What cocotte to buy?

Many of you ask me daily, Claudia, which cocotte do you recommend?

So I thought it would be a good idea to make a post to clear up doubts.

1. Introduction

The first thing is to understand why the greatest chefs use cocottes. They are not simple kitchen utensils, they are THE kitchen utensils. A Le Creuset cocotte is for life, and that is the firm's public commitment to its customers: "Lifetime Guarantee". An object that you can fill with memories and spread with experiences so that your children can repeat and continue with the legacy.

2. What shape, size and height is the best for me?

That is not the first question. The first question before buying a cocotte is what am I going to cook? Below I will explain for what type of recipes one is better than the other.

Oval Cocotte – ideal for poultry, meat and fish

Round Cocotte – “chup chup” effect stews

Mini cocottes – ideal for a beautiful presentation, especially in pastries, but also any type of stew.

Cocotte Doufeu - their special design makes them suitable for preparing meats and those stews that require slow and prolonged cooking. You can add ice on top of the lid so that it sprays your dishes with steam. The result is incredible.

Low Cocotte – ideal for cooking rice and stews.

3. Iron or ceramic? Le Creuset or Emily Henry? duel of titans

This is one of the questions that you make most difficult for me since I am totally delighted with both firms, but in any case you have to know their differences to make a decision. Although honestly I and many of you know that you have cocottes, casseroles or trays from both companies and you use the one that suits you best on each occasion. Perhaps you have an Emily Henry baking sheet and a Le Creuset cast-iron casserole dish for casseroles. Well, there are so many possibilities! Let's continue and then you decide! ;)

Advantages of cast iron: excellent transmission and distribution of heat, our recipes for Le Creuset cocotte will always be spectacular. That is why the Le Creuset vitrified cast iron cocotte is the best seller. It also has the advantage that it is suitable for all types of cookers: gas, vitro, induction, oven or wood.

Advantages of ceramic: Emile Henry's cocottes and casseroles are made of vitrified stoneware and are the alternative to cast iron in Le Creuset's cocottes. They also have very similar properties. Some differences: they are lighter due to the material they are made of. Stoneware is also a great conductor of heat and, like iron, distributes heat fantastically over the entire surface. If any reader has one at home, she can confirm what I say, it's amazing!

The manufacturing process is very natural, its cocottes and casseroles are made of Burgundy clay fired at more than 2000ºC, which is why they are so resistant to shock and temperature changes. If you take good care of them, they will always be like the first day and they will offer us some excellent stews.

4: Emile Henry Advantage

In addition to its lightness, here is another advantage for Emile Henry: unlike iron ones, they can be put in the microwave to heat our recipes. In addition, the ceramic does not heat up in the microwave so the handles will never burn.

5: Le Creuset Advantage

And to be fair now an advantage for Le Creuset: they can be used on induction cookers and Emile Henry's can't. Do not panic! If you love your Emile Henry utensils and don't want to give up an induction cooker, you can use the disc supplied by the manufacturer.

7. Does color influence?

No, although the volcanic-colored Le Creuset cocotte is the best seller, it is not for a benefit in the kitchen but because it is a classic among the classics. Julia Child herself used it but she would have liked to have all the assortment of colors that we have now. ;)

I hope this post has been useful to you and do not hesitate to ask me any other questions!