Wheee! thanks for the heads up!

twoyur, I just saw that in this morning's advertisement. I do have a large enameled round roast/braise pan and I use it a lot for things like brisket and beef stew. I can brown the meat on the stove top and put it in the oven to finish, it works well, although the white interior stained pretty quickly. $29.95 is a pretty good price, I think.

Annie

well, I don't really need it, but I may have to grab the grill pan to complete my collection.

Annie, just keep the lid on the pot and no one will see the staining.

Aldi ad for 11/11

BTW, take a look at what Aldi in Germany offers.....

Aldi Germany

A $200 Le Cruset pan will stain too!

I have the brassier that Annie has. I love it. Have had it probably 5 years at least. I have also given some as gifts, also well liked. Now that the weather is getting colder here, I will be using my for stew and chili a lot.

Pkramer60, thanks for the link to the ad. There are a few things that I might have to go get!

Niece is getting married soon. Set of the four pieces just became shower gift

It's sold as a set? I have the large enameled round roast/braise pan bought there a few years ago, when someone on here kindly posted it. But I could see having others, especially stove to oven pieces.

o the pieces are sold individually.

Sorry for confusion.

If anyone wants any of it, get there and grab it quick. Around here they sell out quickly. I think I might have to wander over and pick up a couple pieces. But which? Probably a frypan and then the decision on the braiser or the Dutch Oven. Hey I just noticed it has a stainless steel knob on the lid too. I thought they were plastic. Interesting. And the 48" TV for $300 is interesting too.

The braiser I bought a few years ago DOES have a plastic knob. So the stainless steel is an improvement.

I'm wondering about the interior of the frying pan. I can't tell from the photo or description if it is enamel on the inside, like the braiser. The braiser is so easy to clean. It could be plain cast iron inside, which then would need seasoning, which I am no good at. (or in any event, food sticks anyway, then I have to scrub it off)

I THOUGHT I remembered them having plastic. Easy enough to replace of course but requires the effort and remembering to do it! Thanks for the comment. My mind isn't totally gone yet at least.

Went to Aldi and didn't see any of the pans. Asked a guy who worked there and he went on the hunt for me, then he asked the manager if there were any and the manager said if there are, they're out there. Then he found a grill pan, which I didn't want. Then as I was getting some other things he found me and showed me a 12" pan which I did want. It turns out a woman was blocking them. I went back and looked and sure enough there were a few left of the pans and a couple each of the Dutch Oven and braiser. Checked the knob, sure enough, stainless. Decided to try the braiser. I have a good pan for when that is needed. Thought I'd see how I like this one. 5 qt should be plenty for me and just looks perfect for a chuck roast and potatoes. Really a nice, helpful guy. Kind of unusual that they had that many working there (although it is the holiday season now). And more unusual that he'd go so far out of his way to try to help. Wish I would have caught his name.

Anyway, like I said, if you want any of them, move fast, they sure do.

I thought this special is supposed to start tomorrow, the 11th? I won't get a chance to get there til Thursday.

If someone buys a frying pan, let us know what the interior is! I am some distance from the closest Aldi.

Based on past sales, the interior of the pans is cast iron, not coated. And yes, the sale started today, the 11th. Some stores put them out early, others wait until the day. It is all up to the manager and the space available.

Looks like Aldi’s is coming to So Cal. I don’t live close
enough but I think several here do.
http://www.pe.com/articles/stores-785994-aldi-california.html

the interior of my Aldi dutch oven from a few years ago is enameled. Yes, cast iron.

My braiser is enamel inside and it is so easy to clean. I was hoping the frying pans were too.

The frypans are not enameled inside. (see picture) The braiser and Dutch Oven are. They used to offer them in red and blue as I recall, now it's red and taupe. Stores around here generally put items out as soon as they get them so they often go out even days ahead of the ad start date. The stores do not have large back rooms for storage of stock. They don't carry backstock. These are not "sale" prices either, they are "Special Buys" so it's not a date-certain timeframe. Like anything they carry, they're put out when they come in and are there until sold out. Also, not all stores carry all items. Some by law (alcohol) or some just don't get everything, like the TVs. The cast iron cookware is featured regularly but there's no guaranty of quantity, price or when they're back. When you see a future ad listing something, it can be out on the floor as you're reading the ad. It all depends on when the truck brings it. You need to sometimes check in early if you're expecting something coming up. They get put on a certain ad date because they feel they should be in the store by that date or before. They don't like to run an ad and not be able to get it in the stores but it does NOT mean that it's not there before the ad date.. And as I said, from my experience, these sell out quickly so you need to act quickly if you want to get them. As I was out & about today I went past a couple Aldi stores and thought just for curiosity I'd stop and see if they had any. One was completely sold out since yesterday morning as i understand and the other had one grill pan left and that was it. it'll vary of course from store to store and they will not get in additional stock. If you miss it now, you can try other stores or you can try again in May otherwise have to wait until next November, assuming they'll still have them. I didn't see them last May though so I'm not sure they carry them more than once a year now.

