Cocottes Invicta

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martyn94
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Cocottes Invicta

Post by martyn94 »

I'm not sure whether this is a "food matter" or "shopping", but what the hell. I've slowly been constructing a batterie de cuisine here, and about a year ago I decided I needed a cocotte. I've always bought Le Creuset, over decades,(though was once given a secondhand Staub) and been happy enough. But their prices are now a very long way beyond ludicrous. A 24cm Le Creuset pot now costs anything north of €185 on Amazon.fr.

A friend recommended this instead, for €62, from a long-established French foundry

https://www.amazon.fr/Invicta-302240-Co ... a+20+rouge

To cut a long story short, I've been entirely satisfied with it, over a year's quite heavy use, and it shows every sign of lasting for my lifetime. If anything, the enamel on the inside seems tougher than the cream enamel inside Le Creuset pots, which has been a bit delicate in my experience.

I was moved to write this because I've just bought another, smaller, one.
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EILEEN
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Post by EILEEN »

Thanks, Martyn94. Good to know. I also found Le Cruset too expensive and dissapointing re enamelling inside. But now I find them too heavy! (Older age) Are Invicta any lighter ,please.?
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martyn94
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Post by martyn94 »

EILEEN wrote:Thanks, Martyn94. Good to know. I also found Le Cruset too expensive and dissapointing re enamelling inside. But now I find them too heavy! (Older age) Are Invicta any lighter ,please.?
I fear not: my new 20cm Invicta weighs about 20gm more than my 20cm Le Creuset (on loan here): they are both about 1.5kg. without the lid. I also have a 20cm cast-aluminium non-stick pot from Aldi a few years ago which weighs only 850gm (which makes a big difference). I prefer the cast-iron if I need to brown things, but in other respects it is entirely OK. Your chances of finding exactly the same thing are about nil, but there must be similar products around.
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EILEEN
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Post by EILEEN »

Thanks Martyn94. No Invicta, then! I also bought a cheapie in Lidle or Aldi a few years ago and it is ok for some things... rubber/plastic handles make it no good for the oven. I also tried a Swedish brand, often found on the markets,; weight perfect but again the interior lining did not last too long considering the price.! So back to the cheapies... change more often!!
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martyn94
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Post by martyn94 »

EILEEN wrote:Thanks Martyn94. No Invicta, then! I also bought a cheapie in Lidle or Aldi a few years ago and it is ok for some things... rubber/plastic handles make it no good for the oven. I also tried a Swedish brand, often found on the markets,; weight perfect but again the interior lining did not last too long considering the price.! So back to the cheapies... change more often!!
Change more often, bigly! In practice, I've found that the non-stick on my Aldi pot is pretty tough (though to be fair, it was reduced when I bought it). They tell you to take the silicone hand-grips off for an oven hotter than 190C (from memory), but when would you want to do that? Meanwhile, it's making my lunchtime soup at around 100C.
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Post by EILEEN »

One of my "best buys" in cookware, was a set of 3 cast iron frying pans from , I think , the Sunday Times, about 45 years ago. Still using one... gave the 2 smaller ones away! We paid £3 for the set.
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martyn94
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Post by martyn94 »

EILEEN wrote:One of my "best buys" in cookware, was a set of 3 cast iron frying pans from , I think , the Sunday Times, about 45 years ago. Still using one... gave the 2 smaller ones away! We paid £3 for the set.
I have a big cast-iron Le Creuset frying pan which is a spring chicken at only about 35 years old. It is excellent in many respects, but I will soon need both hands to pick it up. I have told myself that I keep it just in case bad people break into my house. That prospect has been more than theoretical recently (which is a whole other story) so in practice I wouldn't dare: I would surely kill them if I got a good swing. It's not that I would be convicted for it, but the paperasse would be tiresome.
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Post by Webdoc »

I was recently given a cast iron Dutch oven as a present and had an entertaining time "curing" it to make my own non-stick coating. After burning off the wax layer it came packed in on the BBQ it turned a rusty brown colour. Then 3 separate applications of goose fat, each baked on in the hottest oven, and it's now shiny and black all over, and rust-proof.

I haven't used it yet as it needs an open fire (it has 3 stubby legs) but I believe the coating lasts for years as long as it's cleaned only with hot water and no soap or scourer.

The weight of cast iron cookware is of course all about spreading the heat evenly across the cooking surface to reduce the chance of burning.
martyn94
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Post by martyn94 »

Webdoc wrote:I was recently given a cast iron Dutch oven as a present and had an entertaining time "curing" it to make my own non-stick coating. After burning off the wax layer it came packed in on the BBQ it turned a rusty brown colour. Then 3 separate applications of goose fat, each baked on in the hottest oven, and it's now shiny and black all over, and rust-proof.

I haven't used it yet as it needs an open fire (it has 3 stubby legs) but I believe the coating lasts for years as long as it's cleaned only with hot water and no soap or scourer.

The weight of cast iron cookware is of course all about spreading the heat evenly across the cooking surface to reduce the chance of burning.
They maybe need treating gently for the first decade or too. But there is a certain amount of voodoo about "no soap or scourer". I have an old mild-steel wok that goes in the dishwasher quite happily.
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Microwave

Post by rainbow »

Forget pans and pots you cant beat the microwave or wrap in tin foil on an open fire
Best Wishes
martyn94
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Re: Microwave

Post by martyn94 »

rainbow wrote:Forget pans and pots you cant beat the microwave or wrap in tin foil on an open fire
Or wrap in tinfoil in the microwave and get free fireworks.
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Post by Sus »

I am afraid that I am a diehard Creuset fan, we cook a lot and tried others and they never quite matched the original. I have had an oval Creuset for years and it still has no damage despite numerous currys, chillies and of course the countless soups. the weight sometimes bothers me, and I always had to use both hands but the cooking is just too good. We also bought a set of the small ones with lids, nothing better for that French onion soup!
martyn94
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Post by martyn94 »

[quotee="E"]I am afraid that I am a diehard Creuset fan, we cook a lot and tried others and they never quite matched the original. I have had an oval Creuset for years and it still has no damage despite numerous currys, chillies and of course the countless soups. the weight sometimes bothers me, and I always had to use both hands but the cooking is just too good. We also bought a set of the small ones with lids, nothing better for that French onion soup![/quote]

No need to be afraid. I still have a few in various places, in various states of decrepitude, and I'm not throwing them away. But I know from experience that I knock them about more than they ultimately tolerate. And the current prices to replace them are just insane.
martyn94
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Post by martyn94 »

An update after almost another year. The invicta pots remain excellent, and as new. I have a Le Creuset which is almost identical to the one I use most, apart from the internal enamel. The invicta is the one I always reach for, particularly if I’m doing something robust like browning meat, largely because the internal enamel is bomb-proof.
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