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Le Creuset is a French cookware manufacturer best known for its colorful enameled cast iron casseroles, which the company calls "French Ovens", or "Dutch Ovens". The company also makes many other types of cookware, from sauce pans to tagines, and sells a line of corkscrews and wine openers under the "Screwpull" brand.

History
Le Creuset was founded in 1925 in the town of Fresnoy-le-Grand in Northern France by two Belgian industrialists - Armand Desaegher (a casting specialist) and Octave Aubecq (an enameling specialist). The pair introduced the signature Le Creuset round cocotte (French/Dutch Oven) soon after; the cocotte remains the company's most popular cookware piece to this day.

In 1934 Le Creuset introduced the signature Flame (orange) colored enamel on its cast iron cookware items. The company also invented the doufeu, a Dutch oven with a concave lid that is filled with ice during the cooking process.

After World War II, Le Creuset began to focus on exportation, and by 1952, 50% of all cast iron production was bound for the United States. In 1955 Le Creuset introduced its first grill model - the Tostador - and in 1956 a new color, Elysees Yellow, was introduced to great success.

In 1957, Le Creuset purchased its competitor Les Hauts Fourneaux de Cousances and began producing some signature Cousances cookware vessels, including the doufeu, a cocotte with a water lid, under the Le Creuset brand.

The current Le Creuset logo was introduced in 1970 and was designed to be a symbolic representation of metal casting and molding.

The company was purchased by current owner Paul Van Zuydam in 1987.

Production
To create their cast iron cookware, the Le Creuset foundry uses standard sand casting methods. After hand finishing, items are sprayed with two coats of enamel, each fired at 800 °C. The enamel becomes resistant to damage during normal use. Currently, all Le Creuset cast iron cookware is still manufactured in the company's foundry in Fresnoy-le-Grand, where artisans employ a 12 step finishing process implemented by 15 different pairs of hands to ensure that there are no flaws or imperfections in the final product.

Other Le Creuset pieces include stoneware (manufactured in Thailand), enamel over steel stockpots (manufactured in China), and silicone bakeware (manufactured mainly in the U.S.) The company recently introduced a new line of premium stainless steel cookware and hard anodized fry pans.

Safety
Le Creuset cookware is known for its varied and vibrant colors. Some Le Creuset glazes at the red end of the spectrum (namely "cherry", "brick", and "flame") contain a small amount of cadmium, which can be toxic. In response to California Proposition 65 (1986) and similar legislation in the United Kingdom, Le Creuset changed their glaze formulation in the mid 1990s so that the cadmium in the glaze is chemically bound.

Use
French/Dutch ovens are particularly useful for cassoulet, and other long-baking stews such as chili con carne, cholent, and bouillabaisse. The company does not recommend using them for deep frying or making an oil-based roux (as for gumbo), because some oils can become hot enough to damage the enamel.

Le Creuset enameled cast iron can be used on all cooking surfaces, including electric, gas, glass halogen and induction cookers. It can also be used for food storage (in the refrigerator) and in the oven.

Design
While most le Creuset cookware follows typical cookware design (i.e., the French/Dutch ovens are roughly cylindrical, with loop handles), some Le Creuset lines are designer originals. In the 1950s, the company retained designer Raymond Loewy to design a line of their French/Dutch ovens, and 1973 saw the introduction of the "La Mama" line of cookware, designed for Le Creuset by Enzo Mari.