Le Creuset pans.

That is the exact reason I never invested in them!! They do look lovely, but having mild arthritis in my fingers and wrists, I don't think I would manage them!

Put them on Ebay or grow flowers in them ! I think you need to have been using them from a teenager to develop the musculature to lift them !

Too heavy for me, too!

Hmm. Could leave them sitting on hob to make it look like I'm a proper cook....? Use them as weights to save on gym fees? Better idea, DH can do the cooking, I like that idea!

Yes they are very heavy. I quite like my casseroles. They keep in the heat when the oven is turned off for a long time and go on cooking. x

Except for a medium sized casserole - I find them all far too heavy for me. Best to pass them on to someone who enjoys weightlifting and cookery.

I've got some and use the large casserole often. Very good for slow cooking in the oven or on the hob, particularly with very little liquid on a low setting, then they can go straight to the table for serving. I scrub them using something like Cif or Flash with bleach because they can stain otherwise. Not sure I'll be using the heaviest ones if I get frail but I'm fine with them at the moment.

Lovely and as long as they have 2handles I am fine! The lifetime guarantee is also what it says. The lid of a small casserole I used to use for cooking porridge in the slow oven overnight, started to shed a fine powder off the inside. I spoke to someone at John Lewis and having discounted damage from scrubbing (moi?) as I usually only ran the lid under the tap (as it was never in contact with the porridge) they asked me to bring it in. 3weeks later after having shown this to the Le Creuset rep, they rang me and simply replaced it with a new casserole!! I had no receipt as it had belonged to my DD and we "swapped" for a steamer which she wanted, but they were quite happy to say this must have been a manufacturing fault and to honour the " lifetime guarantee".

I used a huge Orange Le Creuset casserole dish for years and years, it was great when there were five of us at home.However, it was super heavy and now don't need it so got rid of it and bought the medium size one in white.
This is just the right size and will cook enough casserole for four or five if needed.Not too heavy at the moment.I also got rid of my orange frying pan
As well because it was too heavy, and bought a couple of very light ones instead.They do stain inside, but I don't mind that, as long as it is clean.

I'm afraid my large casserole sits unused on a shelf.
I can barely lift it empty let alone full - I'm worried that the oven shelf would buckle

I still use the large casserole that was a wedding present nearly 45 years ago, and have a couple of others that have been later additions.
I wouldn't be without them - they do seem to cook more evenly than ceramic casseroles.

I use the casserole as others have mentioned but really its too heavy for my back. I have a shallow one that's great for doing curries etc on top of the cooker and I don't have to lift that.

I love mine and have quite a few! We were given an orange one when we got married and I must retrieve if from which every daughter has it! I have had the enormous one in blue for around thirty years and the inside is awful but I maintain gives added flavour! I bought the big one when there were 7 of us to cook for and used it most weeks. Now, I use it for bulk cooking things like chilli or curry! I use the saute pan a lot for just the two of us. I also have two small casserole dishes and rarely use them except at c*******s when all pans etc are called into service. I sent the bloody big frying pan to Oxfam as it couldn't go in the dishwasher because it had a lovely wood handle!

If anyone is interested, I think JL do a special cleaner for le Creuset!!

I never gave them a thought because for me, like many others, they are too heavy.

I have three large pieces that sit on a shelf. Spend more time dusting them then using them!

As the one who does the cooking in our family I would love some, but they are too expensive for me. So if anyone has any that they want to get rid of..................

My oldest Le Cruset casserole is about 40 years old and brown. It is cast iron in its body, but has a lighter metal lid.
I bought it in Fenwicks dept store in the early 70s. I have never seen them again with the lighter metal lids. It makes it so much easier to lift.

It's almost as brown inside, but as Kitty says, it gives added flavour! x

I have been using Le Crueset for, frightening when I add the time up, approx. 50 yrs although I am now at the stage where I need to use both hands to lift heavy pots/casserole pots.

I clean mine by adding 1 scoop of Oxyclean in approx. 3ins of water and let it boil for half an hour. Looks like new when I'm finished.

I will try cleaning as suggested. Thanks x

I tried using Vanish on mine and they didn't come clean - years and years of cooking on there then.

The Oxyclean method really does work. Maybe do it a couple of times if the pots are very badly stained

Perhaps the 'patina' of a well-loved and -used casserole adds that certain je ne sais pas to your culinary creations?

That would be my excuse anyway

lefthanded you can get Le Creuset bargains on eBay and at outlets like Boundary Mill. The colour ranges change and prices plummet on odd pieces that are being discontinued. I've got the almond colour and picked up one casserole for a third of its retail price at Boundary Mill in one of their sales.

T K Maxx often have Le Creuset pots and crockery at half price.