Monday, October 19, 2009

enamel cast iron alternatives-Greenpots

i can fair very well in my shoebox kitchen with my small, budget friendly supplies and equipment...that is a the whole point of this blog-doing it small-scale, on the cheap and consciously.
but that doesn't mean a girl can't dream. in my dream kitchen, there a just a few things that i would LOVE to have (or have the room for): Vita-mix, food mill (soon!), a commercial oven, a huge antique prep counter and Le Creuset cookware.
Le Creuset, a french company has been making porcelain cast iron cookware since 1925, and if you are familiar with them, you are first familiar with their high price tag ($200 + for a dutch oven, for starters). but they are great for cooking and look absolutely beautiful. now don't get me wrong, i am still an advent follower of using La Chamba cookware, which i will talk about in detail in future CSA cooking, but one really can't beat the heavy bottom of these cast iron beauties for making candy and other treats, plus...well yes, they are gorgeous.
i was lucky enough to find one at the 127 yard sale, albeit a SMALL one but for only $5, it was the score of a lifetime, but recently a friend (who knows i have been oogling her Le Creuset wedding gift) sent me a link to a new company Greenpots, who are making affordable versions.
(7 1/2 qt. at $128)


(7 1/4 qt. at $310)

looks the same right. well they are except that one is 1/2 the price and not made in France. if you are not into brands i would consider getting one.
PS. my birthday is May 5th.

3 comments:

Tastie said...

I had a complete set of cast iron enamel pots and pans that a friends mom gave to me because she knew I loved to cook...They were a wedding gift she received in 1966. They were great, but I wound up only using the dutch oven. For soups, stews, braising, etc. The other pans were just too damn heavy for every day use. I wound up dropping all but the Dutch oven at Goodwill when I moved years ago. Then managed to lose the lid to the dutch oven.

delilah said...

glad that you kept the D.O...you can bake bread in them too (i will be posting about that soon).

you are right, they are heavy!!...you can use them instead of dumbbells!

Rebel Girl said...

I bake bread in my cast iron dutch oven - though I too wouldn't mind a birthday present made in France.