Always Pan 2.0

Nonstick has spent decades as a single idea with a single chemistry, which is why most people assume a slippery pan is a compromise they have already agreed to. This one is a different compound, not a different label on the same one.

Our Place's Always Pan 2.0 coats a cast aluminium body in Thermakind, a ceramic nonstick built from a sand derivative, water and alcohol, with no PFAS, PTFE, PFOA, lead or cadmium in it. The distinction matters in use rather than on paper. PTFE is a fluoropolymer and a member of the PFAS family, and it gives off fumes when a pan is run hot and empty. Thermakind has no fluoropolymer to release, and Our Place rate it as lasting 50 percent longer than the coating on the first Always Pan. Underneath, cast aluminium carries heat at three times the conductivity of stainless steel, sitting on a stainless steel base so the pan works on the hob as well as in an oven up to 450F, about 232C. The care is the trade: hand wash only, wood or silicone utensils, no aerosol sprays, and never heat it dry.

The aluminium is 100 percent certified post-consumer recycled, discarded metal rather than factory floor scrap, and the water used in making it is treated and reused. The rest of the design tries to earn its place in a small kitchen. A domed modular lid locks steam in or vents it, a mesh steamer basket drops into the same pan and doubles as a colander, and a beechwood spatula nests across the long handle so it never has to touch the counter. Ten jobs are claimed for it, searing through to storing, and Our Place now list the pan as the Ceramic Nonstick Always Pan 10.5 inch.