Ever hear of a Tramontina Dutch oven? If you’re a reader of Cook’s Illustrated there is no doubt you have.
Cook’s Illustrated is a popular cooking magazine with about 1 million subscribers who pore over detailed recipes, taste tests and highly respected equipment tests. Read the Wikipedia article for more details on this success story. The magazine has a companion PBS cooking show, America’s Test Kitchen, and a series of books that sell so well you would have had difficulty this past Christmas finding the exact one you wanted in stock at your local bookstore (especially if you waited until Christmas Eve like I did).
What I doubt you know is how much reach and influence Cook’s Illustrated can have. Consider the Tramontina Dutch oven. When Cook’s Illustrated first evaluated Dutch ovens (note: article requires subscription), the choices were expensive:
When we tested Dutch ovens in 1998, the top performers were pots made by All-Clad and Le Creuset. Nearly a decade later, the only flaw we might find in these workhorses is their hefty price—roughly $250.
Yeah, most home cooks would find $250 to be a little steep for a pot that’s not used every day. So they looked at the category again in January 2007 and found out that, what do ya know, there were some cheaper options that were just as good. They made Chefmate’s “Round Enameled Cast Iron Casserole” their Best Buy and then watched it sell out almost immediately:
We were impressed by the significantly cheaper Round Enameled Cast Iron Casserole with Lid by Chefmate for Target ($39.99). Just as our article was published, however, Target’s website sold out of this test kitchen Best Buy.
Hmmmm. Coincidence? Maybe. Now fast forward to January 2008 and another update to its Dutch oven overview:
Shelling out hundreds of dollars for a Dutch oven is less necessary than ever. We put two new low-cost models, one from Tramontina ($39.86) and another from Lodge ($49.86), to the test and liked what we found….We recommend the Tramontina as an inexpensive alternative to our favorite 71/4-quart Dutch oven by Le Creuset ($229.95).
My sister-in-law passed on this information to my wife a few weeks ago, and she began to talk about the product with the same look I’m sure I get when I talk about some electronic or computer gadget that will change my life. Let’s buy it on Amazon, I said. Oops, not found. Okay, let’s Google it. Looks like Wal-Mart has it. Oops, out of stock.
Besides the lack of online inventory, it was out of stock at every Wal-Mart location within 100 miles. WTF? Can it be this difficult to buy this product? Tramontina USA has a Web site, but it has no product information or “where to buy” details. Does the company even know that one of its products has reached cult status?
What have others found?
Fuzzykitty: As soon as I discovered this I went to Walmart’s website to order the Tramontina but it was not available so I ordered the Lodge. Also, both were out of stock in any nearby store according to their website.
Mission be less poor: They say you can pick it up for about $40 - but I can barely find it, much less for $40….So, I made a resolution of heart to get up early this Saturday morning (as it was after payday) and suck it up to drive the 18 miles to this fabled Wal-Mart, largely to reward myself for all the no-spending I’ve done in the past 2 weeks. All this work for a dumb pot.
You get the idea.
In the end we gave up and bought the Lodge, which seems like a perfectly fine product. Cook’s Illustrated had downgraded the Lodge because it was a little more expensive and was slightly smaller than the Tramontina. Good enough, and it was just a Dutch oven after all. Keeping the paradox of choice in mind, I’ll try not to be disappointed.
{ 23 comments… read them below or add one }
Hey Mike,
I finally did find my pot at Walmart and returned the Lodge. This quest has ended for me but I wonder what item will be next.
Take care,
Heather
Interesting story. I am also an avid Cooks Illustrated junky, and I am looking for the Tramontina. Wal-mart’s website says that it is in stock at a few stores within 20 miles, but I am always suspicious of brick-and-mortar stores’ websites’ declarations about what is in stock. I might chance the drive, or maybe I’ll just get the Lodge. By the way, all of this would be solved Tramontina’s website weren’t so terrible.
I agree, the Tramontina Web site is terrible. I’ve been meaning to find the time to follow up with a phone call to the company to find out if they are even aware of the online cult status of its product.
Target is currently (as of 2/13/08)carrying the 6.5 Qt Tarmontina under their house name Chefmate.
I believe it is the exact same as the Wal-Mart version except it is red and the price is $59.95.
I was having the same difficulty until I stumbled onto Wal-Mart’s site to store option.
You can purchase the product on their web-site and then rather than pay the shipping charge, they will deliver it directly to your closest store. You will be emailed once it arrives.I may end up using this option more in the future. It appears you may have a greater choice of products than what you have at your local store and save on shipping if you are not in a hurry.
The Tramontina 6.5 qt dutch oven at Wal-Mart was out of stock the first time I looked online, but I kept checking until finally, last month, it was available. I quickly ordered two @$39.95 and, because there is no Wal-Mart nearby, paid $7.50 (each) to have them shipped to my house. Good thing I acted quickly; the next week it was out of stock again. Now it seems to be available, but Wal-Mart apparently realized what a good deal it was for buyers; the price is now $51.47.
Just bought a 6.5 quart Tramontina casserole(green)for Walmart locally. The casserole was also labelled as 6.5 quart / 1.1 L.
Also, bought a 6.5 quart Tramontina casserole (red) from Target labelled as a 6.5 quart / 1.2 L.
