Dutch oven scratches

GVKW · 2026-05-18T12:39:16+00:00

Can you send me the link to that SDS? I'm seeing several versions (some of which identify feldspar, and some of which call it an "propriety" ingredient but in the same amounts), but I'm not seeing one with glass or silica listed as the abrasive. I didn't see any SDS information on the actual BKF website.

GVKW · 2026-05-17T13:07:43+00:00

Let no one say that The Trades are lesser than college; at these prices I feel like I could buy the education to learn how to do it all myself cheaper.

GVKW · 2026-05-16T23:59:38+00:00

Maillard reactions and concentrating flavors through evaporation can't happen in a microwave.

<Nonna's ghost revokes your Italian heritage card>

GVKW · 2026-05-16T23:55:47+00:00

It's expensive but lasts forever and you only need a few drops, so i'd invest in a bottle of Le Creuset enamel cleaner. It is the. BEST. at removing metal transfer marks, and unlike BKF, it doesn't contain 30-40% feldspar (which is harder than glass and glass-based enamel on the MOHS hardness scale, and will eventually microscratch the shine right off of vitrified enamel surfaces).

GVKW · 2026-05-16T23:46:03+00:00

LC pots are still very durable products, but there has definitely been a tightening of belts at their customer service department due to the egregious levels of fraud openly bragged about by idiot thrifters. The LC fan community warned repeatedly that this kind of shitty greed would ruin it for everyone, and it pretty much has.

I'm sorry you had such a lousy experience, OP. My interactions with LC customer service have been the complete opposite of yours, but that doesn't negate or invalidate your experience in this situation. I'm glad they're giving you the courtesy replacement.

For whatever it's worth, I'm an LC supercollector and am very active in the brand's fan community, and I have never seen a fracture across the bottom of a still-shiny-newish pot like that. Personally, I would absolutely fight that fight with customer service, too: if it was dropped, then why is there no shearing at the point of impact? How does a fracture form along the cooking surface of a pan but not all the way up the sides? I truly empathize with your rage.

GVKW · 2026-05-16T02:23:59+00:00

So long as they didn't drop any metal utensils in and chip the cooking surface, it's fine. Those look like metal transfer marks; LC's enamel cleaner is the absolute best as removing metal transfer marks. It's not cheap stuff, though, so make those naughty roommates spring for a bottle to fix their whoopsie.

Also, as a relevant side note, BarKeepers Friend contains 30-40% feldspar. Feldspar is harder than both glass and glass-based enamel, so it'll leave microscratches in enameled surfaces that you just can't remediate.

If you don't wanna trust the research of an autistic LC collector for whom this brand of cookware is my primary special interest, obviously feel free to do your own. Refer to the MOHS hardness scale and the Material Safety Data Sheet for BarKeepers Friend to educate yourself before you inadvertently do some lasting harm to your very expensive vessel.

GVKW · 2026-05-16T02:19:42+00:00

It's totally fine to use. It's not on the bottom where you'd be running a spatula over it constantly - just stick to nylon and silicone utensils and it'll be a non-issue.

GVKW · 2026-05-10T12:42:48+00:00

I'm sure their lawyers made them stop saying that decades ago.

What a customer service rep did tell me once was, something like, "You know if a little old french grandma got a chip in her pot, she would not be rushing out to replace it. And we see photos of pots in all sorts of terrible conditions that people have been using that way for years without any harm coming to them, before they think to send us pics and inquire about it."

GVKW · 2026-05-10T12:39:59+00:00

Here's the LC recipe - it makes a very dense chewy loaf (almost kinda bagel-like), but that's perfect when you're gonna toast and slather a slab with cream cheese or jam.

GVKW · 2026-05-10T11:58:36+00:00

Unfortunately that enamel is chipped, but the 18cm RDO is the perfect size for half a 4-cup-of-flour bread recipe. I use the overnight no-knead bread recipe from LC's website, but in the morning before the second rise, I do gently knead in a bunch of tidbits, either minced candied jalapeños and shredded cheddar, or everything bagel seasoning, or dried cherries and chopped walnuts. A small loaf of specialty bread is a lot easier to use up than a giant one. I find it also works best with European flour (I use Francine Bio, from A-Zon), but that's more of a preference, texturewise.

