Tramontina 6.5-Qt. Cast Iron Dutch Oven, Green

I use a Crock Pot often and friends told me that you get more control with a Dutch Oven so I purchased this product and they were right. I'm glad I made the purchase. I've used it twice in the past 2 weeks and in both cases I was impressed with the results. The cover stays on very tight and it's easy to clean. It's a bit heavier than I expected when it's empty and certainly deserves complete concentration when carrying a full pot. I still use my Crock Pot for all day cooking when I'm at work.

Heats evenly, looks great, sturdy handle on the lid, has an extra half quart more than other dutch ovens and has an incredible price. You won't get a better one for the cost. Read other reviews before buying, this is a steal. Was rated to have one of the top values in Cooks Illustrated magazine.

I have used this product for about 3 weeks, and I am delighted with how it performs. In my oven and on the cooktop, the results have been great. It is very heavy to handle, and I would consider that to be the only negative. Liked it so much that I have just purchased a second dutch oven as a gift for my daughter! I own a LeCreuset dutch oven that I love, but this is a good product for a very reasonable price.

You cannot beat this dutch oven for performance and value. Even heat distribution. Heavy material. Easy clean-up. Beautiful green color. Would recommend to anyone who cooks with a dutch oven and does not want to pay for over-priced dutch ovens. Perfect size for families and parties.

I purchased the Tramontina 6.5 qt. Dutch Oven and the 3 qt. Braiser. I don't know how these compare to other similar priced cast iron products but this is what I found with these.

The enamel finish is not great but not bad for the price. The Dutch Oven had a large, quite obvious, half-inch chip in the enamel. The interior of the lid for the Braiser had a chip of green enamel in it from some other product but was enameled around it. It protrudes prominently. While it is in there securely for now, being enameled over, I imagine with the stresses of heating and cooling, it will eventually chip out exposing the metal. This will rust and expand, chipping out a larger and larger area of the enamel. The pot would be ruined.

I ordered another set. The pot of the Dutch Oven was OK. The casting of the lid was not good, with ripples and variations of thickness. The lid of the Braiser was even worse than the first with imperfections, points of metal, sticking up through the enamel finish. These would of course rust, chipping out the enamel in a progressively larger area.

I mixed and matched the pieces to get the best set and returned the rest. In truth, I was not very happy with the best of the parts, but figured for the price I shouldn't expect too much.

I seasoned the edges of the pots and the lids. I guess these are not enameled because they would eventually chip from putting the heavy lid on and off. While cleaning the drips of oil I caused during the seasoning process I noticed many more defects. Small chips in the enamel around the edges. The dome of one of the lids is way off center with the rim, causing the rim on one side to be twice as wide as the rim on the other side. While the rim on the narrow side is still wide enough to sit on the edge of the pot, it is just barely. I don't know how you cast something that poorly. On the rims of the lids are numerous bumps and ridges that will cause the lid to sit up off of the pot and not to seat and seal properly. I've been fileing these down. Quite a task.

The best you could say about the quality of the casting is that it is mediocre. The overall quality control during the manufacturing process and before final shipment appears to be non-existent. You get what you get.

I no longer think this product is worth the price. There are too many defects to expect them to last for years even though they are cast iron. If you care about the quality of the things you have, these are simply not something you would want in your home.

This pot/dutch oven is everything that I hoped it would be. It is very heavy .. I guess that is why it cooks so well. It heats up quickly, cooks evenly, holds heat for serving, cleans up easily. Besides that it looks nice.

I tried this pot right after I got it home. It is very nice value for the money, and cleans up easily. It does take a bit longer to heat up, but once it is hot it holds the heat nicely, and heats evenly. I haven't used it on the stove as yet, but the way it worked in the oven leads me to think it will be just what I wanted. It is a heavy product as it is cast iron, so you need to be aware of that. I wasn't sure if my oven turntable would be able to turn it, but it had no problem. Well worth the money.

I just used my dutch oven last night for the first time and was very impressed. I cooked French Chicken in a Pot from CooksIllustrated and it was Wonderful! The whole family loved it. Very tender and tasty. I followed the directions on seasoning it and it did stain a little on the inside and outside with cooking oil but a plastic scrubbie and dish soap took all the staining out. After I cooked my French Chicken in a Pot on the stove and in the oven, the pan cleaned up easily and looks brand new. I haven't cooked on high heat yet, and according to some viewers, It's best to change out the plastic knob to a metal one which I will do. Love this pan so far and plan on getting the smaller one. Also, it's a great price!

America's Test Kitchen rated this as performing as well as the most expensive brand. A couple of important information items they mention. 1) Handle: Only safe to 400 degrees. However, you can purchase a metal cabinet handle at the hardware store to use in an oven up to 500 degrees. 2) They claim they contacted the manufacturer who said it would be safe to use in a 500 degree oven as long as you put it in the oven before turning on the heat. The danger is putting it into an already hot oven.

This is such a great value! Don't forget to season the exposed cast iron before use. I expect I'll get many years of use out of this, and I saved a ton of money!