Our readers are always on the lookout for non-toxic non-stick pan recommendations. We tested the Made In CeramiClad Pan and came away impressed.
Risotto, pancakes, stir fry – whatever we’ve thrown at it, the Made In CeramiClad Non-Stick Pan has handled with aplomb. Here’s our review of the pan my wife declared “Beautiful! Impressive!” on day one and still loves weeks later.
What is it?
Made In has been looking to introduce a non-toxic ceramic coated non-stick cookware line for a while. Its PTFE non-stick cookware being one of our biggest peeves with the brand.
The CeramiClad non-stick pan is the result of years of rigorous research and development and I’m happy to say that all that work really seems to have paid off.
Unlike most aluminum ceramic coated non-stick pans (see: Always Pan, Caraway, Alva), the CeramiClad pan is a 5-ply design. That means it has an aluminum core for quick and even heat conduction clad with stainless steel.
The result is a pan that is:
- Much more durable
- Highly resistant to warping
- Compatible with induction, gas, and electric stovetops
- Oven-safe to 550F (the PTFE ProCoat pans are only ‘safe’ up to 500F)
- Not going to expose you to aluminum, even if the coating does wear away.
Made In CeramiClad Frying Pan
Highlights: Beautifully made, light and maneuverable, but robust non-stick frying pan with impressive performance.
The CeramiClad Pan is available in three sizes (8-, 10-, and 12-inch) and as a set of three. It’s only available in one color, and that’s a lovely off-white/cream color that hasn’t stained at all with weeks of almost daily use.
Made In appears to be planning further additions to the CeramiClad line, with saucepans and such most likely to appear next.
Digging into the details
The CeramiClad Pan is basically the Made In Stainless Clad Pan coated with the proprietary non-stick ceramic coating. These pans comprise:
- CeramiClad coating
- 304, 18/10 stainless steel (non-corrosive and won’t react to acidic food)
- An inner core comprising:
- Aluminum (near-pure)
- Aluminum alloy
- Aluminum (near-pure)
- High-grade ferritic 430 stainless steel on the outside (for induction compatibility and durability)
The aluminum allows for fantastic heat conductivity and even heating. I’ve only ever used my Made In pan on a medium heat as there’s no need for higher heat. In fact, higher heat would likely burn your food and damage your pan.
These pans also retain heat well, so food doesn’t cool down too fast if you don’t serve it right away.
Why I love it
Aside from the smart, sustainable design and lack of toxic PTFE or any PFAS, I also love that this pan has a stay-cool handle that actually stays cool (it’ll get hot in the oven, of course).
The hollow handle design is really comfortable too, unlike the incredibly boxy and unpleasant Always Pan handle.
And even though this pan is 5-ply, it is lightweight, at just 3.3 lbs. for the 12-inch pan. This is the biggest of the three and offers:
- 9.5-inch cooking surface
- 1.75-inch depth.
My wife and I both love the pan’s generous depth and sloped, flared rim. This makes it really easy to cook up sauces, etc., and pour them out without spills. The smaller size pans offer the same depth and flared rim too.
As for the non-stick performance, it’s exemplary.
Is it non-stick really?
Yes!
We have used this pan dozens of times, for a variety of foods, and have never had any issues with things sticking.
Even fussy medium firm tofu is a breeze to cook with just a dash of oil. Pancakes are a breeze. And cooking a risotto the other night, I was so happy to create a good fond, but have no trouble with rice sticking.
Clean-up and storage
Clean-up is also spectacularly easy with the Made In CeramiClad Pan. A quick rinse, a quick wipe, and this pan is good to go again.
The ergonomic handle and overall design makes it simple to maneuver. So, unlike with some heavy cast iron, it’s super easy to wash this pan by hand.
And the riveted handle is well positioned, with fairly flat rivets inside the pan. That makes it far less likely food will get stuck in places that are hard to clean. Some pans with poorly positioned handles and proud rivets really make you work with a bottle brush to get them clean, which I don’t appreciate.
