My experience with Le Creuset cocottes

There are many of you who have doubts about the advantages of cooking in a cocotte . That's why today Raquel, author of Los Tragaldabas , tells us about her experience cooking with it, the advantages it brings us, gives us some tips to get the best out of it and ensure its maintenance, and inspires us with some recipes that you will surely love. Welcome to the world of Le Cresuet cocottes !

Le Creuset cocottes have been accompanying us in kitchens around the world since 1925. This means, in addition to a long history, a success in their enameled iron utensils that are undoubtedly your perfect ally in the kitchen. For me, using Le Creuset cocottes are synonymous with quality, healthy cooking, a perfect result and a perfect presentation on the table. For almost a century, cocottes have been recognized for their great performance, durability and elegant design.

How to cook in the cast iron cocotte

Cast iron is an excellent, resistant material and highly recommended for cooking in it. If you want to know more about the benefits of this, Miguel explained it perfectly in this post . Vitrified iron has the property of retaining heat uniformly, which means that we do not have to cook over high heat but rather use a medium-low heat, which will allow the perfect cooking of our food while maintaining all its qualities. All this implies that the energy savings are notable. I always, before cooking, place the cocotte on the unlit heat, turn on the vitro to a medium-low temperature and when it heats up I start cooking in it. That is the correct way to do it and not to put it on a hot fire, since suddenly exposing it to a high temperature can damage the enamel.

It is a type of cuisine very much from our grandmothers, that chup chup that makes our preparations cooked in a traditional way. Stews like this one with chickpeas and spinach , or rice dishes - like this delicious black rice with cuttlefish - are recipes whose results seem perfect to me and with such a concentrated flavor that cannot be achieved in other types of containers. This is due to the way it distributes heat and the vitrification of its interior, which does not add any additional flavor to the food.

Cast iron can be safely used on any heat source, including induction and oven. Don't tell me it's not perfect! How many times after preparing our dish do we need to give it a final touch in the oven? Well, you can put the cocotte in it without any problem making your dish look perfect, you just have to keep in mind that the lid knob is oven safe (in some models it is made of plastic and would not allow it).

In addition to cooking, you can remember that you can use the cocotte to keep your food in the refrigerator or freezer, if what we want is to make a dish in advance, and have it ready for the designated day. Even if we want to present a cold dish on hot summer days, it is the best option so that our preparation remains perfect and fresh by just keeping it in the refrigerator for a few hours. Do you know that you can make delicious marinades in the cocotte? The enamelled surface is waterproof, which makes it perfect for both preserving raw foods and acidic ingredients used for marinating. A recipe that turned out perfect and I always repeat it is this Quail Pickle : the flavor is so powerful and delicious that my mother, since she tried it, has not changed it for anything.

The variety that Le Creuset offers in its cocottes is very varied: sizes, shapes, colors... the objective is to adapt to the different cooking styles and cover the needs when serving, because your table will undoubtedly not look the same if the presentation is not adequate. With the cocottes your table will be perfect and its presentation will be unbeatable, in addition to the convenience of having used the same container from start to finish. High, low , round , oval , casserole-type cocottes ... and the Doufeu , don't you know them? They are cocottes with the peculiarity of being able to put cold water or ice in their lid and thus cook while our food is perfectly hydrated, ideal for preparing meats and stews with prolonged cooking.

Le Creuset is so confident in its products, that it offers you a lifetime guarantee! Although the initial investment seems high, I assure you that every euro you pay is amortized because you will surely spend more in the long run if you do not make a good choice of your kitchen utensils.

Maintenance and cleaning

Maintenance is very important and that is why I leave you some tips to follow:

• To remove, use silicone or wooden products. Remember that the surface can be scratched with metal elements or if you hit it.

• Let it cool before washing it with soap and water.

• If there are embedded food remains, do not clean it directly with the scouring pad: cover it with water and wait for it to soften, and then wash it with a sponge and soap.

• Dry well before storing.

• Do not drag on the ceramic hob, lift it up.

• Choose the right fire for your cocotte, this way you will prevent the walls from overheating or the handles from deteriorating.

• Never place on the oven base.

• Let it heat up gradually, so the cooking will be more regular.

• To preserve the interior glaze, it is advisable not to heat the cocotte while empty. We must always put oil, butter or any liquid completely covering the bottom of the cocotte.

Some recipes

I leave you some recipe suggestions to get you excited - I'm sure you'll love them!

Meatballs in teriyaki sauce

Bread in cocotte

Carrot cream

winter cocotte

Seafood soup

Old-fashioned chicken fricassé

New Evolution model from Le Creuset

Le Creuset has just launched the new model of cocottes, called Evoltion. This new 2015 model is very similar to the traditional cocotte model but presents certain improvements. You can discover them in this post .