Cooking in cast iron

Cast-iron cookware, the kind your grandmother’s grandmother probably used, is still around, although in designs and at prices that would probably flabbergast your ancestors. We tested the famed French-made Le Creuset, with its enamel coating in Crayola colors, as well as a less-expensive look-alike, Country Kitchen, made in China and sold on the Home Shopping Network.

Le Creuset stores sell their wares as individual pieces. For example, Le Creuset’s 5½-quart Dutch oven (which it calls a French oven) is $190. The Country Kitchen set we bought consisted of nine pieces, including a Dutch oven, for $150, making it a better buy if you want cast iron.

In our simple cooking tests, we didn’t see much difference between the two brands. Both are heavy to handle and produced very uneven pancakes in their frying pans. Le Creuset offers some pieces with a choice of uncoated or nonstick interior finishes. The nonstick still required some extra effort to clean.

A full set of cast iron may be impractical for everyday cooking, but a piece or two can be useful. For example, cooks who favor one-dish dinners may appreciate a Dutch oven, which will keep food warm for a long time and also look attractive on the table. Country Kitchen doesn’t offer one except as part of a set.