LOVE IT!!! I have a couple of pieces (8 qt. saucier and 4 qt. saucier) that rock my socks off. My parents had Le Cruset in the 70s in tomato, updated a piece or 2 in the 80s to almond. Mine are blue, though I like the citrus colored ones, too.

Seriously, though, they are super worth it. Even heating, non stick but not teflon-y gross, very quick clean up.

I have a few pieces. I love them. The advantage of the enamel is that they have a lower-stick (not quite non-stick but close) surface, and more than that, they are easier to clean than regular old cast iron. They're specialized though - like any cast iron pan, they're too heavy for cooking things you'll want to shake or flip. They can go from the stove top to the oven (or vice versa), which I love. I have two dutch ovens that I use for roasting chicken, pot roast, stews, etc. The lids seal really tight to keep everything warm and steamy inside. And I have a grill pan for winter grilling. But I definitely don't use them for everything, I think you need to have a variety different kinds of pans for doing different jobs. BTW, the smaller dutch ovens (2-3 qt.) are not too expensive and really handy.

I like the stuff, but it is heavy. Some of the older stuff is actually lighter I think. I like the fact that there is no metal in contact with your food, but there are lot's of times I like stainless better. I use the enameled stuff for longer stewing and baking things mostly. I like my really large frying pan shaped one with a domed lid for cooking things that simmer for a long time. I like the little dutch oven ones for baking things in, and I wish I had a baking dish type one, a pretty big soup pot and a bigger dutch oven. I can't tell you how many of those dutch oven types I've passed up because they were that ugly orange. At this point I would just buy one anyway. I don't like the sauce pans much because of the weight, and prefer my light stainless saute pan for most wet saute type stuff. I did have a light weight enameled saute pan that I loved, but someone dropped it and it broke:( All of mine are thrift store finds and some of them are pretty nice. Don't get caught up on new stuff and brand names too much. One last thing. I don't think that these at all replace cast iron. I use cast Iron for dry frying and oily stuff only, like Crepes, pancakes, scrambled eggs, hashbrowns etc... anything too wet ruins the seasoning and picks up iron from the pan. That's what cast iron is good for.

These are my favorite pieces of cookware for a wide variety of reasons - the fact that they're relatively non-stick being one but the main one being the way heat is distributed and they hold the heat. I inherited some from my mother that were bought in the 70s (though a roommate did destroy one, which was quite tragic, so tragic that I still remember it though it happened years ago! ;). Considering that they last a lifetime (or two or more) if properly taken care of, they're well worth the investment. You don't necessarily have to buy le creuset, there are a lot of other people making enameled cast iron cookware these days too (and not all the pieces I've picked up over the years are le creuset, there are a lot of other European brands of enameled cookware). Also, it's possible to have them re-enameled if the enamel gets destroyed somehow.

Hi Aislinn,

I love my enameled cast iron by Le Creuset. My collection includes a dutch oven, a fondue set, and a small skillet. For everything else I use a 10" lodge cast iron skillet and all-clad stainless steel cookware.

I won't rehash what everyone else said, but I strongly recommend you haunt the Le Creuset outlet stores as you can get some killer deals if you're willing to limit yourself on colors. Each of my pieces was acquired for half the retail price because i was willing to wait for sales or accept a very minor flaw in the paint job. I recommend you pick up a piece at a time rather than buying a set. I don't know where in California you live, but I had good experiences at the Gilroy store back in the day.

The reason to enamel cast iron is to prevent certain unpleasant chemical reactions form occuring during cooking, specifically acidic foods will pick up unpleasant colors and flavors from the iron. Cast Iron is a really durable and conductive metal for cookware, and is superior to most other metals, so I guess originally enamelling was an attempt to enable cooks to have the benefits of irons positive qualities while also being able to use acidic ingredients. The biggest problem with enamelled cast iron is its tendency to chip, especially with hard use, after which it's almost impossible to repair.
If you value your enamelware, I suggest treating it gently, using wooden spoons and spatulas, cleaning with non abrasives and such.
Personally, I don't own any of it, and probably wouldn't buy it for this very reason. I've always found that a heavy stainless steel pan works best overall. Good luck!