It’s made from sturdy aluminum and coated with non-stick ceramic that’s free of chemicals, according to its website. The pan feels incredibly durable, similar to the standard cast iron that can withstand years of use and wear (but only time can tell here — Our Place has only been around since 2019). The Always Pan also claims to ace the non-stick category, advising users to rely on just a tablespoon or two of fats with high smoke points (think olive, coconut, peanut, and avocado oils), and here it delivers. Cheesy scrambled eggs, fried fish, and mashed potatoes all cooked evenly with close to zero residues sticking to the pan’s surface. Impressive! The most exciting thing during this process is using the steamer basket to strain out the pasta water; the stainless-steel basket isn’t huge, but it manages to fit a whole box of manicotti, only spilling a few outliers in the sink. This steam basket, by the way, does its intended job of steaming too. But the space between the basket and the pan’s surface is kind of puny, and it could be insufficient when you’re steaming something you want to keep water from messing with.
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EMPOWERING HOME COOKING
Our Place believes in the power of home cooking to bring people together. Their collections are new heirlooms from the cultures and places that make up the fabric of the modern multi-ethnic kitchen. They design thoughtfully, source ethically, and produce sustainably because what they make is connected to one another and the earth we share.
They make products inspired by traditions – and they are starting with the one you might be familiar with: Dinner. Our Place retails a variety of kitchenware such as pans, main plates, drinking glasses, and side bowls. Their main plates and side bowls come in a variety of colors and are made of hand-painted porcelain; while their drinking glasses are recyclable, and are also made from recycled glass, and sand. They also have in stock the Always Pan, which is a that they claim can do the job of eight cookware pieces. Their delivery service only spans within the United States, and Canada.
Our Place is an online store that sells cookware, dinnerware, and kitchen supplies inspired by traditions. At Our Place, they believe sharing a home-cooked meal is foundational to connection. Their mission is to make products that connect people over home-cooking. The collections are new heirlooms from the cultures and places that make up the fabric of the modern kitchen. They believe that there is a transformative power in uplifting the differences in how people cook and eat together. They hope that telling stories of tradition will bring the disparate edges of our world closer together.
Family and community are built around food. At the new online start-up Our Place, that means nightly dinners, food traditions, and cultural gatherings — not the technical specs of cookware or recipes. Through Our Place’s versatile kitchen goods, they honor the simplicity and diversity of food rituals in the kitchen and around the dinner table.
Our Place’s founding team of Shiza Shahid (cofounder of the non-profit Malala Fund), Zach Rosner (formerly of MeUndies and Everlane), and Amir Tehrani (chief innovation officer at kitchenware brand Tabletops Unlimited) launched the company with a small collection of dinnerware and cookware meant to serve the needs and wants of the modern kitchen.
The company sources materials from ethical factories or artisan collectives, with a special emphasis on female entrepreneurs, in order to make all its products. Every collection after its inaugural collection will be centered around a cultural food tradition and the authentic cooking materials used to participate in that tradition. Its most recent, the Nowruz Collection, features everything you need to make Tahdig, the crispy rice at the bottom of the pot that is a staple of Iranian cuisine.
Meet the cult-favorite best-selling Always Pan. This do-it-all wonder is designed to replace 8 traditional pieces of cookware. Plus, it looks pretty good too. Designed over the course of a year and a half, the Perfect Pot packs in the brand’s penchant for multipurpose functionality. Besides using it as a regular pot, it’s also meant to replace your stockpot, Dutch oven, saucepan, roasting rack, steamer, and braiser. And just like the Always Pan, it’s ergonomically designed with an in-built strainer and spoon rest.
Our Place’s “flagship” product is the Always Pan ($145), a multi-functional pan that replaces eight different pieces of cookware. The status quo for cookware brands (new and old alike) is to sell people on the belief that they require many pieces of cookware — each designed to do only one or two things. For example, saucepans for a sauce, sauté pan for frying, non-stick pans for delicate foods, and so on.
With its quick-heating aluminum body, safe non-stick ceramic coating, and nesting steamer basket, the pan really does do almost everything, though a drawback is that it’s not recommended for oven use. And compared to its shiny, sleek, and modern competitors, it looks unique, relaying a more homegrown and traditional spirit.
The pan is deeper than a standard frying pan so it enables to steam a piece of fish in the basket first, and then use the same pan to whip up a scramble directly afterward. The pan feels sturdy, and the non-stick coating is slick and effective. The handle is designed in a way so that the included wooden spatula is perfectly nestled — a small but immensely clever touch.
For starters, the Always Pan arrived in wonderfully sustainable packaging: It is encased in a cardboard box, and smaller cardboard strips keep everything in place, without a piece of plastic in sight — a total win for the environmentally conscientious consumer. Along with the actual pan, the package comes with a soft, dehydrated sponge and cleaning instructions.