Are you sure the black inside the frypans isn't enamel? Le Creuset makes ones that look like that have have textured black enamel inside.

Plllog, never thought that this is textured balck enamel, but they well could be.

Thank you! That's what I was hoping for, that they might be enamel. I have enamel lined pans in 3 different colors, thus far (not that I WANTED 3 different colors, just needed pans in various sizes, and had to choose different manufacturers.). I will be able to tell from the box or label, or in a pinch, by touching it; whether it is cast iron, enamel, or teflon. (I have replaced all teflon pans with enamel or ceramic surfaces). I'll head over there tomorrow, and cross my fingers that they are not sold out. ....

I told a woman at work about the Aldi's enameled cast iron' on Monday. She had been looking for it. I said did you try the one down the hill from our work site . She said no. Yesterday as I was going into work she told me she went down and they had it. Than said she bought 13 pieces as gifts. Odd number for what I thought were. 2 kids. Went in chatting got to my office and sitting on my desk was box with the red 6 quart Dutch oven.the other 12 pieces were for her kids. I was wrong she has 3. So now I have 2 Dutch ovens , the braiser, grill pan and fry pan

Thanked her and said no need she said oh yes you saved me ton of time running around looking for Xmas gifts

I went to the one closest to me yesterday, which is a bit of
a hike.

For those who want to know: the ones with the black interior
(frying pan and grill pan) ARE porcelain
enamel interior on cast iron, as I had hoped. The label clearly says so, plus I opened
the box and felt it. So cleanup should be a breeze. It has a slight texture,
not the completely slick surface that the braiser I already have has.

I got the LAST frying pan. They were out of the red one (I
asked them to check), so I got the cream colored one. It won’t match my
braiser, but, does it really matter? ;) I almost bought a dutch oven too. I
already have 2 dutch ovens in plain stainless steel. It the end, I put that
back. It is very heavy. Filled, it would be very difficult to lift. The braiser
when filled is hard enough to maneuver in and out of the oven, and to take in
and out of the lower cabinet where I store it; and this would be harder.

For those who might be nearby, the store is Wheeling IL.
They still had the grill pan, lots of braisers, and a few dutch ovens left.

Thanks to those who posted here with advice! I know I am really going to like this pan.

Twoyur, what a nice co-worker!!

Linnea, if you went to the Wheeling store, you are not to far from me. Nice to see a local here.

Both my braiser and the Dutch oven got a work out the last two days with 10 pounds of oxtails made and now frozen for winter meals. (Thanks Annie, I used the tail you gave me last fall.) Half are in a red wine sauce and the other half my Mothers recipe, in a rich tomato sauce with maderia wine.

Glad to hear that you got the piece you wanted and such a nice gift as well.

Was interested to see the confirmation that it's the enamel inside. I woke up in the middle of the night with the thought that I think it has to be enamel on both sides or some kind of differential makes the enamel pop. True? I'm not sure. But it seems to be something I remember.

plllg, that's true of enamel in copper enamelling, where the metal is thinner. It's called counter enamelling, putting it on the underside as well. The metal and the layer of enamel (glass) have different coefficients of expansion. A layer only on one side will pull the metal as it contracts in cooling and snap off. You can get away with not counterenamelling only if you don't put on a thick layer and don't fire it more than once or twice.

I'm not sure about enamel on thicker metals.

I used my frying pan last night and it browned some chicken thighs beautifully, then cleaned up like a charm! It was very crusty and I did not even soak it.

Thanks, Linnea. I did some copper enamelling in school, but all I remember is making a really cute seahorse (it was a precut blank) and wondering, "What do I do with it now?" :) It must be where the ancient memory bubbled up from. I've never seen enamelled cookware that didn't have enamel on the inside as well, but I've mostly seen the usual suspects.

Excellent news that your new pan is working well!

I used to do a lot of enamelling. I worked at a craft studio that had the equipment, and I was free to use it when there were no customers. My boss encouraged it as she wanted people to come in and see what kinds of things they could do. It was a relatively interruptable craft, so I did that a lot, as I could stop when we did have customers. As I think I recall, the thicker the enamel, the thicker the coat on the opposite side needs to be.

Linnea, wow, Wheeling? I live in a suburb bordering on Wheeling. But like a true wuss we are snowbirding in Arizona. Dh retired and we are technically old so we bit the bullet and are enjoying the sunshine. And missing the Aldi cast iron is the first negative since we left Illinois a week ago. There is no Aldi's here. Glad to hear you are enjoying your pots.