• HOME & LIFESTYLE
Our Place Pan Review: Never Use Another Pan Again
Reviewed by Nathaniel Lang
Last Updated January 2022
Featured Product: Our Place Always Pan
Price: $145
The Our Place Always Pan was designed to replace 8 different pieces of cookware in one product. This pan sports a 10” diameter with a 2.6 qt capacity. The lightweight construction, easy-pour spouts, and modular lid add to its versatility. This substantial piece of cookware is also created out of aluminum for even, yet fast heating. And the non-toxic ceramic coating enhances the functionality and beauty of this piece.
Featured In This Review
Our Place Always Pan
$145
If you’ve been looking for a simpler way to cook, then the Our Place Always Pan may be just what you’ve been looking for. It replaces 8 pieces of cookware!
SHOP NOWRatings Breakdown
QUALITY
★★★★★
The Our Place Always Pan is made out of high quality materials and feels well balanced in the hand while cooking.
VALUE
★★★★
While this pan is exceptionally multifunctional, the price tag is pretty steep for most consumers to swallow.
CUSTOMER
EXPERIENCE
★★★★★
This pan well exceeds most expectations with regard to cooking evenly and its non-stick capabilities. Plus, it just looks really nice.
BRAND
★★★★★
This company has substantial ethical labor and sustainable practices. Their mission to unite the world through food and cooking is admirable.
Who is Our Place?
Our Place was founded in 2018 by Shiza Shahid and Amir Tehrani. The couple decided to marry their two passions together, cookware and educational initiatives, to create the company. The two believe that education and inclusiveness can begin in the kitchen. Therefore, the creation of this company is to help bring more unity, and tastier food, to the world.
While they initially began their line with factories in only China and Thailand, they began to expand to other emerging markets.
The reasoning behind this is due to the fact that these emerging markets have been creating some of these products for thousands of years and they are at the top of their game. So, the couple wants to meet the artisanal makers where they are.
This level of inclusivity is one good reason to take a look at Our Place products. This company donated over 200,000 meals to the underserved markets by partnering with Feeding America during the pandemic in 2020.
They are also currently seeking partners who would be willing to reuse or recycle their lightly used cookware returns. All of these positive steps help to set this company apart from other cookware manufacturers.
Pros
- High-performance
- Works on all cooking surfaces (induction included)
- Exceedingly lightweight (only 3 pounds!)
- Really fast clean up
- Solid and sturdy handle
- Comes with fantastic accessories
- Free shipping
- Good returns policy
Cons
- Certainly a pricier pan
- Pan is a bit small for some larger meals
- Not oven safe
- Can’t cook on higher temperatures
Our Place Always Pan Testing & Performance
As a fairly adept at-home chef, I’m always looking for ways to streamline my cooking process. And hopefully reducing the number of dishes I have to do at the end of the meal. So, when I found the Our Place Always Pan, which is supposed to replace 8 different pieces of cookware, I was intrigued.
I placed my order on a Friday and by Tuesday everything was on my doorstep. I have to say that I was a bit surprised by how much packaging this product came with though. This is especially true of the steamer basket and the pan.
The upside is that everything consisted of cardboard, paper, or biodegradable bags. But, it still seemed like it could have required a lot less packaging to get this product to me.
This pan isn’t really just a pan, but also comes with the following additions:
- Nesting beechwood spatula with integrated spoon rest
- Stainless steel steamer basket
- Modular lid that can open and close to let off steam
- Pour spouts
- Spruce wooden steamer (we had to purchase our separately, but sometimes they run promotions where they give it away for free with purchase)
Once we unboxed everything and gave it a quick wash with soap and water, we were ready to get cooking.
Always Pan Cooking Tests
Ground Chicken
We decided to put the Always Pan and its many accessories to the test through our regular family dinners. The first thing we tried was just browning up some ground chicken. As expected, no issues.
We set the heat to medium, which is also the maximum recommended by the brand to protect the pan. Even with the relatively low burner temperature it still got the pan plenty hot enough. I was pleased with the evenness of the cooking temperature. And as expected, the non-stick ceramic made cooking even more of a joy since nothing came even remotely close to sticking.
Rice
Next, I cooked a rice dish in the pan, which did extremely well. The pan is more than deep enough to boil, simmer, and cook the rice without any issue. The included pan was sturdy, well-designed, and easy to use. It also easily kept steam in when I needed it, or I could just rotate part of the lid around to allow steam to escape.
Quesadilla
After that test, we decided to try making a quesadilla in it for lunch one afternoon. For this specific dish, our goal was to achieve a crispy brown on the outside of the tortilla while balancing melting the cheese with the meat inside.
As with other foods we had cooked, it handled it without any issue. We found the crisping to be extremely even and consistent. However, it did take a little bit longer to cook due to the fact that you aren’t supposed to cook at higher heats in this pan. But, given the performance, it’s hard to complain too much.
Being able to cook a wide variety of food types is a big selling point for the Always Pan, from my perspective. This added diversity helps to make the price point a little less harsh.
The clean-up was also incredibly quick and easy. A big part of this is due to the ceramic coating. So, quite literally, all we had to put was just a drop of soap and a quick wipe down with a sponge and we were done.
