Teflon is out, and ceramic-coated cookware is taking over kitchens everywhere. With non-toxic, non-stick surfaces and sleek designs, brands like Caraway and Our Place have built loyal followings. But is one actually better than the other?
While both brands continue to one-up one another with various product releases, I’m here and ready to review their ceramic-coated non-stick products, specifically the Our Place Always Pan 2.0 and the Caraway cookware set.
So come on, I’m spilling the tea on whether Caraway or the Always Pan performs better in the long run and if I think Caraway, The Our Place Always Pan, or both are worth your money.
PS There is a Caraway Discount Code at the end!
Ceramic Non-Stick Pans
Before we compare the Caraway pans and the Our Place Always pan, we need to understand more about ceramic non-stick pans. First and foremost, we should get into longevity. I was one of the many millennials running after the Our Place Always Pan during COVID, and while it was unreal at first, within 6 months of use, it was entirely non-non-stick. They kindly replaced the pan for me, and I got to researching (as an ADHD’er I needed this moment to happen before I had any interest or desire to learn more LOL).
Key Details of Both Caraway and the Always Pan
In my research, I learned a few key details:
- Cooking temperature matters: I never cooked with it on high heat; however, my medium heat was too high and destroyed the non-stick coating. Low and low, and, yep, low is best. It will get hot, I promise. It just requires an extra dose of patience (and no, I don’t have any to spare).
- The general lifespan of a ceramic-coated non-stick pan is approximately 1-7 years, depending on how you care for it. So, if you’re looking for something to last a lifetime, you shouldn’t be down the ceramic-coated, non-sick aisle of Caraway or Our Place.
- Caraway has more durable options, including stainless steel and cast iron. I have reviews on both the stainless steel and cast iron collections if you are interested.
- Our Place also has a cast iron option
- Our Place has the titanium always pan – and while I don’t have this pan myself, I have read some reviews – while Our Place claims the Titanium pan is a non-stick pan, it is not non-stick in the traditional sense: you must add oil to “activate the non-stick” which seems odd to me but also I usually add oil to cook. While I couldn’t find any reviews of this pan after 6+ months, the performance of the pan is excellent to start. I don’t think it’s overly aesthetic, and apparently, it is a fingerprint magnet.
- Finally, wait until your ceramic-coated non-stick pans are FULLY cooled before washing them. Don’t mess around with this one.
Our Place Always Pan 2.0
We will start with our old friend, the Always Pan 2.0 from Our Place. This pan is said to be a workhorse with its 10-in-1 functionality. It’s a deeper saucepan so you can cook things like pasta, or heartier sauces in it. It has a steamer basket if you wanted to steam veggies. It also has the add-on spruce steamers where you can steam dumplings or veggies. It comes with a built-in wood spatula that has its own home on the pan. The newer Always Pan 2.0 is also said to have “2x stronger non-stick coating.” I’ll be honest, I don’t entirely know what that means, but the non stick on my Always Pan 2.0 is still going strong after 3 years. The biggest caveat being, is that it is not my go-to pan and get used probably between four to eight full weeks out of the year. So in reality, we are really only on month 6 – which is further than our first (not 2.0 version) of the Our Place Always Pan made it. Our Place recently also released a pot – which I do love, a titanium pan which I touched on above, a cast iron pan, and an ovenware set. I have yet to try the last three items, however, it is nice to see some variety coming out.
Caraway Cookware Set
I won’t pretend like Caraway hasn’t always had a hold over me. We should start with the obvious – the aesthetic kills it. It’s stunning and sophisticated, especially the cream colour (I’m biased, given that’s what I have). While it’s not a 10-in-1 pan like the Our Place Always Pan, the cookware set has everything you might need for a basic cookware set. It comes with a dutch oven, a saucepan, a saute pan, and a frying pan. Every meal I have made in these pans has turned out well. The non-stick is beautiful, something I can safely say after 3 years of daily use (and religiously following my tips at the beginning of this post!), and the heat is evenly distributed. The cookware set comes with lids for every pot/pan as well. They also recently released a saute pan, a larger pan for family-sized portions.
Comparing Caraway Vs. Our Place Always Pan 2.0
When comparing the Our Place Always Pan to the Caraway cookware set, my first immediate thought revolves around storage. If you’re in a smaller space and have limited storage, the Our Place Always Pan 2.0 should be your no-brainer. 10-in-1. You can certainly do a lot with this and don’t need a ton of space to store it. Presumably, you can squeeze one more item into your cupboards – I would add the Always Pot to round out your collection. If you have more kitchen storage space, we have a more in-depth conversation in the next paragraph.
