Review: Our Place Always Pan 2.0

My fellow WIRED reviewers are some of the smartest people I know. Ask a Gear team member any question, whether it’s about zipper quality, knob feel, material durability, or whether a shade of blue is actually more green, and they’ll have an informed opinion (and resources to back it up). So a few years ago, when my late grandmother gifted me the Our Place Always Pan, I was a little nervous. WIRED contributor Joe Ray had given it a 3 out of 10.

But I loved my grandma, who was very excited about gifting me something trendy and useful, and the pan looked cool. So I cooked on it. And I’ve cooked 99 percent of my meals on it ever since.

Our Place heard customer and reviewer feedback. Ray wasn’t the only person on the internet who’d taken issue with the first iteration of the Always Pan. The one I received, and the one that’s for sale now, is the revamped Our Place Always Pan 2.0. It’s available in three sizes. I’ve always used the standard size, which measures 10.5 inches. And I love it to pieces.

Second Chance

The negative feedback on the first iteration of the pan was valid. It had quality-control issues, like an uneven surface on the bottom, inconsistent cooking surfaces from pan to pan, and inconsistent paint jobs. It also wasn’t oven-safe. But I’m happy to report that in my experience with two separate Always Pan 2.0 models (the gift I received and another I called in to compare), this pan is now nearly perfect. And that’s before you account for any of the myriad accessories available to complement it. It’s available in a bunch of colors, and every pan includes a lid, a steamer basket (that doubles as a colander), and a nesting spatula.

I reached out to the company to see what had changed from the original pan to the Always Pan 2.0. The newer pan has improved nonstick performance, better stain resistance, and an induction-friendly, oven-safe design. The form also got some changes, like a roomier helper handle and curvature improvements. The company didn’t officially address the convex cooking surfaces or chipping paint that Joe Ray took issue with, but my cooking surfaces (on two pans) have been fine, and the paint on both pans looks great (even up close).

This pan is absolutely beautiful and looks just as good on my stovetop as it does on my dining room table. I love the pan’s sloped edges and built-in pour spouts. This isn’t a particularly unique or innovative design, but there are thoughtful details that set it apart from similarly shaped pans that I’ve tried. These “essential” pans are excellent for all sorts of cooking tasks, from frying an egg or braising meat to making pasta sauces, browning chicken, and more. That’s because of the shape, which is sort of like a frying pan with extra-high walls and rounded corners.

The company says this pan is supposed to be a 10-in-1 design. Those 10 things are braising, searing, steaming, straining, sautéing, frying, boiling, baking, serving, and storing. (I think the “serving and storing” are a bit phoned in, but sure, you can serve in it and store in it.) I’ve successfully completed every one of those tasks in this pan. The Always Pan’s included lid has a steam lock design that lets you trap steam in or release it while keeping your food covered. There are two pour spouts for easier siphoning of grease or pouring of sauces. The handle has a little bump where you can nest the included spatula, so you don’t need an extra spoon rest. And the pan is now oven-safe up to 450 degrees Fahrenheit, so you can transfer from stovetop to oven with ease. It’s also induction-friendly, though I haven’t tested that method of cooking.

The Always Pan is made without lead or cadmium, and its nonstick Thermakind ceramic is free of PFAs. Our Place says the coating is primarily made with water and a sand derivative. The recycled-aluminum body comes in at 3 pounds—not too heavy and not too light. The helper handle (which is opposite the regular handle) doubles as a loop if you, like me, hang your pots and pans on hooks.

We noted an issue with the bottom of the original pan, which scratched reviewer Joe Ray’s glass cooking surface. I have a gas range, but I can’t feel any discernible rough bits at the bottom of either pan. It comes in a array of gorgeous colors, including blue, green, orange, and some limited-edition colors like purple that I still pine over. (The mini-size purple pan is still available.) There are optional add-on accessories that I love, too.

There’s the Egg Poacher, a little tray with silicone cups that circulate water around your eggs; the Tagine, an absolutely stunning handcrafted conical lid that turns your pan into a slow cooker of sorts; the Fry Deck, a drip-dry tray that lets you get rid of excess oil on bacon or dumplings without wasting a bunch of paper towels; the Spruce Steamer, a handmade basket that I love for steaming bao (and it even comes with cooking chopsticks). There are a few others I haven’t tried: a grill press, a cast iron grill, a flipping platter, and more. But my experience with the accessories has been as delightful as my experience with the pan.

Of course, the add-ons come in matching colors so your stove looks even more Instagram-worthy. Storing all of these accessories can get bulky, but if you’ve got the cupboard space to spare, I definitely recommend them. I also love that the Always Pan ships in sustainable packaging—there’s no plastic, just cardboard. This has been my experience with the accessories as well.

Better Than Ever

The nonstick does run into the same issue that all nonstick pans (seemingly) do: The coating gets less slick over time. The pan that I’ve had for more than three years is less slippery than the new one I got a couple of months ago. But it’s absolutely still nonstick—I just find myself needing to use a bit more oil when cooking especially sticky meals, like fried eggs. The coating also has some staining. Neither of these are deal-breakers for me. I don’t think it’s that big of a deal if the pan I cook in looks like I cook in it. It’s also important to note that the Always Pan 2.0 has some care and feeding instructions. Our Place says to avoid high temperatures to preserve the nonstick coating, saying low to medium heat is best, and also that you should only hand-wash it. I wash mine in the dishwasher. I shouldn’t. But I do. If I stuck to just hand-washing, I’d probably have a less-degraded coating. Wash as I say, not as I wash.

Another thing to note is that this coating isn’t going to give you as hard of a sear on a piece of meat as a stainless steel or cast iron pan would. It simply doesn’t retain heat in the same way. Those sorts of tasks are the 1 percent of meals I don’t cook in this pan. Again, not a big deal to me, but if you are exclusively looking for the world’s best Maillard reaction, the Always Pan won’t be your favorite. Our Place makes different versions of the Always Pan—there’s a cast iron model and an Always Pan Pro that has a different type of coating. Those might be more well-suited to tasks like searing steaks. The handles can also get hot, particularly the smaller helper handle. If I’m cooking something fast, like a grilled cheese, I can usually just grab the handle with no problem. But if my pasta sauce has been simmering for an hour, I’ll reach for an oven mitt. Again—not a deal-breaker. Don’t grab anything off the stove before verifying its temperature first.

All in all, I think this pan is exceedingly useful and beautiful to look at. I have a kitchen full of All-Clad. But I always find myself reaching for my Always Pan.