Like most non-stick pans, you won’t want to put the CeramiClad in the dishwasher. The high velocity water, rack wear, and harsh detergents can all wear away the coating prematurely. It’s good, then, that this pan is so easy to clean by hand. So, even if you love your dishwasher, it only takes two minutes to clean and dry this pan.
As with all ceramic coated pans, another potential downside is the need for careful storage. We just drape an old tea towel over the pan to protect the interior when we have to put it in the cupboard.
This pan looks so lovely though, it is just as easy to keep it on the stovetop ready for the next use.
The Made In difference
One of my bugbears with ceramic coated pans is that they’re typically made of a thin piece of aluminum coated with a few layers of ceramic non-stick. These pans are much more likely to warp, which makes the coating more likely to crack. It can also make them far less efficient and useful on flat stovetops.
With these subpar aluminum pans, even small scratches in the coating can relegate the pan to recycling or landfill, lest the pan leaches aluminum into your food.
This is one of the reasons HexClad actually looks more sustainable in some lights than PTFE-free non-stick pans that are less robustly built.
Made In’s CeramiClad Pan is a smart, 5-ply design that feels very impressive and robust. It’s a beautiful pan to cook with and I can see it lasting longer than lesser pans with ceramic coatings.
That said, even Made In offers just a 1-year warranty on these pans and in its responses to customer questions acknowledges that:
Even if you manage to carefully source a well-made ceramic pan, your cookware is still only likely to last a couple of years.
Made In
Why? Because the non-stick coating “naturally releases every time you heat up your pan. Once that coating has worn out, your pan will no longer be non stick.”
The difference with these 5-ply pans, though, is that they’ll still be safe to use. You’ll just want to use a little more oil to keep things from sticking.
This kind of 5-ply design isn’t cheap, but Made In helps to keep costs down by buying raw materials directly. This also helps to maintain good quality control and ethics all the way along the supply chain.
What’s not in it?
Made In’s new CeramiClad™ cookware is made without:
- PFAS
- PFOA
- PTFE
- Lead
- Cadmium
- BPA
Unfortunately, like Our Place and similar outfits, Made In won’t release the exact composition of the proprietary ceramic non-stick coating. We’ve asked for third-party test results on background but the company seems to be taking its sweet time to get those to us.
And that’s the biggest caveat for this pan: we’re not totally sure what’s in the coating.
Given that Made In also offers PTFE non-stick pans (ProCoat), we’re not super confident that the company genuinely cares about the environment or customers’ toxicity concerns.
Still, Made In seems to have made a credible effort to create a durable, PFAS-free pan that is actually non-stick and a dream to cook with.
And what we do know is that Made In makes its ceramic coating using the sol-gel process. That means it is unlikely to contain any concerning titanium nanoparticles.
Packaging
Our Made In cookware has always come in packaging that is:
- Minimal
- Smart
- Easy to recycle
- Made with recycled materials
- Mostly plastic-free.
Unfortunately, this pan had a totally unnecessary single-use plastic bag around it inside the perfectly effective cardboard box.
Final thoughts
The biggest pitfall for Made In is that it continues to sell PTFE cookware.
Aside from that, this company gets decent marks for sustainability.
As with the Always Pan and Caraway Cookware, though, I’ll report back in six months or so with an update on the non-stick coating longevity.
Given the overall quality of the CeramiClad Pan, however, I’m much more confident that this one has better staying power. The Always Pan showed scratches and wear on the coating in very little time and lost its non-stick properties before the six month mark.
The CeramiClad Pan also costs less than the Always Pan, though it doesn’t have the steamer basket or lid. You can use the CeramiClad Pan at higher temperatures in the oven though, and in addition to being much nicer to use, it will almost certainly last longer.
And, if you really need one, you can get a Made In Universal Silicone Lid to fit the three pan sizes.
Made In CeramiClad Frying Pan
Highlights: Beautifully made, light and maneuverable, but robust non-stick frying pan with impressive performance.