Great Jones Cookware is a recent startup whose name was plaster across all the major news articles. It was started by two friends, Sierra and Maddy. They have been friends for over 20 years and bonded over Chipwich ice-cream sandwiches and pizza pockets. Other than that, their insight and connection to New York Magazine probably what made their start up a instant sucess. Having said that, how does their cookware compare. Even though its popular, that does not necessarily mean that its a well designed cookware. This review will take a closer look at their cookware and see if its any good.

Great Jones Cookware Quick Summary

Round vs Oval Dutch Oven

There are two type of dutch oven on the market, a round and a oval. Usually those oval cocoettes are designed to fit large shanks. Thinks like mutton or veal shank need more space length wise. To accommodate for that, manufacturer shape their vessel that way. The round dutch oven are more traditional and fit the standard cooking hob. The flames that you get are typically in a ring pattern. For this reason, you will get a much better heat distribution than you would a oval dutch oven. In general, it is always better to get a round dutch oven. Great Jones Dutch oven is oval but I suspect they did that more for style than function.

Great Jones The Dutchess Design

This section will focus primarily on their dutch oven called “The Dutchess”. We will take a look at how the dutchess is designed and discuss area of improvement.

Handle

The handle could use some improvement. It curves too much inward. When you hold in, the side pushses your finger in. A better design would be something that is a little more wide. This lets you get a more secure grip without causing discomfort. The good thing about their design is how big it is. This is great for when you are wearing a glove. Most manufacturer give too little room and accident tends to occur when this happen. Other than that, the handle isn’t particularly attractive, very simple, but I suppose it flows with the design.

The handle on the lid is even worse. It is simply too tiny. It is great if you use your hand. However, a metal handle means that you should use a glove. The lid is also very heavy. Getting a grip with a glove on will be difficult.

Shape

I touched upon this in the previous section. But in general, oval dutch oven are primarily designed for shanks. On a traditional hob, the very outer edge of the dutchess will not be the same temperature as the center. It is made even worse with a cast iron construction. Cast iron are horrible conductor of heat and heat spots are a plenty. There are ways around this though. If you have patience, you can preheat the dutchess in the oven for 20 minute. This is the best way to ensure even heat. Since Great Jones do not have a round dutch oven, they are losing out on a big market.

However, as a oval cast iron dutch oven goes. It is designed pretty well. You have good height and great width. Nothing too bad as a oval dutch oven.

Colors and Enamel Coating

I think the color offering is one of the reason why its so popular. Instead of the bright and shiny colors of Le Creuset and Staub, their is a matte bright finish. I must say, their yellow is simply stunning. They apparently use a “German Machine” too coat the dutch oven three times.

The interior enamel is grey. To them, this is a perfect balance of white and black. This lets you hide the flaw while at the same time, judge the color of the fond. A pretty ingenious way of going about the issue really. So far, there has been no complaint about the durability of the enamel coating. Only time will tell how well it does.

Great Jones Cookware Warranty and Manufacturer

Their cookware is made in China. They offer a lifetime warranty on The Dutchess. Standard limitation applies, they dont cover user error and minor paint chip. Since their product is so new, there is not a lot of reviews on their warranty.

Great Jones Cookware Thoughts

As of now, Great Jones The Dutchess goes for 145 dollar. Not a bad price for a 6 qt dutch oven. However, other manufacturer like Tramontina and Lodge offers a much better bargain. you can get theirs for around 60 dollar amazon. Unless you are truly in love with their cookware design. I recommend the alternative. Those companies have been around for much longer and you can be assure a warranty.

I hope you found this Great Jones Cookware review to be informative, If you would like to see more, please visit our Pots and Pans Review page.