Our Place Always Pan Review
*I was gifted the Always Pan but all opinions are my own
Use code “JTC10” for 10% off all products! (1 use per customer).
The Our Place Always Pan is the “IT” pan of Instagram right now. I don’t think there’s anyone who hasn’t seen a targeted ad or influencer using this pan. I myself was definitely taken in by all the press and decided that I NEEDED this pan. But does it live up to the hype?
Our Place Always Pan Review
About Our Place
Our Place was co-founded in 2019 by husband and wife team Amir Tehrani and Shiza Shahid. Tehrani has experience in the kitchen and cookware business and Shahid is co-founder of the Malala Fund. Together, they created an ethically made cookware line focused on community.
Ethical and Sustainable Practices
The Our Place pans are made in China in ethical factories that pay above living wage, have benefits, and treat workers fairly. You can read more about the factories they partner with here.
Sustainability is also important to Our Place and they aim to use recycled materials when possible. The packaging also uses recycled materials, is plastic free, and fully biodegradable.
Our Place also partners with charities for each of their collections to give back to the community.
About the Always Pan
Our Place sells a whole dinnerware line but the hero product is the Always Pan. The Always Pan is meant to replace 8 pieces of cookware. It claims to be a steamer/strainer, sauté pan, sauce pan, saucier (rounded saucepan), skillet, fry pan, non-stick pan, and spoon rest – all in one!
The Always Pan is coated in a non-toxic, environmentally-friendly ceramic non-stick coating. This special coating means it’s the safest non-stick option available.
Other features of the pan include a stay-cool silicone handle, spatula rest, pour spouts, helper handle, stay-cool knob on the lid, triangle indicator, nesting steamer basket, beechwood spatula.
My Review
I got the Always Pan in Sage in November 2020 and have been using it several times a week since then. I would consider myself an amateur chef. I like to cook and can figure out pretty much any recipe but I don’t cook ALL the time. I like to make fast, simple meals.
Check out my Instagram where you can see several cooking reels where I use my Always Pan!
Always Pan Pros
Non-Stick and Easy to Clean:
I have cooked eggs, chicken, curry, sautéd veggies, Hamburger Helper, and more in my pan! It truly is non-stick and everything just slides around the pan. It is VERY easy to clean. you can just wipe it clean. The pan comes with a sponge as well so I’ll use that to clean it with a little soap and water. The pan looks like it would be really heavy but it was actually lighter than I expected it to be. According to the website, the pan and lid weigh 4lbs together.
Spoon Rest Feature:
My favorite feature of the Always Pan is the spoon rest holder on the handle. I LOVE IT! For some reason, I HATE placing a spoon on a spoon rest on the counter or stove. I love that I can just rest it on the handle and add the lid on top of it. For that reason alone I think the pan is worth it. But maybe I’m just a little crazy about the spoon rest situation…haha.
Perfect Size:
I also love the size of the pan. It’s not too big and not too small, in my opinion. I’m able to make large pasta dishes and currys in the pan with no problem. I also love the higher sides of the pan.
Steamer Tray/Steamer Basket:
I also think the included steamer tray is really cool. I actually haven’t used it yet but it seems pretty easy to use. Apparently, you can also cook pasta (like ramen) with the steamer basket. Just place the ramen on top of the basket and cover with water. Place the lid back on top and let it cook! You can also buy add ons to the pan like the Spruce Steamer. This looks really interesting and I’d love to try it out.
Aesthetically Pleasing:
And obviously, the pan is gorgeous and comes in a variety of beautiful shades. I have a small kitchen so the pan is always sitting on top of the stove. That’s not a problem though because it looks great! This pan is also pretty enough to function as a serving dish. Once it cools, you can move it right to the center of your table and serve the food from the pan.
Cool Add-Ons
Our Place sells a spruce steamer attachment that’s great for steaming dumplings, vegetables, and more! Apparently, you can even layer multiple bamboo steamers on the pan to cook a whole bunch of things at once. And Our Place occasionally comes out with other limited-edition attachments that works with the Always Pan. The last one was a ceramic flipping platter that you could use to make things like Tahdig. I really wanted to try out that one too – but they sell out so fast! I’m curious to see what other add-ons and attachments Our Place comes up with.
Always Pan Cons
Can’t Use High Heat:
The Always Pan is meant to be used on low to medium-low heat so as to maintain the non-stick coating. I find this kind of annoying. I like to cook on medium to high heat so it’s been hard for me to adjust. Most of the time I use the pan on medium heat. Our Place says it’s ok to turn the heat up to high for an occasional sear. I have turned the heat up to medium high to get a boil going. However, I try not to do that often because I’m afraid of wearing out the non-stick coating. I have tried to boil water in the pan so that I could cook pasta but I couldn’t get a boil going on medium heat with that much water. So I’m not exactly sure how everyone is cooking their pasta in the pan. You also can’t put this pan in the oven which is a bummer. That eliminates a lot of one skillet recipes that need to be finished in the oven. Definitely make sure to check out the FAQ page for how to use the pan to keep it working well!
Issues with Non-Stick:
From reviews I’ve seen, some people have had issues with the non-stick coating wearing out after a few uses or a few weeks. That hasn’t been my experience though. My pan is still working great after about 5 months of use. I’m hoping that Our Place would replace any pans that get damaged that easily because that seems like a manufacturing issue.
Other Issues:
I also read a review by a more experienced cook that mentioned several issues with the pan. One being that that paint around the edge of the pan starts to chip. The other issue was doming – where the center of the cooking surface is slightly higher than the edges. This causes cooking oil to run to the edges of the pan instead of evenly coating the whole surfaces. I have noticed both of these issues with my pan but it doesn’t really bother me. My pan still works great despite these issues!
The bottom of the pan does also get “burnt” and discolored. The bottom of my pan doesn’t look bad at all but I’ve seen photos of other people’s pans and the outside/bottom of the pan is stained and dark from use. I’m not really sure how that’s happening because, like I said, my pan still looks really good.
Final Thoughts
So far I don’t have any major complaints. I feel like the Always Pan is a great option for someone at my level because it’s multi-functional and aesthetically pleasing. Does it replace 8 pieces of cookware? Not really, in my opinion. It’s still nice to have one or two other pans.
Our Place is a VERY new company and I feel like over time they will continue to make improvements to the pan. I’m hoping that one day they make an oven safe option! So if you are on the fence, it might be better to wait another year to see if they make any updates to the pan.
Overall, I love my Always Pan! It is a little pricey for a pan but I’ve seen Our Place offer discounts occasionally. Plus, if you buy one of their dinnerware bundles you can save some money!
Remember – use code “JTC10” for 10% off your purchase!
