Hi everyone,
New member here and I'm about to buy a Le Creuset Dutch oven (6.3 oval or 6.7 round) and not sure what is better to buy as I can only buy one. I want to be be able to cook curries, soups, stews (round works here), but I also want to be able to cook greek food, roasts (beef/chicken) with some veggies and potatoes....

I also want to be able to do my sauteeing on the stove top, add in my tomatoes / spices (for curries) , add meat and water and throw into the oven. Will an oval pan work well on a stove top given the burners aren't the right size (round on cermanic stove).

Thanks a lot, if people can give some ideas, pros & cons of both that would be great. I'm leaning towards oval since I think I can do everything in the oval, but would love feedback from your experienced folks.

Neerav

I am lucky enough to have a few of the Le Creuset pots and they are all round. I can't say whether round or oval is better but I can say that I have never actually wished that I had an oval one.

Here are a couple of other forum threads (from Chowhound) that talk about this same question.
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/466731
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/354630

I am sure in the end you will be happy with whichever one you choose, as they are all great pots. Good luck Neerav!

Hi Dawn,
Thanks for the info, I'll look at those threads. We're ordering this week so I just wanted to make sure we don't order the wrong shape & regret it later.

Our mothers think the oval will fit more in it when feeding large groups which just confused the issue a bit. Thanks for the quick response too!

If I could only buy one Le Creuset dutch oven, it would be the oval. I have both shapes and the oval is better suited for fitting odd shapes and minimizing the amount of liquid needed for braising. Since I use these pots almost exclusively for s l o w oven cooking, the shape not matching a burner is not a concern.

Thanks Hanna, I do need to be able to do some basic sauteeing on the stovetop before I put into the oven, but it sounds like I'm on the right path with getting the oval. Good to have a forum like this for my newby questions... :)