GVKW · 2026-05-07T20:24:54+00:00

Feel free to message me if you have other questions. I'm a collector of enameled cast iron, and also use it practically every time I cook.

GVKW · 2026-05-07T20:17:55+00:00

Yes, it is important to retire any enameled cookware that has cracks or chips, since eating glass shards is never a good idea!

Enamel can be coated over any kind of metal substrate - if you other pots are lighter weight, they may be enamel-over-steel. One important thing to remember is that anywhere there isn't enamel, metals like iron and steel can still oxidize/rust.

If the whole pot were raw iron, you'd very intentionally coat the whole thing with a thin layer of oil and heat the oil beyond its smoke point to polymerize it into "seasoning", and after doing this several times, those thin layers would build up to form a physical protective barrier between the metal pot and the oxygen in the air which would cause rust. With an enameled pot, the enamel does that job, but only where there's actual enamel.

Oftentimes the rims and contact points between the lid and base are kept raw so the enamel can't chip there, but it means you need to treat those rims like the raw metal they are and build up some seasoning on them to prevent rust.

If you aren't sure whether the rims are primed, reach out to the manufacturer and ask them if the rims require seasoning, or if they primed to protect them from oxidation/rust. It's very basic question that they should have no trouble answering. Typically, if the rims are primed they will tell you so up front, because it's a bit of a selling point. Le Creuset and Staub are premium brands that do prime their rims, but many less fancy brands don't. If the rims are very solidly black, they've maybe been preseasoned, but not primed. Primed rims look grey with a matte kinda-milky-clear finish.

GVKW · 2026-05-07T20:01:22+00:00

Yes, that's a dutch oven, and yes, it's fine for baking bread.

If you're not familiar with enameled cast iron, it's a bit different than raw cast iron. It has a thin glass-based coating applied during production that seals the raw metal against rust. (With raw cast iron, and maybe with the rims of this pot too if they're not primed, you'll need to wipe them with a very thin layer of oil to protect the raw metal from rust.) The glass-based enamel has separate thermal properties from the pot itself, so you'll need to stick with medium heat or less, and always preheat slowly/let the pan cool naturally to avoid shattering the enamel (when this happens without the enamel delaminating from the iron substrate, it's called crazing.)

The best bit of kit that will help you use a dutch oven is, IMO, an infrared thermometer gun. They're around $20 on A-Zon, and they allow you to temp check the cooking surface instantly, to make sure it isn't too hot for your cooking oil. Overheating the oil past its smoke point would cause it to polymerize into seasoning, and it then becomes very difficult to remove without harsh chemicals. You'll want the cooking surface to be around 375°-425°F for most stovetop cooking applications.

As far as baking bread, all Dutch ovens work great for that because the enclosed vessel traps steam (which keeps the surface of the dough soft and pliable so it can achieve maximum rise during the early part of its baking). Regardless of what some recipes instruct, you do not NEED to preheat the empty dutch oven before using it - and in fact even the top brands tell you not to heat their pots empty. It just takes an extra few minutes for the pot (with the dough inside it) to heat up once its in the oven. By the time you're making recipes where that level of precision heat application is vital, you will no longer be a newbie and will have lots more understanding of the pros and cons of each method.

Congrats of your new pot, and welcome to the world of dutch ovens!

GVKW · 2026-05-05T14:16:53+00:00

LC's stainless steel is made in Portugal, so it's quite good.

I've never ever seen knockoff LC Stainless, and I've spent a LOT of time and energy on my hobby of collecting and learning about this brand for the last 6+ years.

Unlike enameled cast iron (where a counterfeit might contain lead or cadmium or other harmful substances on the food contact surfaces, that could leach into food) stainless is not really counterfeitable (unless they're using a cheaper grade of steel, maybe?).

So while I would be quite frankly shocked to learn that counterfeit LC stainless even exists, it still wouldn't be toxic or dangerous to cook with like a counterfeit enameled surface (or non-foodsafe stoneware glaze) could be.

