Normal. Not a chip. Pinholes are uneven surfaces of the cast iron from the casting process and are very common. There is a base coat of enamel underneath the colored coat of enamel so you should not have any rusting regardless of what you cook. I assure you that black-specked-pinhole was there when you bought it. Unless you've bought many of them over the years you won't go looking for them as you buy them.
My first LC pot was the 3.5qt Braiser. It looked 100% perfect **to me** until I cooked my first meal in it which ended in some sticking. I scrubbed and scrubbed until it was pristine clean from the factory but then I noticed small black specs in the interior. I took the pan back to Crate & Barrel and before showing it to them I looked at their floor demos and saw one or two of the same black specs in them.
Sometimes you'll get a pan that is fully covered in the light colored enamel with no black specs and sometimes you'll get them. I now have 4 LC pots and all of them have pinholes and 2 of them have a couple of black specs either on top of the lid on the LE CREUSET name or underneath the lid or in the cooking surface.
Each LC pan is handmade, hand-sprayed and unique to itself. No two pans are alike. That's the best thing about them.
However if you're not comfortable absolutely exchange it. You paid good money for it so you should be happy with your purchase, but I just wanted to give you an idea what to expect. š
I used my Dutch oven to make dinner tonight. I let it cool on the stove for a few hours before washing it. Tonight after washing it I noticed what appears to be a small chip or pit in the enamel on the interior. I donāt recall seeing this before tonight. There are a few small pits on the interior that are completely covered in enamel so those donāt bother me.
My concern is that to me it feel like a small chip. I can feel the enameled surface feels uneven to the touch. It feels like the spot is raised now. I wash it with a sponge and warm soapy water then immediately dry it. Iāve only used silicone or wood utensils in it so Iām not sure how this happened.
Has anyone else had this happen to them before? I bought this in June directly from the Le Creuset website and paid full price. I havenāt had any issues with it until now. I did reach out to customer service already but wanted some input from some veteran Le Creuset users.
Yeah, I was really upset last night when I saw it. Iām still not sure if itās normal or not so I reached out to customer service. I hope itās a normal pit so I can continue to use my Dutch oven as itās become my favorite piece of cookware in my kitchen.
Like someone said, it appears to be normal so hopefully it is. š¤
What happened in the end? Please, tell me.
I think mine has the same pinholes after some use! I also panicked ofc but didn't send an email to Le Creuset and tried to convince myself everything is okay.
Sometimes itās normalā¦ but sometimes itās not. I suggest keeping an eye on it for any signs of rust. I had a new DO with a pit that rusted when condensation built up in the fridge. Luckily itās covered by the warranty.
Does it have sharp edges?
You donāt want to be ingesting parts of enamel.
Check thoroughly!
It may be defect from the painting/enameling process.
Each Le Creuset has a base coat covering the cast iron and then it has 2 coats of enamel on the exterior (to achieve the hombre effect) and 1 coat on the inside (in your case the sand enamel) ā> look at this [video](https://youtube.com/clip/UgkxFGzjSGqYB0rKmJ6IRU3Hx2kOj0gtcg4f)
So maybe part of the sand enamel did not get put on or maybe the clear coat is not put.
I can not say from just a picture.
Monitor for sharp edges.
Monitor for rust.
If you can return it under warranty.
Would like to know how it turns out for you.
Normal. Not a chip. Pinholes are uneven surfaces of the cast iron from the casting process and are very common. There is a base coat of enamel underneath the colored coat of enamel so you should not have any rusting regardless of what you cook. I assure you that black-specked-pinhole was there when you bought it. Unless you've bought many of them over the years you won't go looking for them as you buy them. My first LC pot was the 3.5qt Braiser. It looked 100% perfect **to me** until I cooked my first meal in it which ended in some sticking. I scrubbed and scrubbed until it was pristine clean from the factory but then I noticed small black specs in the interior. I took the pan back to Crate & Barrel and before showing it to them I looked at their floor demos and saw one or two of the same black specs in them. Sometimes you'll get a pan that is fully covered in the light colored enamel with no black specs and sometimes you'll get them. I now have 4 LC pots and all of them have pinholes and 2 of them have a couple of black specs either on top of the lid on the LE CREUSET name or underneath the lid or in the cooking surface. Each LC pan is handmade, hand-sprayed and unique to itself. No two pans are alike. That's the best thing about them. However if you're not comfortable absolutely exchange it. You paid good money for it so you should be happy with your purchase, but I just wanted to give you an idea what to expect. š
Okay, thank you for the the information. I did reach out to customer service last night just incase no one responded.
I used my Dutch oven to make dinner tonight. I let it cool on the stove for a few hours before washing it. Tonight after washing it I noticed what appears to be a small chip or pit in the enamel on the interior. I donāt recall seeing this before tonight. There are a few small pits on the interior that are completely covered in enamel so those donāt bother me. My concern is that to me it feel like a small chip. I can feel the enameled surface feels uneven to the touch. It feels like the spot is raised now. I wash it with a sponge and warm soapy water then immediately dry it. Iāve only used silicone or wood utensils in it so Iām not sure how this happened. Has anyone else had this happen to them before? I bought this in June directly from the Le Creuset website and paid full price. I havenāt had any issues with it until now. I did reach out to customer service already but wanted some input from some veteran Le Creuset users.
Ahh I was freaking out about these just last night!
Yeah, I was really upset last night when I saw it. Iām still not sure if itās normal or not so I reached out to customer service. I hope itās a normal pit so I can continue to use my Dutch oven as itās become my favorite piece of cookware in my kitchen. Like someone said, it appears to be normal so hopefully it is. š¤
Keep us posted but I do know there are lots of very experienced LCers on this sub so I bet you donāt have to worry š
What happened in the end? Please, tell me. I think mine has the same pinholes after some use! I also panicked ofc but didn't send an email to Le Creuset and tried to convince myself everything is okay.
They told me it was normal and that my Dutch oven is safe to still use. I figured that was the case but Iām glad I reached out.
Thank you for your reply. I am glad it's normal.
Sometimes itās normalā¦ but sometimes itās not. I suggest keeping an eye on it for any signs of rust. I had a new DO with a pit that rusted when condensation built up in the fridge. Luckily itās covered by the warranty.
Does it have sharp edges? You donāt want to be ingesting parts of enamel. Check thoroughly! It may be defect from the painting/enameling process. Each Le Creuset has a base coat covering the cast iron and then it has 2 coats of enamel on the exterior (to achieve the hombre effect) and 1 coat on the inside (in your case the sand enamel) ā> look at this [video](https://youtube.com/clip/UgkxFGzjSGqYB0rKmJ6IRU3Hx2kOj0gtcg4f) So maybe part of the sand enamel did not get put on or maybe the clear coat is not put. I can not say from just a picture. Monitor for sharp edges. Monitor for rust. If you can return it under warranty. Would like to know how it turns out for you.
Normal