Le Creuset and rust

[NAWLINSGAL]

My Le Creuset French oven is about one month old and I noticed that the rim on the underside of the lid might be starting to rust. I handwash and dry both pieces, but can they rust on the rims of not dried completely? I have seen previous threads in which posters dry their cast iron in a warm oven before putting it away. Is it o.k. to do this with enameled cast iron such as LC? Happy Holidays and thanks in advance for your help.

[mpalmer6c]

Hello, N'Awlins. My favorite city.
Le Creuset is supposed to be
enameled all over. If you're sure it's
rust, and not just
gunk, it's my understanding they
will replace defective ware
for free. Check out the web site.

I dry out my rustable pans by putting
on a burner over low heat for a couple
of minutes. This will not hurt
enamel.

[Cpt Wafer]

Yes, it is possible for rim on the underside of the lid to rust. I don't think it would hurt it to put it in a very slow oven (200 degrees or so) for several minutes.

[paulj]

If the lid has uncoated surfaces, it should be enough to store the lid separately, or upside down on top of the pot. The problem with oven drying is that it is all to easy to forget things.

I wonder if it really is rust. Maybe it's cooking grime or staining.

[beauxgoris]

This has happened with my Le Creuset too - yet not with my Staub. The Staubs enameling seems more thorough. Maybe it's just because my Le Creuset is older.

[Cpt Wafer]

I set my timer if I'm worried about something staying in the oven too long. And besides at 200 it could stay in all day and not get hurt.

[JNUNZMAN]

Because it's untreated cast iron, this is normal. I just dry mine off with a towel and put away. When I need to use it, I just wipe around the rim with a damp paper towel. and use. Don't worry about it.

[blondelle]

All surfaces of Le Creuset are supposed to be covered with at least one coat of enamel. Sometimes on the very edges there are places that look like little chips and they can rust there. I don't think some of the older pieces had enameled rim, but I could be wrong.

I don't think you need to dry it in the oven, but you might want to dry it by hand and then put a bit of oil on your finger and just run it over the rim. That should stop any rusting. You really shouldn't have to do that though. I would call LC and see what they think.

It also happens on Staub pieces. There's a photo of a Staub's rim rusting on flickr.com. I never even dry a small Staub oven by hand and haven't had rusting problems. Maybe just luck.