. Many recommend the use of Crisco...I do not. It smokes and stinks in the oven, and does no better job of seasoning your cookware. Bake your (soaped, cleaned and dried) oiled cookware at 350 degrees for one our, then wipe clean with a cloth towel while still hot enough to handle. When ready to cook, wet a paper towel with oil, spread it about the cooking surface and you're ready for non-stick cooking.

Cast Iron is fun to use, just take care of it..

Comment: After using my grandfather's hand-me-down cast iron skillet for two decades, I decided it was time to spend $200 on a new one. I read dozens of reviews, including Cooks Illustrated, Target, Amazon, etc. I am VERY happy I chose the Lodge. Stews, roasts, Mediterranean dishes (recommending a Tagine), even bread, cook perfectly The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars is because of the weight when taking it out of oven with a stew or roast. Use proper lifting posture (bend knees and use leg muscles, not back) and it's fine. And I saved about $130.

Comment: I purchased this as a gift for my boyfriend who loves to cook. He wanted a set of cast iron and this met all of the criteria suggested by his favorite, science-loving celebrity chef. We have made stew and baked beans and chili and we adore it. The bale and the spikes on the inside of the lid are awesome features.

Comment: I bought this to use on an outdoor burner when I make my homemade spaghetti sauce from our garden tomatoes. My recipe takes 2-1/2 hours to cook, so cooking inside was damaging the stove and my Farberware pans. This is very heavy and will stand the heat for the long cooking time. I love this dutch oven.

Comment: I reviewed this item several years ago before Lodge figured out that they'd sell more cast iron wear if they pre-seasoned the cast iron. Not that it's very hard to season a cast iron pan -- just slather it with Crisco and stick it in the oven on low (240 - 260 degrees F.) for a few hours, but that's technology that seems to elude the modern cook. I have to say it: I love cast iron cookwear -- it cooks better than anything else, as long as you maintain it correctly. Here's my old review of the Lodge Original Finish 7-Quart Dutch Oven, hope it's useful. Note that Lodge has a great website with a lot of tips and interesting recipes: [...]

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I own several old, but no-name cast iron pots and skillets I've picked up over the years at flea markets. I have always preferred cooking certain things (cornbread, eggs and bacon) in cast iron skillets because the results are just better. You just can't get the crunch or even heating with most of the cookware sold today. Plus, if cared for reasonably well, cast iron is better at 'nonstick' than any of the coated wonders hawked on TV.

(As for "non-stick", forget it. They haven't invented a nonstick pot or pan yet that didn't burn, scratch or emit weird fumes when overheated.)

I recently became interested in purchasing a dutch oven as a result of using my existing cast iron pot for baking bread (NY Times came out with an amazing no-knead recipe in November 2006). Although I've looked at the off-shore imports (most Lodge stuff is made in the USA), which run about $10 cheaper than Lodge, upon comparing the fit and finish, I bought the Lodge 7 qt. indoor dutch oven, the pre-cured Lodge Logic version. It is large enough for a variety of uses, including frying, baking, roasting and stews, and will probably replace our largest Farberware pot which has served us pretty well to date.

I should offer a tip that I haven't seen in any of the other comments -- crusted on gunk is rare for cast iron, but it can occur. NEVER use any steel scouring pad or scouring powder. Ordinary table salt and a paper towel works perfectly well to get the gunk off, plus you can rinse the pot completely clean with a squirt of hot water (salt dissolves!). Another use for salt is as an aid for curing skillets. Sprinkling a little salt in the pan before pouring in a little olive oil and setting on low heat helps distribute the oil evenly and aids in the curing process. I'm not sure why this works, but it does. Just remember to wipe/wash out all the salt after the curing process is done. Again, a spray of hot water followed by thorough drying makes this a snap.

If only cast iron was light enough to backpack....