Although it's really a tough pan to stain, over the years, both the interior and exterior have acquired a patina (a word used frequently on Antiques Road Show to denote something old and stained that is tough to clean, so they've decided they like it that way!) that still lets me see that the outside is a vibrant blue and the inside is a neutral beige.

While hardly non-stick by any Teflon/Silverstone/etc. standard, these enamel surfaced darlings transfer heat in the most even and soft way. It's still possible to burn food baked in these pans, but if you use some oil-based product to coat the pan (anything from vegetable spray to fatback will induce food release), match the temperature/time combo to the pan's contents, and remember to take it out of the oven, the outcome will be pretty much to your liking.

The pan is pretty enough to bring to a hostess's pot luck or to grace your own family table. When full, it's heavy (it's heavy empty, for that matter), but that's why you go to the gym. If something like enchiladas end up stuck to the pan (and your guests don't fight over scraping out those browned crusties of taco/cheese/tomato), an overnight soak in the sink will solve the cleanup problem.

Diswasher safe? The brochure says "yeah," but I say "nah." If anything degrades the enamel interior finish of Le Creuset, it's exposure to the stronger detergents of the DW. The release features of the interior finish seem to stay intact longer with hand washing. But that's just me.

Maybe you won't want to tote your Le Creuset on your backpacking vacation, but I guarantee that at some point, while you're trying to time the baking of a peach cobbler in a bed of coals, you'll wish you had your Le Creuset Dutch oven or some other favored piece of enameled cast iron. I can almost guarantee it.

A big fan... (Rating: 5.00)
Review : First off, Le Creuset products in general are great! We must have about 10 - 15 pieces and the cast iron stuff cooks and cleans up great! The stock pot that we have is the only piece that isn't quite up to snuff and the grille pan is a bit hard to clean, but general I would highly recommend their products. Plus they look great too...

This pan, the rectangular baker is wonderful. Meats and Fish cook great! We use ours a lot for baking fish - Salmon,etc... Its uses are numerous! It works out great because it can get so hot and it can cooks so evenly. This stuff is expensive but worth it. We like the original "flame" pattern, I have a friend that has a twenty year old set that is still going strong!