Lodge cookware sets

Which classic skillet size

Lodge sells its classic seasoned skillet in nine sizes, from 3.5 to 15 inches, and the weight climbs faster than the size. By Lodge’s own figures the 8-inch weighs 3.44 lb, the 10.25-inch 5.66 lb, the 12-inch 7.69 lb, the 13.25-inch 10.5 lb and the 15-inch 12.3 lb, and the 15-inch is 22.18 inches long with its handle.

The 10.25-inch cooks for one or two and the 12-inch for three or four. The two biggest are for a crowd: before you buy one, measure it against your largest burner and your oven, and think about lifting more than 10 lb of iron plus the food in it.

The Chef Collection skillet comes in 8, 10 and 12 inches, with sides Lodge shapes for a spatula to slide under and ergonomic handles, and it is the lighter pan: 3.17, 4.61 and 6.55 lb against 3.44, 5.66 and 7.69 lb for the classic skillets of about the same size. That is about a pound less at 10 and 12 inches, for the same seasoned iron made in the USA.

Which Dutch oven size

Lodge’s seasoned Dutch oven comes in 2, 5 and 7 quarts, each with a cast iron lid, and its Essential Enamel pot here in 1.5, 3, 4.5, 6 and 7.5 quarts. For a crowd, Lodge suggests at least a quart of pot per person. By that measure the 7- and 7.5-quart pots feed six or seven, the 6-quart five or six, the 5-quart four or five, the 4.5-quart about four, the 3-quart two or three, and the 2-quart one or two. Lodge itself suggests the enameled 3-quart for dinner for two and the 1.5-quart for side dishes and desserts.

Then think about lifting it. Lodge gives the seasoned 2-quart as 6.67 lb, the 5-quart as 13.29 lb and the 7-quart as 18.1 lb; the enameled pots run from 5.42 lb at 1.5 quarts through 9.5 lb at 3, 12.38 lb at 4.5 and 13.52 lb at 6 to 19.33 lb at 7.5, before any food goes in. The enameled 6-quart weighs within a quarter pound of the seasoned 5-quart, so it gives you a quart more room for about the same lift, and the enameled 4.5-quart is almost a pound lighter than the seasoned 5-quart.

Baking bread in it? Check the room between your oven racks too. Lodge gives the seasoned 2-quart as 5 inches high and the 5- and 7-quart as just over 7 inches; the enameled pots are 4.1 inches high at 1.5 quarts, 5.65 at 4.5, 6 at 6 and 6.7 at 7.5. Lodge’s 3-quart page gives a height of 12.75 inches, which can’t be right for that pot, so we leave it out. Of the pots below, the combo cooker is 4.56 inches high and the Chef Collection double 6.06; the Blacklock is 7.15, the USA Enamel 7.23 and the Luxe 7.5.

Bare or enameled? The seasoned pots go on a grill or over a campfire, take metal tools and want drying and oiling after each wash; Lodge gives no top oven temperature for them. The enameled pots need no seasoning and go in the oven to 500°F, but Lodge recommends washing them by hand, keeping metal utensils out of them, and keeping them off the grill and the fire.

Combo cookers, lighter pots and US-made enamel

Three Lodge pots do two jobs. The 3.2-quart combo cooker is a deep pan with a long handle under a shallow skillet that serves as its lid; Lodge calls it the pan sourdough bakers swear by. The lid of the 5-quart Double Dutch Oven is a shallow pan with two handles, and the lid of the 6-quart Chef Collection Double Dutch Oven turns over into a ridged grill pan. Lodge makes all three in the USA, seasoned, and weighs each with its lid: 12.85, 12.37 and 14.95 lb.

If the weight is what puts you off, the Blacklock 5.5-quart is cast thinner: 11.29 lb, 2 lb less than the classic 5-quart for half a quart more. If you want enamel made in the USA, the USA Enamel 4.5-quart is made here with imported hardware and weighs 13.21 lb, against 12.38 lb for the Essential Enamel 4.5-quart made in China or Vietnam. The Luxe 6-quart (15.43 lb, made in China) goes in the oven to 500°F, but its page names no cooktop types, so ask Lodge before you put it on induction or a glass top. For a crowd, the 7-quart Essential Enamel oval is 15.56 inches long with its handles and weighs 16.36 lb.

Bail-handle pots and carbon steel skillets

Lodge’s Dutch oven with a bail handle, a steel loop for hanging it over a campfire, comes in 5, 7 and 9 quarts, seasoned, made in the USA and with a cast iron lid. Lodge gives them as 13.21, 16.61 and 19.57 lb, and 6.75, 7.26 and 7 inches high. The 7-quart is about 1.5 lb lighter than the classic 7-quart with loop handles, and the 9-quart is the biggest Lodge pot here, for chili or stew for a crowd.

For a lighter frying pan that you season and care for like iron, Lodge makes carbon steel skillets in the USA in 8, 10 and 12 inches. By Lodge’s figures they weigh 2.35, 3.49 and 4.15 lb, against 3.44, 5.66 and 7.69 lb for its classic cast iron skillets of about the same size. They work on any stovetop, induction included, and in the oven, though Lodge gives no top temperature.

Questions before you choose