Le Creuset
Encyclopedia
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
cookware
Cookware and bakeware
Cookware and bakeware are types of food preparation containers commonly found in the kitchen. Cookware comprises cooking vessels, such as saucepans and frying pans, intended for use on a stove or range cooktop. Bakeware comprises cooking vessels intended for use inside an oven...
manufacturer best known for its colorful enameled cast iron casserole
Casserole
A casserole, from the French for "saucepan", is a large, deep dish used both in the oven and as a serving vessel. The word casserole is also used for the food cooked and served in such a vessel, with the cookware itself called a casserole dish or casserole pan...
s, which the company calls "French Ovens", or "Dutch Oven
Dutch oven
A Dutch oven is a thick-walled cooking pot with a tight-fitting lid. Dutch ovens have been used as cooking vessels for hundreds of years....
s". The company also makes many other types of cookware, from sauce pan
Cookware and bakeware
Cookware and bakeware are types of food preparation containers commonly found in the kitchen. Cookware comprises cooking vessels, such as saucepans and frying pans, intended for use on a stove or range cooktop. Bakeware comprises cooking vessels intended for use inside an oven...
s to tagines, and sells a line of corkscrews and wine openers under the "Screwpull" brand.
History
Le Creuset was founded in 1925 in the town of Fresnoy-le-GrandFresnoy-le-Grand
Fresnoy-le-Grand is a commune in the Aisne department in Picardy in northern France.The cookware manufacturer Le Creuset is based in the town and was founded there in 1925.-Population:-References:*...
in Northern France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
by two Belgian industrialists - Armand Desaegher (a casting specialist) and Octave Aubecq (an enameling specialist). The pair introduced the signature Le Creuset round cocotte (French/Dutch Oven) soon after; the cocotte remains the company's most popular cookware piece to this day.
In 1934 Le Creuset introduced the signature Flame (orange) colored enamel on its cast iron cookware items. The company also invented the doufeu, a Dutch oven with a concave lid that is filled with ice during the cooking process.
After World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Le Creuset began to focus on exportation, and by 1952, 50% of all cast iron production was bound for the United States. In 1955 Le Creuset introduced its first grill model - the Tostador - and in 1956 a new color, Elysees Yellow, was introduced to great success.
In 1957, Le Creuset purchased its competitor Les Hauts Fourneaux de Cousances and began producing some signature Cousances cookware vessels, including the doufeu, a cocotte with a water lid, under the Le Creuset brand.
The current Le Creuset logo was introduced in 1970 and was designed to be a symbolic representation of metal casting and molding.
The company was purchased by current owner Paul Van Zuydam in 1987.
Production
Cast iron cookware
Cast iron is used for cookware because it has excellent heat retention properties and can be produced and formed with a relatively low level of technology. Seasoning is used to protect bare cast iron from rust and to create a non-stick surface.-History:...
, the Le Creuset foundry
Foundry
A foundry is a factory that produces metal castings. Metals are cast into shapes by melting them into a liquid, pouring the metal in a mold, and removing the mold material or casting after the metal has solidified as it cools. The most common metals processed are aluminum and cast iron...
uses standard sand casting
Sand casting
Sand casting, also known as sand molded casting, is a metal casting process characterized by using sand as the mold material.It is relatively cheap and sufficiently refractory even for steel foundry use. A suitable bonding agent is mixed or occurs with the sand...
methods. After hand finishing, items are sprayed with two coats of enamel
Vitreous enamel
Vitreous enamel, also porcelain enamel in U.S. English, is a material made by fusing powdered glass to a substrate by firing, usually between 750 and 850 °C...
, each fired at 800 °C. The enamel becomes resistant to damage during normal use. Currently, all Le Creuset cast iron cookware is still manufactured in the company's foundry in Fresnoy-le-Grand
Fresnoy-le-Grand
Fresnoy-le-Grand is a commune in the Aisne department in Picardy in northern France.The cookware manufacturer Le Creuset is based in the town and was founded there in 1925.-Population:-References:*...
, where artisans employ a 12 step finishing process implemented by 15 different pairs of hands to ensure that there are no flaws or imperfections in the final product.
