Why Le Creuset cookware should be on your shopping list

What makes Le Creuset so special? The heritage and craftsmanship behind the colourful cookware loved by generations of home cooks might surprise you
Le Creuset
19 December 2022

Finding your style in the kitchen isn’t just about honing in on the flavours, cuisines and techniques that suit your palate and temperament, but building a cookware collection that enhances such culinary experimentation too.

Take Le Creuset, one of the best-known names in cookware: the brand is beloved not just for dependable quality but its good looks too.

While professional kitchens are often equipped with highly-polished steel and copper cookware, domestic cooks know they can turn to Le Creuset for the perfect splash of colour and flair that helps make the kitchen the heart of the home.

Inventing a new type of kitchenware

Surprisingly, it was a meeting in Brussels nearly a century ago that gave rise to one of France’s most recognisable and enduring brands.

When Belgian industrialists Armand Desaegher and Octave Aubecq, respectively experts in metal casting and enamelling, met in 1925 at the Brussels Fair, they decided to work together on “cracking the code” of enamelled cast iron and thus inventing a new type of cookware.

The original pots came in a signature fiery orange colour
Le Creuset

Cast iron is renowned for its durability and even heat distribution but traditionally calls for a long-winded seasoning process and careful cleaning when used.

By introducing an enamelled finish, the duo created not only a smooth cooking surface but a chance to add vibrant pigmentation to the exterior too.

The pair chose to base their collaboration in France, with the foundry itself inspiring not just the brand’s name – Creuset meaning crucible, or melting pot, in French – but its signature fiery orange: the colour of molten metal, which Le Creuset aptly named ‘Volcanic’.

The Le Creuset foundry at Fresnoy-le-Grand in France
David Levene

Classic cookery meets modern tastes

For decades, Le Creuset was synonymous with the “Volcanic” shade, its multi-functional pieces taken from stove to oven to table: the centrepiece of shared meals, family stories and warm memories.

As enduring as the original colour is, the brand’s quality – backed up by a lifetime guarantee – sees built-to-last pieces passed down through the generations alongside favourite family recipes.

Built on tradition without being stuck in the past, in the near-century since it launched, Le Creuset’s colourful range has grown to include oven-to-table stoneware, table accessories and modern silicone utensils.

The brand’s new colourway for 2022, Bamboo, is a fresh green
Le Creuset

Colour too has been a source of seemingly endless exploration. Alternatives to the classic Volcanic were first introduced in the Forties, winning favour with domestic cooks and celebrities alike: Marilyn Monroe famously owned a 12-piece set in Elysées Yellow.

Since the Nineties, some 200 colourways have been introduced, the latest of which, Bamboo, is a fresh and verdant hue perfectly suited to contemporary tastes.

But it’s not just modern design schemes that are catered to by Le Creuset – the versatility of the classic casserole might just surprise you.

Discover Le Creuset

A Le Creuset bread oven traps steam for maximum rise
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A true all-rounder for all kinds of cuisine

Thanks to excellent heat distribution and retention, Le Creuset enamelled Cast Iron Casseroles can be used for everything from slow-braised stews and soups – getting the best out of cheaper cuts of meat or hearty lentils and legumes – to vegetarian pilafs and curries. It’s even the secret weapon behind some of the best bread you might ever bake.

As a home cook today, it’s easy to be tempted by multi-functional electronic gadgets and gizmos that promise so much.

But such technology comes at a price, not least complicated interfaces to decode and the question of storage for yet another bulky item, which, past the first flush of excited experimentation, often ends up gathering dust.

Conversely, not much has changed from the original Le Creuset design but that’s precisely where its beauty lies: simple to use, straight out of the box. It’s easy to see why Le Creuset passes the taste test, time and again.

Discover the full Le Creuset range at lecreuset.co.uk

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