The thickness of the walls, the difference in finishing the bottom versus the side walls, the inert and toxic free nature of the raw material, the design and position of the stay-cool handles… all of these features make it by far the best and safest Dutch Oven in the market. The thickness determine the weight, so with extensive testing & research we’ve arrived at just the right thickness that will allow food to cook perfectly without burning and at the same time make the pot lighter and easy to carry, For example our 4 Qt large pot weighs about 4 lbs, a 4 qt cast iron Dutch oven would weigh around 8-9 lbs… see the difference?  They’re also finished in such a way that the bottom walls take heat faster (open spirals) and side walls (downward draft spirals) retain that heat and use it to cook your food. The concentric circles that start at the bottom, run all the way to the top and help carry heat very evenly.  They can be used on the stovetop, both on gas and electric cooktops.  Once fully seasoned they cook all your food in the same time as any other metal pot.  They just do a much better job, in holding all the steam & nutrients inside and leach nothing into your food.  That makes a significant different to the quality of your food! Any recipe can be adapted quickly and easily to your clay pot, just reduce the amount of water and oil.  Even salt and seasoning can be reduced because a little goes a long way when cooking with your MEC pot. View our product page for the different sizes of Dutch /French Ovens.  Read more about Worlds Healthiest Dutch Ovens.