The Walmart version looked bigger and measured bigger so I filled the Target version with water to the very top and transferred it to the Walmart version. It took just less than a pint to fill the Walmart version to the very top. Conclusion - The Target and Walmart casseroles are mislabelled as far as liters go. The Walmart version is difinitely larger.
Regarding the measurements of the Tramontina casseroles - - the Walmart version is $20 less for more capacity and the casseroles are almost identical otherwise.
So does this mean there is no difference between a cast iron casserole and dutch oven. I’m confused. some of you are talking about dutch ovens and others are talking about cast iron casseroles? what is the differenc?
thanks
Cast iron casserole and dutch oven mean the same thing.
I live in a big metro area where lots of people are avid Cooks Illustrated readers. So, I’ve been unable to find the Tramontina Dutch Oven. We were driving the kids to camp out in the country, and I found both sizes of the Tramontina Dutch Ovens at 29 and 39 at a rural Wal-Mart. They had loads of them.
I guess you could save the gas and pay extra for the beautiful red at Target (sold as Chefware). They’re identical.
Happy cooking!
I just bought the 6.5 qt. Dutch Oven at Target and it was branded Tramontina. I wonder if Target has decided to stop rebranding the product as Chefmate. I was so excited to find they had 3 in stock. Used it last night to make the Cooks Illustrated chicken cacciatore and it was delicious! Be sure to allow that hour to season the new pot before you use it. (follow the instructions). Thanks for all the tips in this forum.
I purchased this 6.5 qt Tramonina Casserole (Dutch Oven) from Walmart in RED last night. I was shocked to find it there is green and red as well. From everything I’ve read it only comes in green at Walmart. Both colors were sitting side by side on the shelf, exact cardboard labeling, exact size, etc. Only difference - comes in 2 colors now. Anyone else find this in red at their Walmart? I’m in California (Central Coast). Is this something new their offering at Walmart?
Sam’s Club is selling same dutch oven under Member’s Mark brand for $38.
Just got back from my local (Brick, NJ) Walmart and they had four Tramontina Dutch Ovens in stock, two red and two green. The price was not $39.95, it was $49.97. Looks like the price has gone up but I still bought the red one.
Always call the store before you go. There are three WalMarts in my area, (Eugene/Springfield,OR) and none of them even sell Dutch Ovens, even though their website says two of them have it in stock. Saved myself a lot of time and frustration by calling first. And the website is, of course, out of stock.
I live in Washington DC area and too found nothing w/in 100mi radius in-store. So I put in my Dad’s address in rural Wisconsin…in stock…they wouldn’t ship, so I had my Dad send it to me. After seeing the ship price, I understand why Walmart is always out of stock online….the weight makes it ridiculously expensive to send. Wish I had thought of having them send to a store that is local to me.
Just read all of the comments on the Tramontina dutch oven and not one of the comments mentions how the product is “holding up”. Bought my in Nov. from Sam’s Club and it discolors each time I use it…have to use Clorox Clean Up on it to bring it back to the cream color inside. Also I have 2 chips in the handle area and I have been very careful when using it and wonder why this has happened. I absolutely love cooking with it but wonder what it is going to look like in a years time if the product seems to be this perishable already. Sam’s Club is offering to exchange it for me but I wonder if I will have the same problems. Are all dutch ovens this hard to take care? Would appreciate hearing from others regarding the care and upkeep of their dutch ovens.
Not sure how the Tramotina holds up, but the Lodge that we bought looks pretty good. I’ve never seen discoloration on it, even after using high-color spices in something.
Bought the Tramontina off Walmart’s site with site-to-store free shipping. Have used it only for the no-knead Cook’s Illustrated recipe, made about 8 loaves so far, it was worked flawlessly The inside has discolored maybe a touch, but part of that is because the parchment paper I was putting in there had a bit of flour and dough on it, which, when cranked to 500 degrees for an hour gets mighty hot and burns, but I just wipe out the charcoal and it’s fine. A buddy of mine has a Le Cruset, it’s all chipped up, was like that when they got it, got it as damaged for $40, however, despite all the chipping it works flawlessly. So, I’m not very worried about how it will perform once it’s chipped some, since I’m sure it’ll happen, and if it gets horrible, just buy another, at $45 (current Walmart price) it’s cheaper than almost any one of our pans.
cheers…
Thanks for the comment, Mark. We’ve made that no-knead bread as well and it’s awesome. And you’re right about the price of these dutch ovens: they really are a great deal.
Have been a Cooks Illustrated reader for years and invested in a number of All-Clad products 11years ago. I needed to replace a non All-Clad 5 quart stockpot and have been searching best price on the Tramontina Dutch Oven 4.75 quart. So far Walmart
super store in Catskill NY only cares a limited number of Tremontina products. Will explore the Manhattan area too.
For those of you who may buy All-Clad on sale, beware that some of their products are made in China (which I have seen at Bloomingdales and Williams-Sonoma) while other products that I have bought were made in their home factory in Canonsburg, PA. The only way to tell the difference is on the box where the source is printed. When I brought that to the attention of Williams-Sonoma salesman, he stated that the box was made in China. I then wrote to a company rep who replied that the pot was made in China. Very disappointing and deceiving to pay top $ for a highly rated product when its made in China The country source should be on the product with its size. Still an excellent product.
I thought you were informative until I got to the last paragraph of your article.
Only someone lacking intelligence has to resort to using cuss words.