Also, if you’re more into aesthetics, I suggest the Caraway set. It’s prettier and looks higher-end than Our Place Always Pan.
Finally, the Caraway set is more costly, coming in at $355.50 with my discount at the time of writing this, compared to Our Place, where I’d suggest the Always Pan and the Pot bundle for $225 (at the time of writing this post).
So What do I Recommend, Caraway or Our Place?
Okay, if you’ve made it this far into comparing which ceramic-coated non-stick pan is better, Caraway or the Our Place Always Pan, you need the straight facts to determine which is better. So here are my genuine and honest thoughts about the Caraway cookware set and the Our Place Always Pan 2.0.
You will prefer the Caraway cookware set if you are an avid cook. Caraway’s functionality is far better, and you’ll prefer using a variety of pots and pans when cooking—especially if you’re cooking for a family. That being said, if a family of four can use only one pan for dinner, I commend whoever is cooking in that household.
I would never use all ten features of the always pan – I find it gimmicky. Also – the spoon rest on the pan for me is ridiculous and an annoyance: I always need to make sure the lid is twisted properly so steam isn’t escaping out of the spoon rest divet.
The oven is a big thing for me. The Caraway sets can be placed in the oven up to 550 degrees F, while the Always Pan 2.0 can be placed up to 450. I would prefer not to think about what temperature I can place my cookware in the oven. That temperature is 550 F for me. I know I’ll never go above that in my oven.
Overall, the Caraway cookware set wins for me – I’m a big cook with a ton of kitchen storage. In my opinion, Caraway beats out the Always Pan in terms of aesthetics, functionality, and the fact it can go right into the oven at high temperatures. The Always Pan 2.0 wins in terms of storage – given it’s only one pan, BUT Caraway has a great storage situation with the magnetic holders if you have space.
However, if you’re not a huge cook and want a ceramic non-stick coated pan, you can’t go wrong with the Always Pan 2.0 the performance quality is still great.
If you’re opting for Caraway, I have a 10% off discount code that should be automatically applied when you click here. If it is not applied, use code SAMANTHAPOTTERHOME10 (it doesn’t typically stack with other discounts).
Happy cooking. XO
This post is sponsored by Caraway Home, however, all opinions and views are my own. This post also c
There was a devastating day not too long ago that I'm sure many of you who are celiac or gluten-free
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Comments
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Samantha
Hi Sonya! I have a new 10% off link that’s working – https://ap.carawayhome.com/signedsamanthaxo-sl
Thanks for your patience!
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Andrea
thanks for this! think this might. be working. Do you still have the gift card offering going on?
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Samantha
Hi There! I’ll update the post now but the gift card offering is over! But Mother’s Day savings are on now up to 20% off!
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Samantha
Oh no, that’s so strange it’s not working! They typically don’t provide me with a coupon code but let me email my contacts there and see what’s going on. I’ll respond as soon as I hear from them!
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Samantha
Just an update – my contact is still on vacation! But I am hopeful for a response soon!
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Giulia
Hi Samantha,
I’m trying to use your coupon and it’s not showing up when I go to checkout… do you have a code by chance?
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Samantha
Hi Giulia, Oh no! I don’t have a code, unfortunately – sometimes if the bundles are already 20% off, the code won’t apply. Let me know if that’s the case otherwise, I’ll email the Caraway team and try to troubleshoot for you!
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Shannon
I was told i can use 20% then it changed to 10. Not cool. Lil disappointing
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Samantha
Hi Shannon, I’m so sorry to hear that! My extra 20% off was only valid until the end of November, which I specified in the post just in case. Now it looks like they are doing a tiered buy more save more deal (up to 20% off if you spend a certain dollar amount). Let me know if you want me to dig into it a little bit more for you!
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Lisa-Marie Pulley
Thank you very much for your review. I am needing new pots and pan but was trying to decide between the two brands. Since both brands are not recommend for high heat… How are you boiling water for pasta? Do you have a different pan recommendation for that?
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Samantha
Thanks so much for your comment and question! The water still comes to a boil in the Caraway pot! I’m less finiky about my pots only because I use them so much less so if I’mm in a hurry, I’ll turn the heat just past medium and it’ll boil in no time. Otherwise, I keep it between low and medium and it still comes to a boil! I hope that helps!
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Sonya Yanni
Thank you for this review! You have made my decision easy. However, I am trying to use your ambassador 10% code but it is not working when I click the link you provided. It takes me to the Caraway website and it does say ambassador discount of 10% but when I go to checkout, it’s not applied. Do you happen to have a coupon code I can manually apply at checkout instead?