Other Le Creuset pieces include stoneware (manufactured in Thailand), enamel over steel stockpots (manufactured in China), and silicone bakeware (manufactured mainly in the U.S.) The company recently introduced a new line of premium stainless steel cookware and hard anodized fry pans.
Safety
Le Creuset cookware is known for its varied and vibrant colors. Some Le Creuset glazes at the red end of the spectrum (namely "cherry", "brick", and "flame") contain a small amount of cadmiumCadmium
Cadmium is a chemical element with the symbol Cd and atomic number 48. This soft, bluish-white metal is chemically similar to the two other stable metals in group 12, zinc and mercury. Similar to zinc, it prefers oxidation state +2 in most of its compounds and similar to mercury it shows a low...
, which can be toxic. In response to California Proposition 65 (1986)
California Proposition 65 (1986)
Proposition 65 is a California law passed by direct voter initiative in 1986 by a 63%-37% margin...
and similar legislation in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, Le Creuset changed their glaze formulation in the mid 1990s so that the cadmium in the glaze is chemically bound.
Use
Cassoulet
Cassoulet is a rich, slow-cooked bean stew or casserole originating in the south of France, containing meat , pork skin and white haricot beans....
, and other long-baking stew
Stew
A stew is a combination of solid food ingredients that have been cooked in liquid and served in the resultant gravy. Ingredients in a stew can include any combination of vegetables , meat, especially tougher meats suitable for slow-cooking, such as beef. Poultry, sausages, and seafood are also used...
s such as chili con carne
Chili con carne
Chili con carne is a spicy stew. The name of the dish derives from the Spanish chile con carne, "chili pepper with meat". Traditional versions are made, minimally, from chili peppers, garlic, onions, and cumin, along with chopped or ground beef. Beans and tomatoes are frequently included...
, cholent
Cholent
Cholent or Hamin is a traditional Jewish stew. It is usually simmered overnight for 12 hours or more, and eaten for lunch on Shabbat . Cholent was developed over the centuries to conform with Jewish religious laws that prohibit cooking on the Sabbath...
, and bouillabaisse
Bouillabaisse
Bouillabaisse is a seafood soup made with various kinds of cooked fish and shellfish and vegetables, flavored with a variety of herbs and spices such as garlic, orange peel, basil, bay leaf, fennel and saffron. Bouillabaisse is a traditional Provençal fish stew originating from the port city of...
. The company does not recommend using them for deep frying or making an oil-based roux
Roux
Roux is a cooked mixture of wheat flour and fat, traditionally butter. It is the thickening agent of three of the mother sauces of classical French cooking: sauce béchamel, sauce velouté and sauce espagnole. Clarified butter, vegetable oils, or lard are commonly used fats. It is used as a...
(as for gumbo
Gumbo
Gumbo is a stew or soup that originated in southern Louisiana during the 18th century. It consists primarily of a strongly-flavored stock, meat or shellfish, a thickener, and the vegetable holy trinity of celery, bell peppers, and onions...
), because some oils
Cooking oil
Cooking oil is purified fat of plant origin, which is usually liquid at room temperature ....
can become hot enough to damage the enamel.
Le Creuset enameled cast iron can be used on all cooking surfaces, including electric, gas, glass halogen and induction cooker
Induction cooker
An induction cooker uses induction heating for cooking. Unlike other forms of cooking, heat is generated directly in the pot or pan , as opposed to being generated in the stovetop by electrical coils or burning gas...
s. It can also be used for food storage (in the refrigerator) and in the oven.
Design
While most le Creuset cookware follows typical cookware design (i.e., the French/Dutch ovens are roughly cylindrical, with loop handles), some Le Creuset lines are designer originals. In the 1950s, the company retained designer Raymond LoewyRaymond Loewy
Raymond Loewy was an industrial designer, and the first to be featured on the cover of Time Magazine, on October 31, 1949. Born in France, he spent most of his professional career in the United States...
to design a line of their French/Dutch ovens, and 1973 saw the introduction of the "La Mama" line of cookware, designed for Le Creuset by Enzo Mari.