There are many types of Dutch oven on the market, the two most famous ones being Staub and Le Creuset. We have done a review of Le creuset before, if you are interested, you can take a look.
Since Staub’s Dutch oven are also famous, we were curious to see if they worked as well as claimed and compared the two brands. This time I specially invited my friends in the office to conduct an evaluation with me, from the product’s performance and appearance to the cooking taste.
In fact, people use pots more often for daily cooking, but why choose cast Dutch oven? In fact, compared to ordinary pots, Dutch oven can transfer heat better. The internal circulation technology of Dutch oven allows food to lock in more moisture, maintain the taste of food, and will not make the meat become too chewy and difficult to chew. Moreover, Dutch oven are also used to bake bread. It allows the bread to ferment better inside, and the baked bread is sweet and delicious.
If you are also curious about whether this Dutch oven is as useful as the rumors, come and review it with us.
- PROS:
- Nice design
- Unique pot lid design
- Good thermal insulation effect
- Browning on the bottom of the pan will not be obvious
- CONS:
- The pot is very heavy
- Not suitable for small stoves
- material：Cast Iron, Enamel
- Capacity：7 Quarts
- Item Weight：17.25 pounds
- Dishwasher Safe：Yes
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The most distinctive feature of Staub is probably its elegant enamel material. Unlike Le creuset, its color saturation is relatively low. If you don’t like too bright colors, Staub may be more suitable for you. Its shape can easily transition from the kitchen to the dining table, and it can be served directly to the dining table after cooking. Staub is purely handmade in France. The entire pot has a certain weight. Since it is made of cast iron, its heat preservation effect can be imagined. The black interior finish also avoids the damage caused by long-term high-temperature cooking. Color settling problem. However, in daily use, you still need to use a silicone or wooden spatula to protect the material inside the pot.
Performance
You can clearly see that there are many rainforest-like spikes on the pot lid. When the pot lid is covered for cooking, the water droplets condensed on the food in the pot can be collected again, making the food more flavorful. The temperature reaches 900F/482C when the lid is not covered, and the temperature reaches 500F/260C when the lid is on, which can lock the temperature well. The hard ceramic surface is suitable for stoves.
Differences between Staub and Le creuset
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The overall performance of this oven is not much different from that of le creuset. But there are also obvious differences. Overall, the Le Creuset oven is lighter. The 7.25-quart dutch oven only weighs 13.49 pounds, but the Staub 7-quart oven weighs 17.25 pounds. If you need to move the oven frequently on a daily basis, you may need to consider the weight issue. Due to the unique design of the Staub pot lid, Staub can lock in more moisture. The interior of Le cresuet has an off-white finish, and the interior of the staub has a black matte finish. Those who have used Le cresuet should know that color will settle inside after using it for a long time. Although this will also increase a certain amount of non-stickiness, if you feel Will affect your visual effect, then this problem will not exist inside Staub, the black finish will cover the pigmentation well.
How did I test it?
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I did a cooking test on two foods. One is chicken legs and the other is rice. These are the two foods I often eat. So I can taste the difference in making it in a staub Dutch oven.
Brush the surface of the pot evenly with oil and heat it. When the oil is hot enough, put the chicken legs in. There will be no signs of sticking to the pot. Fry both sides until golden brown, cover the pot and simmer for a while. When you open the pot again, you will see that some fat from the chicken legs has settled inside the pot. It didn’t stick to the pot after covering the pot, and the inside of the chicken leg tasted full of juice. I was afraid that the inside would not be completely cooked, so I simmered it for a while, and it didn’t become woody because of this.
I am a rice lover, so I cooked a pot of rice using this recipe. I rarely use a pot to cook rice, so I was afraid that the bottom would burn, so I added a thin layer of oil, but the best result was unexpected, there was no bottom, and the rice was plump. And its heat retention effect is very good, the rice is still warm after staying in the pot for several hours.
Test Results
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Durability
Because the body of the pot is handmade and made of hard cast iron, it is very durable. The bottom of the pot does not require stoves and is suitable for almost all household stoves. Stir-fried, fried, stewed and roasted in one pot, it is multi-purpose, bringing a variety of options for daily cooking.
Cleaning
If you have time and you don’t want to wash the pot, you can put it directly in the dishwasher. However, we still recommend hand washing, and just use ordinary household dish soap to wipe it.
Food texture
Its temperature-locking and water-locking function allows the food to maintain its freshness. If you cover the pot for simmering, you won’t have to worry about the food drying out or being scorched at the bottom. The lid will keep the juice in the pot, ensuring The texture of food.
Is it worth buying?
If you are a person who has requirements on taste, this oven is worth buying. It will ensure the juicy taste of the meat and will not lose the aroma, but if you need to move the pot frequently and you are not very strong, then I suggest you choose carefully, because it may be unsafe. This pot is heavier than an ordinary dutch oven.