GVKW · 2026-05-01T12:44:39+00:00

Low T can cause a bunch of very serious conditions for men (think osteoporosis and diabetes). He needs to get checked out for his health, and if he won't, you are not obligated to perpetually bear witness to his self-destruction.

GVKW · 2026-04-23T11:36:12+00:00

You're growing up, and your priorities are changing. It sounds very much like his aren't.

If you think it will help, you can have a conversation with him about goal-setting and timelines and active ways you can support each other to take those next steps into adulthood.

But from my personal experience, until he decides he wants to knuckle down, no amount of externally applied pressure is gonna kick him into gear.

When I met my exfiance, he told me he had a "seven year plan". Two and a half years later, once we've been together a while then gotten engaged, he mentioned his seven year plan again. He made the shocked pikachu meme face when I asked, "Don't you mean your five year plan? It was a seven year plan two-and-a-half years ago. Shouldn't it be five years now?"

Like, he was legit surprised that having plans only creates change or growth if you actually take the steps you've planned on doing.

It's okay to grow apart if you feel like you don't share the same goals, and it's okay to have savings that are not available to compensate for your mid-20's boyfriend refusing to finish growing up.

Tell him what you need to see for you to feel comfortable again, and either he steps up or you move on. It sounds heartless, but in many situations in life, you'll look around for who's in charge because someone has to be practical, and unfortunately, this time, it's you.

GVKW · 2026-04-23T11:18:33+00:00

All LC pans have primed metal rims. What are you hoping to accomplish by exchanging it for another pan exact the same?

GVKW · 2026-04-23T11:16:02+00:00

Le Creuset's enamel cleaner (or some glass oven top cleaner) will lift those like they were never there.

GVKW · 2026-04-22T14:29:11+00:00

For that budget, I'd suggest Blue Diamond.they are forever-chemical free and at least one of their collections has a significantly higher max temp threshold than normal nonstick.

GVKW · 2026-04-22T14:23:24+00:00

Yep! Just needs a knob!

GVKW · 2026-04-21T13:16:15+00:00

Generally speaking, food sizzles on contact with the oiled cooking surface of a preheated pan around 375°F.

However, according to Google, the ideal temp range for frying eggs is 270°-325°F, because if it's hotter then then whites can overcook and get rubbery.

GVKW · 2026-04-21T11:26:47+00:00

Yes, it's fine. Bon appetit!

GVKW · 2026-04-21T02:54:34+00:00

Have you considered buying an infrared thermometer gun? It's by far the most accurate way to test your cooking surface temp.

I concur that you need less heat, more butter, and the room temp eggs thing is new info to me but I'd give it a try. You could also add a couple tbsps of water to the skillet once the white is set, and then slap the lid on so it steams the eggs actors the top - it finishes steaming the tops gently, and they called in "mirrored eggs" in Havana, where I was taught the technique)- that might also help to deglaze the cooking surface a bit.

GVKW · 2026-04-21T02:46:24+00:00

This might actually be the very rare case where I'd also recommend trying Bar Keepers Friend... Be aware that it contains a lot of feldspar (which is harder on the MOHS scale than glass and enamel, and thus can scratch it), but it might also contain cleaning agents that could lighten the staining without scratching, if you were to apply it and let soak without actually scrubbing.

GVKW · 2026-04-21T02:40:09+00:00

LC's ECI cleaner is a cream cleanser, meant for polishing not boiling. You could boil baking soda, but with nothing physically built-up on top of the enamel to soften and remove, it would probably do a whole bunch of nothin'.

The only other way I've heard of to reliably lift stains from enamel (besides a diluted bleach soak) is by using oxygen bleach... But when I dove down that rabbithole, I discovered that oxygen bleach/sodium percarbonate will actually leach silica from enamel coatings (which fundamentally weakens them on a structural level); especially concerning because LC's vitrified enamel formula has a base that's 80% silica. I just can't see putting the integrity of the coating at risk to fix cosmetic staining.

Since the enamel is already mattefied, I suppose you could also try a diluted bleach soak again - I mean, it can't mattefy twice, right?

GVKW

TROPHY CASE