Cleaning the exterior of the was just as easy. I got a little grease on the side of the pan, which I thought might stain the coarser exterior surface, but I was surprised to find it did not.
On a side note, if you have an induction cooktop like I do, make sure to align it to the correct sized burner. The pan itself is suitable for what appears to be a larger burner ring. However, the physical metal portion that contacts the induction burner is smaller. As a result, it would only work on the medium size induction burners on my stove.
With regard to the wooden spatula, I loved that it rested on the handle, with the food end hanging over the pan itself. This was an ingenious way to not have to make a mess on the counter with the stirrer.
Bamboo Steamer - Char Siu Bao Buns
The last product we tried was the wooden steam basket. I have never used this style of steamer before so naturally I had to attempt one of its most popular recipes that it is specifically known to make – Char Siu Bao Buns.
I attempted this dish twice a week apart. After watching that haunting Pixer short of the same name, I set out to make my very own bao children. My first attempt yielded edible but horrible looking bao that is entirely the fault of my dough-making skills. Honestly, after struggling so hard with the forming of the raw bao buns, the steaming process was an absolute breeze.
The only minor issue I had in both attempts was the paper liners they give you start to curl in the steamer but luckily you have those those long chopsticks to get them back into place. Other than that, it was a very smooth cooking process. I had to refill the water in the bottom of the pan for the later batches and it reached steaming temperature again very quickly. I was a little worried about the white layer of mineral deposits left in the pan after steaming all that water. But it washed out with virtually no effort.
There’s not much more to say other than I was VERY proud of myself for being able to make this traditional dish that I always that would be out of reach for an amateur cook like me. I literally interrupted our team’s important slack conversation to say “look at my buns!” with the biggest grin on my face.
However, I do wonder how this type of a basket will hold up long term. It just seems like wood over heat / steam for any long duration is not going to go so well. But, after two uses there’s no signs of wear or tear so far!
Ultimately, we really enjoyed the experience of using this pan and all of the associated parts. And it has become one of our kitchen staple pieces of cookware. I just wish they had a slightly larger option, because a 10” diameter pan is a bit smaller than I’m used to using for my regular meals.
Featured In This Review
Our Place Always Pan
$145
If you’ve been looking for a simpler way to cook, then the Our Place Always Pan may be just what you’ve been looking for. It replaces 8 pieces of cookware!
SHOP NOWIs Our Place Always Pan Good Quality?
The Our Place Always Pan was developed in LA, but is made in one of their factories in China. The brand claims that they chose this specific female owned and operated facility due to their high-quality craftsmanship and attention to ethics. This factory is touted to have top notch quality and concerns for their employees.
When Our Place was choosing the facility that would produce this specific product they went to 15 facilities in total. They have performed regular site visits to ensure the product quality and employee ethics are being upheld. In addition to that, Our Place also validates this by:
- Interviewing on-site teams
- BSCI audits
- ISO audits
- SA8000 audits
- Sedex audits
While all of these are fantastic steps towards continual quality control, the brand doesn’t give any clearer indication as to which of these are performed at this particular plant. It’s nice to see a company that is working diligently to offer transparency, but they could use a little more with regard to clarity.
Even though this aspect isn’t as clear as I’d like to see, it does appear that they have created a high-quality product.
The outer shell is made of cast aluminum for a lighter weight product that heats up faster for more even cooking. The interior is made of a non-toxic, environmentally-friendly, ceramic coating. This coating is silicon based and contains none of the following toxic ingredients:
- GenX Chemicals
- PFOA (Perfluorooctanoic Acid)
- PTFE (Polytetrafluoroethylene)
- Lead
- Cadmium
- Toxic Metals
According to the brand, this type of coating has not only been approved by the FDA, but is currently considered the safest non-stick coating on the market. When it comes to cookware, these aspects are extremely important with regard to function, performance, quality, and longevity.
Is Our Place Always Pan Worth It?
While the Our Place Always Pan does come with a much higher price tag than most regular pans, there are some justified reasons for this. This pan replaces 8 different products, including:
- Fry Pan
- Non-stick Pan
- Skillet
- Steamer
- Saucier
- Saucepan
- Saute Pan
- Spatula
- Spoon Rest
Just those 8 different things alone would probably cost well more than the $145 price tag, if they are quality products. The fact that this company is working to create quality products with quality control measures in place helps to instill confidence in the brand.
And it doesn’t hurt that they stand behind their products 100%, so if you aren’t happy with the product for any reason, they will figure out a solution.
Our Place Coupons & Discounts
If you want to learn about new collections and special deals, then signing up for the Our Place email list is the way to go. Usually, they’ll send you a discount code off of your first order once you sign up also.
FAQs
Anytime a consumer is on the hunt for new knives, there can be a plethora of questions circling around prior to purchase. Here is where we answer some of the most common questions about Our Place to help you make the most educated decision.
Our Place Always Pan Summary
While I was initially a bit skeptical about this product because of the high price tag, I was pleasantly surprised with the result. The Our Place Always Pan is lightweight, functional, easy to use, easy to clean, and looks great in my kitchen. I really enjoyed the cooking experiences I’ve had with it thus far and am interested to see how everything lasts over time.
If you have been considering upgrading your cookware, I highly recommend this product for you. Especially if you also want to minimize how many dishes you have to wash after dinner too.