I while back I wrote a post about the best cookware not made in China. One of the most popular categories which warrants a closer look is the enameled cast iron dutch oven.
Back in the 1600’s, the Dutch were renowned for their casting techniques. It was an Englishman who traveled to the Netherlands in the early 1700s, studied these methods, and produced his own cast iron pots and named them Dutch ovens. They were a mainstay among early American settlers, who baked, stewed, fried, and roasted their food in them over open fires or in hearths. Today, we still call these heavy cast iron pots with lids by the same name.
What’s so special about ceramic coated cast iron? It’s a pretty well-known fact that cast iron is one of the best surfaces you can cook on. It’s known for its excellent heat retention and even heat distribution.
In around 1925, Le Creuset developed the first enameled cast iron cookware. It was a huge success. Enameled cast iron (which is just cast iron with a type of glass or ceramic applied to it) suddenly made cast iron easy to clean and relatively non-stick. Another huge advantage of enameled cast iron was that iron couldn’t leach from the pot into acidic foods like tomatoes and vinegar. They were also more stylish and more versatile.
Cookware continued to evolve. Ceramic started to be “cool” again as people started to realize the dangers of the chemicals like PTFEs and PFOAs used in non-stick cookware.
As we’ve seen happen in other industries, there was a mad rush to get these produced in China by American companies who should know better (I’m talking to you, Lodge, Tramontina, and Crock Pot). But then again, there are other companies who have stuck to their principles and continue to make these outside of China.
1. Le Creuset Enameled Cast Iron Dutch Oven
This is the iconic Le Creuset dutch oven in the iconic “Flame” color that started it all. The 5.5 quart model is the most popular size, but it comes in six different sizes. Like all of these it’s not light, but it’s great to cook in. My sister gave me one probably 20 years ago and it still cooks just as well as the day I got it.
This is the one that set the bar for all others to follow it.
2. Staub Cast Iron Dutch Oven
Staub is the Pepsi of enameled cast iron to Le Creuset’s Coke. Staub was founded in 1974 in Alsace. France and acquired in 2008 by Zwilling J.A. Henckels. Staub brought some innovations to the market; their Dutch ovens, also called cocettes, are black on the inside, which hides the discoloration that sometimes develops in the Le Creuset. It also has a unique lid with self-basting spikes that helps return moisture to food while cooking.
You can buy one at the Zwilling site directly, or you can try Amazon.
3. Made in Round Enameled Cast Iron Dutch Oven
I love Made In cookware. It’s a company that only makes things in the USA and Europe. They’re a favorite in many restaurants, not because they signed them up to do paid endorsements, but because they design cookware that chefs want to use and involves those chefs in the process of designing their products.
I love that like Le Creuset and Staub, they decided to make theirs in France as well. You can buy directly from them or from Amazon. They’re slightly lower in price than the others.
4. Lava Cast Iron Dutch Oven
I was pleased to see that there’s an affordable cast iron Dutch oven that’s made in Europe. This one sells for under $100. If you see the seller named “Growth Lead LLC”, they seem to be legit—they’re an organization that promotes Turkish-owned companies, which Lava is.
Lava is based in Eskisehir, Turkey. The brand was started in Turkey more than 40 years ago. From their product page and their reviews, it looks like they take their cast iron seriously. If you’re looking to just get into cooking on enameled cast iron without making a huge investment, this is a good way to go.
5. USA Enamel Cast Iron Dutch Oven
Lodge Cast Iron is an iconic name in American traditional cast iron. They’ve been making cast iron out of Pittsburg, Tennessee since 1896 and still do today.
Which is why it was like a slap in the face a few years ago to learn that they’d introduced an enameled cast iron line—but decided to make it in China. It felt like a money grab and a betrayal of everyone who ever bought from them to be sending jobs to China.
In 2023, they finally released their line of enameled cast iron made in the USA called USA Enamel. They positioned the launch as releasing it “after decades of dreaming and building”, but I have the feeling they got a lot of backlash. They still do sell their made in China enamel (called “Essential Enamel”) so you’ll want to go straight to the part of their site that says USA Enamel.
Those are the top choices I’ve found for enameled Dutch ovens not made in China. If you hear of any more, please let us know in the comments!
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- dutch ovens
- pots
