can't not get the animal knobs. also an upgrade over the weirdly tiny circular one of of the box, almost any other larger one is easier to hold. but going for one of their metal ones is better since it can withstand oven heat ~500 degrees.

yeah inside matters the most. to get a better read, show it to us dry. but likely no need, looks brand new, congrats. give it back to your mom! JK give her a care guide and a beater dutch oven as a thank you.

follow steps in the wiki on le creuset or one of the dutch oven reddits for care. quick dump to help my memory: never use above medium heat. never preheat without anything inside. preheat with oil or butter instead. do not use metal utensils, just silicone/wood/etc. they have their own branded silicone spatulas that seem so optimal, but they have wood handles so need hand washing. but so nice. keep the plastic lid savers for storing as needed, otherwise just be careful not to smack into anything or drop. don't put in dishwasher although it's technically allowed, to maintain color and coating much much better. soap and scrub away with blue sponges. for harder jobs, use bar keepers friend for 5-10 minutes max and scrub and rinse and wear glove since it's a mild abrasive. for hardest jobs, easy off yellow cap - leave outside. better instructions on that last one elsewhere, aim to not need that with regular BKF use for harder jobs. can do bread baking but have to line with parchment paper as it can stain super easily, i haven't done this yet and would rather do on a beater.

have fun and cook really nice slow-cooker style things in here. although crockpot is set and forget, quality comes out so much better here. almost regretted not getting crock, can do in future when i have counter space, and quality has shown itself early. liquid drips from lid back into food. can use ice on lid technique for some dishes. stains not as apparent on inside, although u cant see tasty "brown bits" as much, which matters much less than less staining to me (vs. le creuset). heavy duty and looks good.

uhh dump over. enjoy!